Overview of how to manage shifts using Grid and Timeline view

Timeline View

This presents you with a list of staff members and their shift times on a timeline. This can be accessed by clicking the ‘Swap to Timeline View’ in the Actions bar in grid view.

To change the times of a shift, click on the pencil icon in the middle of the two times. The times will now highlight in orange.

Click and drag the ends of the orange box to extend the shift in either direction. You can opt to inform the staff that you have changed the shift times by checking the checkbox in the top left. Once you are happy with the changed times, click the save icon.

As you change the shift times, the estimated cost in the top right will update to provide you with instant estimates for the shift. This is based on the pay elements set per skill or person on the schedule. It does not include any additional overheads or PAYE contributions.

This will update the shift list to reflect the changed times.

Grid View

From the Shifts > Manage Shifts page, click the “Grid” button on the right to see details of the shift, such as who is working, their skill for the shift, their tasks, and their start and end times.

You can use the transfer icon to the right of the staff member’s name () to transfer the shift to another staff member.

You can also change skills and tasks by clicking on the drop-down icons next to the text under skill.

You can also bulk update shifts by selecting the shifts shown by the square checkboxes after the start and end times. When selected, options to update the shifts are displayed at the bottom of the page. This includes cancelling shifts in bulk, too.

You can also click on the start or end times to select all shifts with the same start or end times. This makes it quick to update all shifts due to start at the same time.

The hidden icon () allows you to toggle the shift between hidden and visible mode. The lock icon enables/disables the locking option (). When locked, the shift cannot be transferred by the staff member.

The attendance flags appear after the lock icon, these can be configured within the Settings > Absence & Breaks > Non-Attendance Reasons. menu option. These attendance flags appear on the staff member’s profile. Attendance flagsare the only items that can be edited once the shift is complete to allow any incorrect flags to be updated and staff records recalculated.

The cog icon () grants access to edit the details of this shift, view the shift detail page, copy the shift (as an extra shift or unassigned) and cancel the shift completely.

The “Actions” button displays the various things that you can do on this page.

• Swap to Timeline View - This presents you with a timeline view of the staff and their shift times. You can adjust the shift times for each staff member on this page (for more details, see Manage Shifts - Timeline).
• Choose another day -This takes you back to the Shift Management page with the full list of shifts.
• Previous shift - Displays the information for the previously scheduled shift.
• Next shift - Displays the information for the next scheduled shift.
• Duplicate this shift -You can duplicate the shift (staff, times, tasks, etc.) to occur again on another date (for more details, see Duplicating Shifts).
• Email selected shifts - Email a message to the selected shifts. This message will re-email itself to whoever is assigned that shift, so if it changes hands for any reason, the staff member will receive a copy of the message.
• Email this shift - Email the shift to all staff that are scheduled to work.
• SMS this shift - Text the shift to all staff that are scheduled to work.
• Email staff not working - Email the shift to all staff members that are not scheduled to work. Please note, this may add up to a lot of people. This is especially useful if there are extra shifts present.
• SMS staff not working -Text the shift to all staff that are not working.
• Create extra shifts - Click here to create extra shifts. Depending on the times and skills, these shifts will then be displayed in the relevant staff member’s “Available Shifts” list (for more detail, see Creating Extra Shifts).
• Create shifts off - Click here to create shifts off. Depending on the times and skill, these shifts will then be displayed in the relevant staff member’s “Available Shifts Off” list (for more detail, see Creating Shifts Off).
• Shift memos -You can add a shift memo (and attachment) that can then be read by other staff members. This may include special requirements, reminders, or preparation documents.

Staffing Summary

You can enable this option using the View Summary link at the top of the shift grid under Shifts > Manage Shifts > Grid.

This will show a summary of the numbers of staff working at different times, different skills and different venues. It will show the number of shifts and if any of them are unassigned at the moment.

Clicking on any of the rows will display the shifts in detail below the summary box.

 

Event Summary 

On the main Grid View page you can view the event summary by going to the top right. 

This summary will include the event title, length, how many shifts are assigned and how many remain unfilled. 

Additionally, it will include which staff members are working, their shift times, skills and tasks.  

 

To view go first to edit Grid View under ‘Manage Shifts’.

Once onto the main Grid View page you can view the event summary by going to the top right. This summary will include the event title, length, how many shifts are assigned and how many remain unfilled. 

Additionally, it will include which staff members are working, their shift times, skills and tasks.  

 

Quick Add Shifts

At the bottom of the grid of shifts you will see a section to allow shifts to be quickly added into the day.

You can add extra shifts (staff can take the shifts immediately), offered shifts (staff offer to work and managers make the final decision) or unassigned shifts (you must assign the shifts).

Multiple Venues via Venue Group

Multiple venues can be grouped together to form an umbrella ‘Venue Group’. This can be managed under Dashboard > System > Venues > Venue Groups.

Under the actions menu, you can access the option to Create a Venue Group which will allow you to manage multiple venues at the same time.

Once enabled, you can manage this by clicking the Venue button in the right hand side of the page next to the search bar and going into ‘Venue Groups’. From here click the venue group you would like to manage.

The grid view will show each of the venue’s shifts in a single grid view. You can split the venues out (but keep them on the same page) by using the Split Venues option in the top right.

