In this article you'll learn how to create open shifts and scheduled shifts in your shift plan. Open shifts allow you to post available positions without assigning them to specific employees, while scheduled shifts let you assign shifts directly to employees with intelligent recommendations based on their availability and qualifications. This article is relevant for anyone managing employee schedules and shift planning in Shiftplan.
Create an open shift
Click on (+) ADD SHIFT
Hover your mouse over any day and click on the (+) icon
In the open plan dialog box, follow the next steps:
Enter all the information in the card: start time, end time, break duration (if any)
Choose the location, working area, role and, optionally, the tags
On Employee, keep it as "Open shift"
Add the number of slots that are needed for this specific shift, meaning that you might need more than one person to work the role and time you have scheduled
After you are done entering all the details, click on SAVE
The shift will then appear under "Open shifts" above the employee specific shift plan.
Note: It is not possible to publish open shifts. Your shift will stay unpublished, but can be edited to be converted into a scheduled shift as soon as you have found someone to take over the shift.
Scheduled shift
If you already want to assign shifts to employees, create a scheduled shift. To add a scheduled shift, you have two options:
Click on (+) ADD SHIFT
Click on the (+) button next to the employee on the corresponding day. Note: you can add multiple shifts for one employee on the same day.
In the shift plan dialogue, fill in the information corresponding to:
The needed components: start time, end time, location and role
The general components: tags and working areas
To make this even easier for you, Shiftplan will give you employee recommendations based on the days, location and role you chose in the add shift dialogue box.
The employee's working schedule is synced with Shiftplan, so the recommended employees that match the time, day and location will appear under "Matching role/ location". The Role that matches is highlighted with the colour of the role. The employee recommendation dropdown also indicates the days on which an employee works through green dots (Week starting Monday format)
The employees that match the location, but not the time, will appear under "Everyone else".
You can also use the search bar to find a specific employee and add multiple employees, if desired.
This feature helps save a lot of time when planning a shift. You no longer have to memorize every single employee's preferred days and special skills, you simply need to keep the employee profiles and work schedules updated and Shiftplan will support you with recommendations right when you need it the most - while planning shifts!
Add a personalized note
You can add a personalized note with both a scheduled and an open shift. This can be helpful when announcing special needs, such as notifying an employee about a special event taking place during their working time, which they need to take into account.
This feature helps reduce communication gaps between manager and employee. It also simplifies the way of receiving information as an employee, as the note appears right as the employee opens the shift in Shiftplan feature on their mobile app. They know right away what needs to be done without having to contact their manager over a secondary communication device or other applications.