How do I add a new shift? (Desktop)

Shifts are the cornerstones of your schedule; the real key players. Learn how to set them up and you'll have the full power of Shiftie right at your fingertips. You know, so long as you understand all the other bits too.

1. Head over to the scheduling page by clicking on the 'Scheduling' calendar icon on the left of your screen. You'll default to the week view, but you can change view if you want to.

2. Find the date range you want to add shifts for, then find the employee you want to create a shift for, using the search bar if necessary. You can also choose to create a shift in the unassigned row, ready to assign to an employee later, or in the open shifts row if you want your team to volunteer for shifts.

3. Once you've found the right row, click the plus button on the relevant day. If the day already has a shift set up you'll need to click on it and select 'Add Shift' from the dropdown menu.

4. If you're creating a standard shift you'll be able to select the shift template from the list. (You'll only see templates that are suitable for the selected employee's job role, and if the employee isn't available for any of the templates because of pre-existing shifts or unavailability they'll be greyed out.) Once you've selected the template the shift will automatically be created.

5. If you want to create a shift that you don't have a template for then you'll need to click the 'Create Custom Shift' button instead.

    a. If you're adding an open shift you can choose whether employees will be able to claim shifts without supervision or if a manager will need to approve the allocation once someone's volunteered to work.

    b. Choose the job role for the shift, and then select the start and end times.

    c. If employees are entitled to a break during their shift you can set the length and choose whether it's paid or unpaid. This will feed through to the time entry for the shift. The default value can be changed in your settings.

    d. You can choose to add 'tags' to the shift as well; you can add or edit these if the one you want isn't showing.

    e. If you don't want employees to be able to see when a shift is scheduled to end tick the 'Hide Shift End Time' field. The end time will still show for you and other managers but it'll be hidden from employees.

    f. If you have any specific comments about this shift - for instance, if it will involve anything out of the ordinary - you can add these in the notes field.

    g. If you're planning on creating more shifts like this again in the future you can choose to save it as a template.

    h. Once you're done, click 'Create Shift' and choose whether you want to publish the shift and allow employees to see it or if you want to keep it in draft for now.*

*If you choose to create the shift without publishing then when you're ready you can click the 'Publish x Shifts' button in the top right of your schedule screen to publish all, or a selection of, your unpublished shifts at the same time.