The grid tools all remain the same with either of these modes used.

Staff Members and Assigned Shifts

Clicking the staff member's name will redirect you to that person’s profile page. You can find their personal information, contact details, and training and skills here.

You are also able to give the shift to another member of staff. Click the letter icon to the right of their name under ‘Skill’. You will see a list of staff members that match the same skills and skill and their availability to work. Select the staff member that you would like to take the shift, then click “Assign Shift”. This will alert the recipient, update the shift list, and remove the shift from the original staff member’s list.

If the staff member is assigned to a Casual contract with no minimum hours then it will display the number of hours they currently have for this period in a grey box to the right of their name. This allows you to spread hours out equally.

If the staff member has minimum hours or is on a permanent contract then it will highlight if the staff member is under or over their required hours. Anything in green shows they need hours and orange indicates that they are over their hours for this period.

Assigning Shifts Manually in Bulk

If you have multiple unassigned shifts (for example, you have 2 offered shifts with the same details), you can click the cog icon to assign any of those shifts and the system will display the option for you to assign them all out at the same time.

The popup will inform you how many staff you can select and will allow you to check up to that number to assign. The shifts will then be assigned out to the staff once you click Assign Shifts.

Skills and Tasks

You can update or change their skill for the shift via the dropdown in the “Skill” column. This will update their personal shift display, too.

You can add, change, or remove tasks for their shift in the “Tasks” column.

Changing Shift Times

There are several ways that you can change shift times; using the Cog icon to edit a single shift directly or updating the shift times in bulk. Use the check box next to each shift to choose the shifts you want to update.

Updating shifts in Bulk

Tip: clicking on the ‘start’ or ‘finish’ times for the shift will select all of those shifts with the same start or finish time to make updating them quick and easy.

Once selected, scroll to the bottom of the list of shifts. You can use either the time warp option (this will move the start and finish times of the shifts earlier or later - so moving the whole shift.) or set the start and/or finish times exactly by choosing the times you wish the shifts to have.

If you are moving lots of shifts around to provide coverage of skills, we’d suggest trying the timeline view. You can access it under the Actions menu at the top of the page and this provides a colour-coded timeline view of the whole day (see Manage Shift Timeline).

Locking and Hiding

You can lock or hide individual shifts by clicking the padlock or no entry icon, respectively. Locking a shift means that the member of staff is unable to change or ask for cover and hiding a shift means that the staff member cannot see the shift. This is useful for making a lot of changes to the schedule before revealing it to all staff. Staff will not be penalised if they do not show up for a hidden shift.

You can also lock and hide a shift. This means the shift will remain locked once the shifts have been published/unhidden.

Attendance

You are able to highlight staff attendance using the flags in the second to last column. Each flag colour denotes a certain attendance state.

• Green = Attended
• Blue = Arrived Late
• Yellow = Acceptable absence (i.e. personal/called ahead)
• Red = Unacceptable absence (i.e. did not call ahead/bad excuse)
• Black = Escalated unacceptable absence

Flags can be updated at any time via the Shift Management page. For shifts in the past, use the Actions button on the Manage Shifts listing page to change to previous dates. Once you view the shifts on a specific date then you are able to change the flag.

If you wish to change the titles or icons of each attendance reason then you can do this under System > Staff Data & Processes  > Non Attendance Reasons.

Cancelling Shifts

You are able to cancel shifts using the “x” under the cog icon. This will remove the member of staff from the shift and update their shift list accordingly.

You can also select the shifts you want to cancel and at the bottom of the page, a box will appear that allows you to change the selected shifts or cancel them in bulk.

Shift Events

You are able to assign a title or event name either to a whole day or to a certain period of time. The title or name can be anything and is designed to tell staff what is happening during a shift. Any shift that starts after the event start time will be part of that event so ensure events start before the first person is scheduled to start work.

This is enabled per venue under the Shift Configuration settings tab in the Manage Venues section and will display a box at the top of the shift grid page to enable the title to be entered.

You can also set this information in bulk for the whole month at the same time. See Dashboard > Staff >  Manage Staff Events.

Event / Day Briefing Notes

You can add detailed briefing notes to events or to a whole day within a single venue. Enable this under the Shift Configuration tab of the Manage Venues page when editing.

Once enabled, you will find a Briefing button appear above the event title within the shift grid page. This allows you to enter the briefing details as needed. The details will be displayed on the shift details pages for any staff member working during that event or on that day (if not associated with an event).

Individual Shift Notes

Each individual shift can have shift notes assigned. These are displayed on the shift details page for the shift so that the staff member can see the details before, during and after the shift.

To view and update the notes, simply use the Edit option (Cog icon) for that individual shift on either the Grid view or the shift week view.

Shift Cost Codes

Cost Codes allow for very detailed tracking of whole days and even individual time entries for reporting purposes.

Cost codes are enabled under the Configuration tab of the Global Settings page. This will display a box at the top of the shift grid page to set a cost code for all shifts at this venue on that day. They can also be customised per shift or time entry.

Cost codes can be used with Pay Report Groups to create instant summaries of reports.

You can have up to four cost codes, set custom labels, plus configure preset lists of cost codes that staff can select. See Managing Cost Codes for more information.

You can also set this information in bulk for the whole month simultaneously. See Cost Code Management.