Create and edit shifts

Learn how to create and edit shifts to improve your allocation process.

Overview

Creating and displaying shifts, directly within the Skedulo web app, allows schedulers to make better-informed choices while allocating jobs. Shifts are displayed in the scheduling swimlanes, providing the scheduler with a visual reference while allocating jobs, alerting them to conflicts with the unavailability of a resource.

The Shifts console enables the scheduler to comfortably prepare shifts ahead of time, using the inbuilt calendar and optional unavailability overlay. Once the preparation is completed, the shifts can be activated individually, or all in one go if preferred.

Create shifts

To access the Shifts console, click Shifts on the navigation menu.

There are two options for creating a shift using the Skedulo web app:

  • Use the Create Shift button (at the top-right of the shifts calendar) to open the Create Shift model.
  • Choose a resource and date then right-click in the blank space in the shifts calendar. An option to Create shift will become available. The resource will already be allocated using this method therefore only the shift details are required for the shift to be completed.

Using the first method above, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Shifts console, click the Create Shift button to display the Create Shift modal.
  2. On the Details tab, enter all required shift details. Note, the tags field will only be available if the Shift Tags feature has been enabled for your organization.
  3. On the Resources tab, select all resources that are to be allocated to the new shift (filters are available to identify specific groups or individuals).
  4. Check the allocations are correct and adjust if necessary.
  5. Click Create.

Once created, draft shift cards (in the calendar) are displayed with a dashed dark-gray border. This must then be Published before the resource(s) can see it.

Two shifts, an unallocated draft shift at the top, and an allocated and published shift at the bottom

Assign a resource to a shift

A scheduler has a few options when assigning shifts using Skedulo:

  1. Assign a resource when the shift is being created.
  2. Assign a resource by editing an existing shift.
  3. Drag an allocated shift card from one calendar swimlane to another, i.e., change the resource. Note, this method returns the shift card to its draft state. It requires publishing before the new resource will see it.

Shift tags

Shift tags provide the scheduler a way to filter their resources, matching those who have specific skills (or credentials) to a shift.

The shift tags themselves can be added when creating or updating a shift. Resources that match the applied tags are shown in the Resources tab of both the Create and Edit Shift models. A red exception icon appears when the assigned resource does not match the tagged requirements for the shift.

creatingandmanagingshifts-2.png

Shift conflicts

Shift conflicts can be seen when viewing shifts in the Week view. If there is a conflict between a shift and a resource’s availability or skills (tags), a small exception icon will display in the top-right corner of the shift card.

These icons highlight:

  • Any shift that is scheduled outside the availability of a resource (or overlaps with another shift).
  • Any resource that lacks the shift requirements (displayed when the “shift tags” feature is enabled).

Edit a shift

To edit a shift, perform one of the following:

  • Right-click on a shift card (draft or published).
    1. Select Edit from the drop-down options to open the Edit Shift modal.
    2. In the edit modal, edit the existing values, e.g., change the date or add a new resource.
    3. Click Save.
  • Click on a shift card (draft or published).
    1. From the summary of the shift’s details, click on the text link named Edit to open the Edit Shift modal.
    2. In the Edit Shift modal, edit the existing values, e.g., change the date or add a new resource.
    3. Click Save.
  • Click on a shift card (draft or published).
    1. At the top-right of the shift’s details is an additional menu. Click edit to open the Edit Shift modal.
    2. Edit the existing values, e.g., change the date or add a new resource.
    3. Click Save.

Publish shifts

Unique to the Skedulo web app, shifts go into a draft state when they are first created. This draft state enables the scheduler to make final adjustments before they are activated. In their draft state, shifts are not visible on the scheduling swimlanes nor in the Skedulo mobile app.

Schedulers have two options when publishing drafts, they can do so individually, or all at the same time.

To publish a single shift, either right-click (and select Publish from the menu options) or left-click on the draft shift card in the shifts calendar. A left-click displays the shift’s details (its title, start and end time and dates). At the top-right of this pop-up is an additional menu with three options: Publish, Edit, or Delete. Click publish to activate the shift. Once published the shift card in the calendar is displayed using a solid dark color.

A scheduler needs only to click on the highlighted Publish x Shifts button, located at the top-right of the shifts calendar, to publish all draft shifts at the same time. Once published, the shift cards in the calendar are displayed using a solid dark color.

Publishing all draft shifts together from the Skedulo shifts calendar.

Copy shifts

It is possible to copy shifts (published or draft) to other dates in the calendar. Open the Copy shifts modal using the Copy shifts button, which appears in the dropdown menu located at the top-right of the shifts calendar (the vertical ellipsis next to the Publish button).

