Basis of Presentation (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Aug. 02, 2020
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 ("GAAP"), consistent in all material respects with those applied in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 3, 2019. 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, is 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 November 3, 2019.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements New Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted by the Company In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) (“ASU 2020-04”). ASU 2020-04 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments in this update apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The Company intends to apply ASU 2020-04 in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and does not anticipate a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements upon adoption. 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 Accounting Standards Codification (“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 on the consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 (ASC Topic 326), as clarified in ASU 2019-04, ASU 2019-05, ASU 2019-11, and ASU 2018-19, amending how entities will measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The guidance requires the application of a current expected credit loss model, which is a new impairment model based on expected losses. Under this model, an entity recognizes an allowance for expected credit losses based on historical experience, current conditions and forecasted information rather than the current methodology of delaying recognition of credit losses until it is probable a loss has been incurred. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, which for the Company will be the first quarter of fiscal 2024. 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. 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 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. ASU 2018-07 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and the adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. 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. This ASU was effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 resulting in the Company recording right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows. For the impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements, refer to Note 3 - Leases.All other ASUs that became effective for Volt in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 were not applicable to the Company at this time and therefore, did not have any impact during the period.
Leases	Leases The Company adopted ASC 842, Leases on November 4, 2019 using the modified transition method without retrospective application to comparative periods. The Company elected the package of three practical expedients allowed for under the transition guidance. Accordingly, the Company did not reassess: (1) whether any expired or existing contracts are/or contain leases; (2) the lease classification for any expired or existing leases; or (3) initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company has also elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a term of 12 months or less. The Company’s material operating leases consist of branch locations, as well as corporate office space. Our leases have remaining terms of 1 - 11 years. The lease term is the minimum of the non-cancelable period of the lease or the lease term inclusive of reasonably certain renewal option periods. Volt determines if an arrangement meets the criteria of a lease at inception, at which time it also performs an analysis to determine whether the lease qualifies as operating or financing. The Company does not currently have any finance leases. Upon adoption, the Company recorded approximately $47.2 million of ROU assets and $52.0 million of lease liabilities related to operating leases in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. At transition, the ROU asset was measured at the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for any deferred rent and cease-use liabilities. The Company also recognized a $22.2 million cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings related to the deferred gain on the sale and leaseback of real estate. This gain was previously being amortized at approximately $0.5 million per quarter as an offset to rent expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Since the Company has a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, the impact is a reduction to our deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance, which resulted in no tax impact to the net change to equity. Operating lease liabilities represent the present value of lease payments not yet paid. ROU assets represent Volt's right to use an underlying asset and are based upon the operating lease liabilities adjusted for prepaid or accrued lease payments, initial direct costs, lease incentives, and impairment of operating lease assets. As the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable, the Company used its incremental borrowing rates based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. To determine the present value of lease payments not yet paid, the Company estimates incremental secured borrowing rates corresponding to the maturities of the leases. The Company has elected the practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the lease components to which they relate, and instead account for each as a single lease component, for all underlying asset classes. Some leasing arrangements require variable payments that are dependent on usage or may vary for other reasons, such as payments for insurance, tax payments and other miscellaneous costs. The variable portion of lease payments is not included in the ROU assets or lease liabilities. Rather, variable payments, other than those dependent upon an index or rate, are expensed when the obligation for those payments is incurred and are included in lease expenses. Accordingly, all expenses associated with a lease contract are accounted for as lease expenses. Operating leases are included in Right of use assets - operating leases and Operating lease liabilities, current and long-term, in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, and is included in Selling, administrative and other operating costs in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.
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. 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 costs and other administrative costs. Direct Placement Services Direct placement services include providing qualified candidates to the Company's customers to hire on a permanent basis. 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 programs provide comprehensive solutions 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. The Company’s fee for these MSP services is a fixed percentage of the staffing services spend that is managed through the program.

Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Aug. 02, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

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 ("GAAP"), consistent in all material respects with those applied in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 3, 2019. 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, is 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 November 3, 2019.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

New Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted by the Company

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) (“ASU 2020-04”). ASU 2020-04 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments in this update apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The Company intends to apply ASU 2020-04 in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and does not anticipate a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

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 Accounting Standards Codification (“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 on the consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 (ASC Topic 326), as clarified in ASU 2019-04, ASU 2019-05, ASU 2019-11, and ASU 2018-19, amending how entities will measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The guidance requires the application of a current expected credit loss model, which is a new impairment model based on expected losses. Under this model, an entity recognizes an allowance for expected credit losses based on historical experience, current conditions and forecasted information rather than the current methodology of delaying recognition of credit losses until it is probable a loss has been incurred. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, which for the Company will be the first quarter of fiscal 2024. 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.

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 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. ASU 2018-07 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and the adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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. This ASU was effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 resulting in the Company recording right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows. For the impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements, refer to Note 3 - Leases.All other ASUs that became effective for Volt in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 were not applicable to the Company at this time and therefore, did not have any impact during the period.

Leases

The Company adopted ASC 842, Leases on November 4, 2019 using the modified transition method without retrospective application to comparative periods. The Company elected the package of three practical expedients allowed for under the transition guidance. Accordingly, the Company did not reassess: (1) whether any expired or existing contracts are/or contain leases; (2) the lease classification for any expired or existing leases; or (3) initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company has also elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a term of 12 months or less.

The Company’s material operating leases consist of branch locations, as well as corporate office space. Our leases have remaining terms of 1 - 11 years. The lease term is the minimum of the non-cancelable period of the lease or the lease term inclusive of reasonably certain renewal option periods. Volt determines if an arrangement meets the criteria of a lease at inception, at which time it also performs an analysis to determine whether the lease qualifies as operating or financing. The Company does not currently have any finance leases.

Upon adoption, the Company recorded approximately $47.2 million of ROU assets and $52.0 million of lease liabilities related to operating leases in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. At transition, the ROU asset was measured at the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for any deferred rent and cease-use liabilities. The Company also recognized a $22.2 million cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings related to the deferred gain on the sale and leaseback of real estate. This gain was previously being amortized at approximately $0.5 million per quarter as an offset to rent expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Since the Company has a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, the impact is a reduction to our deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance, which resulted in no tax impact to the net change to equity.

Operating lease liabilities represent the present value of lease payments not yet paid. ROU assets represent Volt's right to use an underlying asset and are based upon the operating lease liabilities adjusted for prepaid or accrued lease payments, initial direct costs, lease incentives, and impairment of operating lease assets. As the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable, the Company used its incremental borrowing rates based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. To determine the present value of lease payments not yet paid, the Company estimates incremental secured borrowing rates corresponding to the maturities of the leases.

The Company has elected the practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the lease components to which they relate, and instead account for each as a single lease component, for all underlying asset classes. Some leasing arrangements require variable payments that are dependent on usage or may vary for other reasons, such as payments for insurance, tax payments and other miscellaneous costs. The variable portion of lease payments is not included in the ROU assets or lease liabilities. Rather, variable payments, other than those dependent upon an index or rate, are expensed when the obligation for those payments is incurred and are included in lease expenses. Accordingly, all expenses associated with a lease contract are accounted for as lease expenses.

Operating leases are included in Right of use assets - operating leases and Operating lease liabilities, current and long-term, in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, and is included in Selling, administrative and other operating costs in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

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.

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 costs and other administrative costs.

Direct Placement Services

Direct placement services include providing qualified candidates to the Company's customers to hire on a permanent basis. 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 programs provide comprehensive solutions 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. The Company’s fee for these MSP services is a fixed percentage of the staffing services spend that is managed through the program.