Best Practices for Using Preassignments

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Preassignments are repeating assignments that schedule a volunteer in a fixed repeating pattern in a specific job. When using Preassignments, there are a few things to be aware of. Below is a list of recommendations and troubleshooting tips. 

Create preassignments directly on the schedule

By creating the preassignment on the schedule, you are less likely to run into errors on day/date and shift preference, since you will be able to see exactly where the volunteer will be placed. 

First, place the volunteer on the list, then click the "repeats" bubble that appears. If you do not see this bubble: 

  • In the downloaded administrator program, go to the View menu and click “Show repeats bubble.” 
  • Edit the shift and check the "repeats" setting. Preassignments cannot be added to one time only shifts. 

Once placed, check to make sure the volunteer has been placed in other spots on this schedule

This will ensure the repeating pattern you selected was correct. The dates the volunteer was placed will suddenly appear in color (green or blue) on the left hand calendar view. If a volunteer does not appear on the correct pattern:

  • First, check the volunteer profile to make sure they do not have a can't serve date that would prevent them from serving. 
  • Then check to make sure that the pattern you chose for the preassignment was correct by editing the preassignment. 
  • If that is not the reason, edit the shift where they are not assigned and check to make sure the "repeats" setting is correct. 

Make sure all can't serve times are entered before you create the schedule AND use the Conflict report

Because preassignments are created at the same time the schedule is created, it is important that you wait until after volunteers are done submitting can't serve times to create the schedule. If a schedule is already created and a volunteer submits a can't serve time, they will not be automatically removed.

  • Use the Conflict Report to find and remove instances of a volunteer being assigned to a can't serve time before making the schedule live. 

Use the Web Admin view when removing a volunteer from a preassignment across multiple schedules

In the downloaded administrator program, changes can only be made to one schedule at a time, and that schedule must be open for changes to the Preassignments pane to affect the schedule. For this reason, we suggest using the Web Admin view when you have multiple schedules that are going to be affected by removing a volunteer. 

  • If you need to remove a volunteer from a specific date onward, instead of deleting the preassignment, edit the preassignment to set an end date. When asked what schedules to apply it to, select all that contain the end date and later. Once the schedule with the end date is complete, you can delete the preassignment. 
  • If a preassignment is deleted in a different way, the volunteer may still show on their repeating assignment. In this case, you will need to individually remove them from each instance. 
  • When deleting a preassignment, an unfilled position will be left on the schedule, even if that shift does not need that many positions. In this situation, use caution when removing those extra positions, as existing schedules may have a different number of unfilled position in that job on different dates. To be sure you are not also removing necessary positions, we suggest manually removing those from each date instead of editing all instances. 

Use caution when making changes to the Recurring Shifts and Preassignments panes, or adjusting the shifts on an existing schedule

You can think of the Recurring Shifts and Preassignments pane as the "building blocks" used to create the schedule. Once the schedule is created, those still serve as the parts of the program that tie those pieces in the schedule together. However, it is possible for those building blocks and the schedule itself to become separated, which can cause frustration. Keep in mind that: 

  • If you delete something from the Recurring Shifts or Preassignments pane, it can be done without removing those from the existing schedules. In that case, those become one-time-only or individual assignments, meaning you can no longer edit them in a batch and need to do so individually. To prevent this, we recommend not deleting anything from these panes until the schedule that contains them is complete. Instead, make the recurring shift inactive or set and and date for the preassignment. 
  • Similarly, you can create or edit a shift on the schedule, causing it not to be tied to its associated Recurring Shift. Use caution when making changes directly to shifts on the schedule. 
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