The Copy Shifts modal has a few options to configure before clicking the Copy Shifts button:

  1. Select Region: Only shifts that belong to this region are copied (defaults to the region set in the filter bar of the shifts calendar).
    • Location (optional): Copy the shifts from a specific location instead of the whole region. Location as defined in Creating Shifts.
  2. Select Period: Using the drop-down menu select days or weeks—this isolates the period used to identify the shifts to be copied (which are highlighted in the calendar). The initial value is the same as the period shown in the shifts calendar.
  3. Select Calendar Date (“Copy from” and “Copy to.”) The left-hand calendar (copy from) indicates the days that shifts will be copied from (if any exist). The right-hand calendar (copy to) indicates where the shift(s) will be copied, i.e., Their destination—dates start one week after the selected date in the left-hand calendar. Note: Confirmation of the actual dates to be copied are listed beneath the calendars.
  4. Checkbox options:
    • Ignore resource allocations - all copied shifts will be unassigned (OFF by default). Check this option to ignore previous resource allocations. All copied shifts will then appear in the “Unallocated Shifts” swimlane.
    • Include unpublished shifts (ON by default). Check this option to copy both published and unpublished shifts for the period defined.

Duplicate shifts

Using Duplicate gives schedulers the ability to instantly create multiple copies of the same shift, reducing the time it takes to create a roster.

There are two ways to duplicate shifts: via the options menu within the shift information pop-up, or via the right-click menu on a shift card. Clicking on Duplicate (via either option) will open the Duplicate Shift modal, here the scheduler can set the quantity required.

If a resource has already been assigned, a checkbox appears “Ignore resource: duplicated shifts will become unallocated.” This checkbox controls whether the duplicated shifts include the same allocated resource—if not they are moved to the “Unallocated Shifts” swimlane.

When the scheduler clicks the Duplicate button, additional shifts are created with the same date/time and name. Once performed, the scheduler can move the duplicated shifts to other swimlanes or dates.

The duplicate shift modal.

View shifts

To view the shifts that have been created there are three options:

  1. Use the Skedulo web app Shifts console.
  2. Use the Skedulo web app scheduling console.
  3. Use Salesforce (via the “App Launcher” and “Shifts”).

View shifts in the Skedulo Shifts console

The shifts console provides schedulers with a view of both draft and published shifts per resource, per region. They can also overlay their resources’ availability by selecting the Show unavailability checkbox, at the top-right of the shifts calendar.

Viewing shifts and resource availability in the shifts console on the Skedulo web app.

View a summary of a shift’s details by clicking the shift card. The following are available in the pop-up:

  • The shift’s title (optional).
  • Start and end times.
  • Shift state (if in “Draft”).
  • The allocated resource details (when “Published”).
  • An Edit link (when clicked will open the shift in the Edit Shift modal).
  • An extra options menu (which provides options to “Edit,” Publish," and “Delete”).

The view selector allows the scheduler to choose from the available options to increase or decrease the visible time span, i.e., view a day, a week, or two weeks of shifts. The default view is “week.”

How to view two weeks of shifts using the view selector.

View shifts in the Schedule console

Refer to Display shifts in swimlane views.

Filter shifts

Schedulers can filter their resource list to find the most suitable resources. The following filter options are available specifically for shifts:

  • Region.
  • Location.
  • Resource Type.
  • Resource Category.
  • Resource Tags.

Applying a shift calendar filter to surface resources grouped by category.

Remove a resource from a shift

To remove an allocated resource from a shift card (effectively canceling the shift for that resource), perform one of the following:

  • Drag the shift card to the “Unallocated Shifts” swimlane in the shifts calendar. The shift card will be reset back to its draft state.
  • Click on the shift card, and from the More options menu, select Edit. Click on the Resources tab and deselect the checkbox next to the resource’s name. Finally, click Save. The shift card will be reset back to its draft state, and it will be placed in the Unallocated Shifts swimlane.

Once back in a draft state, the shift can be reused (reinstated or repurposed) as required.

Delete shifts

To delete a single shift, right-click on the shift card in the shifts calendar. A menu will be displayed with four options: Edit, Publish, Delete, and Duplicate. Click delete to remove the shift. Once deleted, the shift card is removed from the shifts calendar, console swimlanes, and from any affected resources’ mobile agenda.

Resource is no longer active in CRM

When a resource is made inactive in the CRM (i.e., “Is Active” is unchecked in the resource’s profile), all future shift allocations for that resource are removed and set to “Unallocated” (Draft). The scheduler can then clearly see which shifts require rescheduling.