Vault Training Recurrence (Quality)

In many cases, a training matrix may require that Learners perform some training courses on a recurring basis in order to refresh knowledge and maintain compliance. In Vault Training, each Training Requirement in your training matrix can have individual recurrence options to suit your organization’s needs.

Training Admins can typically find the recurrence options for a given Training Requirement in the Recurrence section of the object record details page. This article describes each recurrence option in detail.

Setting Up Recurrence for a Training Requirement

To enable recurrence and define recurrence options for a Training Requirement:

  1. Navigate to a Training Requirement object record, either in Business Admin or a custom object tab.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. In the Recurrence section, select the Yes value for the Does this Training Requirement recur? field.
  4. Select a Recurrence Type, either Relative or Absolute.
  5. Select a value for the Recurrence Based On field. The selected date will be the basis for Vault’s calculation.
  6. Enter values for the Recurrence and Recurrence Unit fields. These values are the unit of time and the number of those units between assignments. For example, Recurrence = 1 and Recurrence Unit = Years would result in a new training assignment one (1) calendar year from the chosen basis date.
  7. If you selected the Absolute recurrence type, select a date and time in the Next Training Date (Recurrence) fields.
  8. Optional: If you selected the Relative recurrence type, select Next Training Date (Recurrence) Formula options. Vault treats a blank value as the “Default…” value. If the Recurrence Date = Recurrence Date - Assign Recurrence Before/Unit value is selected, Assign Recurrence Before and Assign Recurrence Before Unit are required.
  9. Click Save.

Recurrence Type

Vault Training provides two options for scheduling recurring issuance of Training Assignments using the Recurrence Type field. Note that if Recurrence Type is left blank, the application defaults to the Relative picklist value upon saving:

Relative Recurrence

Vault issues a Training Requirement using this recurrence option at different times for different Learners. Vault calculates a relative recurrence from when the Learner was either assigned or completed a training.

For example, if a Learner was assigned training on August 1st, 2019, the Recurrence is set to 1, the Recurrence Based On is set to Assigned Date, and the Recurrence Unit is set to Year, Vault will assign the next training for that Learner on August 1st, 2020.

Absolute Recurrence

Vault issues a Training Requirement using this recurrence option at the same time for all applicable Learners. At the Next Training Date (Recurrence), Vault issues training records to Learners. Vault then automatically increments the Next Training Date (Recurrence) value based on the Recurrence and Recurrence Unit field values. If you select Absolute Recurrence, you cannot use the Next Training Date Formula option.

Next Training Date Formula

By default, Vault determines the date on which to assign the recurring Training Assignment by the following formula: Recurrence Based On (Date) value + Recurrence (Months/Years) value.

Your organization may require that a given training course is assigned in advance of the end of a recurrence period. For example, a training which Learners must complete every two years, but since it must be completed prior to the two-year recurrence date, your training matrix requires that it is assigned early, perhaps by 90 days. Using the Next Training Date Formula option, you can determine how far ahead to assign the recurrence-based Training Assignment. The Latest Automation Update field on the Training Assignment object contains the formula used to set the Next Training Date (Recurrence) field.

Assigning Training in Advance

To adjust the assignment date to accommodate the need for training in advance:

  1. Navigate to the Recurrence section of a Training Requirement object record details page.
  2. Select the Recurrence Date = Recurrence Date - Assign Recurrence Before/Unit value in the Next Training Date (Recurrence) Formula field.
  3. Enter values for the Assign Recurrence Before and Assign Recurrence Before Unit fields. These values are the unit of time and the number of those units between assignments. For example, Assign Recurrence Before = 90 and Assign Recurrence Before Unit = Days would result in a new training assignment 90 days before the relative recurrence date.
  4. Click Save.

Limitations on Training in Advance

Assign Recurrence Before * Assign Recurrence Before Unit cannot be greater or equal to Recurrence * Recurrence Unit. Since different years and months have different number of days, Vault conservatively converts Recurrence and Assign Recurrence Before into days using the following conversion:

  • 1 month = 28 days
  • 1 year = 365 days
  • 1 week = 7 days

For example, Recurrence = 1 Year and Assign Recurrence Before = 360 days are allowed since 360 days is less than 365 days (365 days for 1 year). Assign Recurrence Before = 365 days would not be allowed since 365 days is greater or equal to 365 days.

Best Practices for Training in Advance

Following these guidelines to ensure that training in advance of a recurrence date behaves as expected:

  • If either Does this Training Requirement recur? = No or Is A Substitute Training Requirement = Yes, Vault does not automatically clear the values for Assign Recurrence Before, Assign Recurrence Before Unit, and Next Training Date (Recurrence) Formula. Ensure that you manually clear these values. Vault will still automatically clear other recurrence field values.
  • For requirements with a Does this Training Requirement recur? value of Yes, Vault automatically updates Recurrence Based On and Recurrence Type to Assigned Date and Relative, respectively, if those field values are blank when Vault Training updates the Training Requirement. However, this automatic update does not apply to the Next Training Date (Recurrence) Formula field value, for which a default picklist value and a blank value are treated as the same.
  • If you want default values to be populated for recurrence fields, we recommend adding a condition which checks whether Does this Training Requirement recur? = Yes and that the Training Requirement is not a substitute requirement to the default expression. For example, if you want Recurrence Type to be populated with Relative value, then the formula would be: if(is_recurring__v=true && is_a_substitute_tr__v!=true, Picklist.recurrence_type__v.relative__v, null)

In order to add or change recurrence options for a Training Requirement you must have a security profile or role with the following permissions:

Type Permissions Controls
Security Profile Object: Training Requirement: Create, Read, Edit, Delete Ability to create, view, edit, and delete Training Requirement object records, including recurrence field options.