Creating/Assigning a Shift

Overview

In this article, we’ll be covering how to create a shift and assign it to a technician.

What is a Shift?

A shift is a scheduled period determining the technicians operational capacity. In this case, it’s the hours that a technician can have Work Orders assigned to them.

This can vary depending on the type of schedule or availability of the technician. You’ll be able to create Shift Templates (e.g., a 9 AM - 5 PM schedule) that can be assigned to technicians.

Creating a Shift

There are two ways to create a Shift Template: through the Workforce Settings or through a Technician’s profile. We’ll start with creating one through the Workforce Settings.

Creating a Shift Template: Workforce Settings

Start by clicking on the Settings tab within the Workforce module. From here, click on the Shift Templates tab at the top. Then, click on the + Add Shift Template button in the top right corner. This will take you to the Shift Creation template.

From here, you’ll be able to name the Shift Template (e.g., 24/7, Weekend Tech, Weekday Tech, etc.) and pick the days of the week in which the technician will be available.

Once you select the day(s), fields will appear below, allowing you to assign the Start Time and End Time for availability on that day. These do not have to be the same for every day of the week.

There is also the ability to + Add Additional Hours, which allows you to create a split shift. Reference the image below.

Once you have all of the information populated, simply click the Create button in the top right corner, and you’re good to go! This Shift Template can now be assigned to technicians.

Creating a Shift Template: Technician Profile

The method of creating a Shift Template is most commonly used when assigning a Shift Template to a technician and no existing template fits their schedule. This allows you to create one directly within the technician’s profile and immediately assign it.

Start by clicking on the Technicians tab within the Workforce module. From here, click on the technician’s profile (not the Ellipsis menu on the right). Once you’re within their profile, click on the Shifts tab, then the Ellipsis menu on the right, and click Create Shift.

For the availability, follow the steps in the "Creating a Shift Template: Workforce Settings" section of this article.

Once you have the availability configured, click Next to set the duration of the shift. Use the Start date field to set when this template will start scheduling for this technician, then decide how long it should run:

1. Leave No end date checked to have the shift repeat indefinitely. The shift keeps scheduling until you clear or replace it, so there is nothing to re-extend.
2. Uncheck No end date to give the shift a fixed duration. The Ends after field appears, where you can define how many weeks this shift will be assigned to the technician. This can be set to a maximum of 1000 weeks.

No end date is checked by default. A shift can have either no end date or a repeat count, never both.

The last step of the Shift Template creation process is to click Preview and review your settings. It will show you a calendar view of what you’ve configured as well. Completing this process will also create this as a Shift Template.

Assigning a Shift

Now that we’ve created a Shift Template, we can go ahead and assign this to a technician. Reopen the technicians profile then click Shifts > Ellipsis Menu > Assign Shifts.

Next, you’ll be able to select a Shift Template to assign to the technician. This will auto-populate the availability configured for it.

Once the template has been selected, click Next to set the duration of the shift. Use the Start date field to set when this template will start scheduling for this technician, then decide how long it should run:

1. Leave No end date checked to have the shift repeat indefinitely. This is the best option for a technician who works the same recurring shift long-term, as the shift never lapses and never needs to be re-extended.
2. Uncheck No end date to give the shift a fixed duration. The Ends after field appears, where you can define how many weeks this schedule will be assigned to the technician. This can be set to a maximum of 1000 weeks.

No end date is checked by default. A shift can have either no end date or a repeat count, never both.

Lastly, click Preview to review the shifts, then click Publish. The shifts will now be associated with the technician.

Shifts that were already assigned before this option became available are not converted automatically. If you would like an existing technician’s shift to continue indefinitely, reach out to us at support@gaiia.com and we can update them in bulk. Please include the First Name, Last Name and Reference ID of each technician.

Deleting a Shift

Within the same Ellipsis menu where you found Create Shift and Assign Shifts, there is also the Clear Shifts function. This will remove all shifts, past, present and future assigned to the technician.

If you would like to remove a single shift, please reach out to us at support@gaiia.com