Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation (Policies)	Jan. 27, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Volt Information Sciences, Inc. (“Volt” or the “Company”) have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, consistent in all material respects with those applied in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 28, 2018. The Company makes estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. Actual results could differ from those estimates and changes in estimates are reflected in the period in which they become known. Accounting for certain expenses, including income taxes, are based on full year assumptions, and the financial statements reflect all normal adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for fair presentation of the interim periods presented. The interim information is unaudited and is prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which provides for omission of certain information and footnote disclosures. This interim financial information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 28, 2018. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year financial statements in order to conform to the current year’s presentation.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements New Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted by the Company In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract (“ASU 2018-15”), which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption of the amendments is permitted including adoption in any interim period. The amendments in ASU 2018-15 should be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. ASU 2018-15 is effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that ASU 2018-15 will have upon adoption on its consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement: Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (“ASU 2018-13”), which changes the fair value measurement disclosure requirements of ASC 820. ASU 2018-13 is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted for any eliminated or modified disclosures upon issuance of ASU 2018-13. ASU 2018-13 is effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The Company does not anticipate a significant impact upon adoption. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU 2018-07”). ASU 2018-07 expands the guidance in Topic 718 to include share-based payments for goods and services to non-employees and generally aligns it with the guidance for share-based payments to employees. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year, which for the Company will be the first quarter of fiscal 2020. The Company does not anticipate a significant impact upon adoption. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU provides guidance for recognizing credit losses on financial instruments based on an estimate of current expected credit losses model. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, which for the Company will be the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Although the impact upon adoption will depend on the financial instruments held by the Company at that time, the Company does not anticipate a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements based on the instruments currently held and its historical trend of bad debt expense relating to trade accounts receivable. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). This ASU requires that lessees recognize assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms greater than twelve months in the statement of financial position and also requires improved disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, which for the Company will be the first quarter of fiscal 2020. The Company has preliminarily evaluated the impact of our pending adoption of ASU 2016-02 on our consolidated financial statements on a modified retrospective basis, and currently expects that most of our operating lease commitments will be subject to the new standard and recognized as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon our adoption, which will increase the Company’s total assets and total liabilities that the Company reports relative to such amounts prior to adoption. Management has evaluated other recently issued accounting pronouncements and does not believe that any of these pronouncements will have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. Recently Adopted by the Company In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. This ASU provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting. An entity would not apply modification accounting if the fair value, vesting conditions, and classification of the awards are the same immediately before and after the modification. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 resulting in no significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-05, Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Non-financial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Non-financial Assets. This ASU clarifies the scope and application of Subtopic 610-20 on the sale or transfer of non-financial assets and in substance non-financial assets to non-customers, including partial sales. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 resulting in no significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. This ASU clarifies how entities should present restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows and requires the entities to show the changes in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted this ASU retrospectively in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 resulting in no significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements besides a change in presentation of restricted cash on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments: A Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force. The amendments provide guidance on eight specific cash flow classification issues: debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, corporate and bank-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees, beneficial interests in securitization transactions and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 resulting in no significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The core principle of this amendment is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. The FASB issued subsequent amendments to improve and clarify the implementation guidance of Topic 606. This standard was adopted by the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Please refer to Note 3. Revenue Recognition for additional disclosures. All other ASUs that became effective for Volt in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 were not applicable to the Company at this time and therefore did not have any impact during the period.