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, you can click Start Date in the bottom right to set when this template will start scheduling for this technician.
After the start date is configured, click on Set Repeat Count, which can be used to define how many weeks this shift will be assigned to a technician. This can be set to a maximum of 1000 weeks.
The last step of the Shift Template creation process is to preview 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, you can click Start Date in the bottom right to set when this template will start scheduling for this technician.
After the start date is configured, click on Set Repeat Count, which can be used to define how many weeks this schedule will be assigned to a technician. This can be set to a maximum of 1000 weeks.
Lastly, preview the shifts and click Publish. The shifts will now be associated with the 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