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition All of the Company’s revenue and trade receivables are generated from contracts with customers. Revenue is recognized when control of the promised services is transferred to the Company's customers at an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services. The Company's revenue is recorded net of any sales or other similar taxes collected from its customers. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct service to the customer. The majority of the Company's contracts contain single performance obligations. For performance obligations that the Company satisfies over time, revenue is recognized by consistently applying a method of measuring progress toward satisfaction of that performance obligation. The Company will generally utilize an input measure of time (e.g., hours, weeks, months) of service provided, which depicts the progress toward completion of each performance obligation. Volt generally determines the standalone selling prices based on the prices included in the customer contracts. The price as specified in its customer contracts is typically considered the standalone selling price as it is an observable input that depicts the price as if sold to a similar customer. Certain customer contracts have variable consideration, including rebates, guarantees, credits, or other similar items that reduce the transaction price. The Company will generally estimate the variable consideration using the expected value method to predict the amount of consideration to which it will become entitled, based on the circumstances of each customer contract and historical evidence. Revenue is recognized net of variable consideration to the extent that it is probable that a significant future reversal will not occur. The Company's estimated amounts of variable consideration are not material and it does not believe that there will be significant changes to its estimates. In certain scenarios where a third-party vendor is involved in the Company's revenue transactions with their customers, the Company will evaluate whether it is the principal or the agent in the transaction. When Volt acts as the principal, it controls the performance obligation prior to transfer of the service to the customer and reports the related consideration as gross revenues and the costs as cost of services. When Volt acts as an agent, it does not control the performance obligation prior to transfer of the service to the customer and it reports the related amounts as revenue on a net basis. The Company generally demonstrates control over the service when it is responsible for the fulfillment of services under the contract, responsible for the workers performing the service and when it has latitude in establishing pricing. Volt generally acts as an agent in its transactions within its MSP programs where the Company provides comprehensive management of its customer’s contingent workforce and receive fees based on the volume of services managed within each program. The Company is the agent in these transactions since it does not have the responsibility for the fulfillment of the services by the vendors or contractors (referred to as associate vendors). In these transactions, the Company does not control the third-party providers’ staffing services provided to the customers prior to those services being transferred to the customer. Revenue Service Types Staffing Services Volt’s primary service is providing contingent (temporary) workers to its customers. These services are primarily provided through direct agreements with customers, and Volt provides these services using its employees and, in some cases, by subcontracting with other vendors of contingent workers. Volt’s costs in providing these services consist of the wages and benefits provided to the contingent workers as well as the recruiting costs, payroll department and other administrative costs. The Company recognizes revenue for its contingent staffing services over time as services are performed in an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to be entitled to in exchange for its services, which is generally calculated as hours worked multiplied by the agreed-upon hourly bill rate. The customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of the services as they are provided. The Company applies the practical expedient to recognize revenue for these services over the term of the agreement commensurate to the amount it has the right to invoice the customer. Direct Placement Services Direct placement services include providing qualified candidates to the Company's customers to hire on a permanent basis. These services are primarily recognized at a point in time when the qualified candidate is placed and begins permanent employment which is the point that control has transferred to the customer and the Company has the right to payment for the service. Each placement is a single performance obligation under the Company’s contracts and the related consideration is typically based upon a percentage of the candidates' base salary. Direct placement revenue is recognized net of a reserve for permanent placement candidates that do not remain with the customer through the contingency period, which is typically 60 days or less. This contingency is estimated based on historical data and recorded as a refund liability. Managed Service Programs ("MSP") The Company's MSP program provides a comprehensive solution for delivery of contingent labor for assignment to customers including supplier and worker sourcing, selecting, qualifying, on/off-boarding, time and expense recordation, reporting and approved invoicing and payment processing procedures. Since the individual activities are not distinct, the Company accounts for these activities as a single performance obligation. The Company’s fee for these MSP services is a fixed percentage of the staffing services spend that is managed through the program. The Company recognizes revenue over time for each month of MSP services provided as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the services it provides. The Company applies the practical expedient to recognize revenue for these services over the term of the agreement commensurate to the amount it has the right to invoice the customer. Call Center Services The customer care solutions business specializes in serving as an extension of its customers' relationships and processes, from help desk inquiries to advanced technical support. The Company earns a fee based upon the type, volume and level of services provided as part of the call center operations. Since the individual activities are not distinct, the Company accounts for them as a single performance obligation. The Company recognizes revenue over time as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the services it provides. The Company applies the practical expedient to recognize revenue for these services over the term of the agreement commensurate to the amount it has the right to invoice the customer.