Recurring shifts make it easy to set up shifts that happen the same day and time, with the same requirements on multiple days. When creating and editing recurring shifts, there are a few things to be aware of. Below is a list of recommendations and troubleshooting tips.
Make sure all of the shifts have the same requirements
In order for recurring shifts to work well, you want to make sure each shift requires the same number of volunteers for each job. If shifts have different volunteer requirements, you will want to create separate shifts for them. For example:
- If each shift from 8-12 requires 2 Ushers and 6 Ticket Takers, you can create one recurring shift the occurs M-F.
- If the Monday shift requires 1 Usher and 5 Ticket Takers, the Tuesday shift requires 2 Ushers and 5 ticket takers, the Wednesday shift requires 1 Usher and 6 ticket takers, and so on, you will want to create a separate recurring shift for each day of the week.
Once created, check to make sure the shift appears correctly on the schedule
This will ensure the repeating pattern you selected was correct. If not, you can either:
- Delete the schedule, adjust your changes and make a new schedule (best option if it is possible)
- Make adjustments to the schedule (caution: see below for tips)
Use the Web Admin view when adding, removing, or editing recurring shifts 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 Recurring Shifts pane to affect the schedule. it also means if you make changes within an open schedule, those changes will not be applied to future schedules.
For this reason, we suggest using the Web Admin view (Creating and using Web Admins) when you have multiple schedules that are going to be affected.
Adding a shift:
- If a schedule is somehow created without a recurring shift, and you need to add it to the existing schedule, we recommend doing so from within the schedule itself using the "Add shift button." If you have multiple schedules where this change is needed, the Web Admin view will let you apply it across those other schedules, as well.
- If you accidentally delete a single instance of a recurring shift, to add it back to the program, click "New Shift" and make sure the repeating information is EXACTLY the same as the shift in the Recurring Shifts pane (so even if you only deleted a Monday shift, but the repeating pattern is M-F, make sure it matches M-F pattern). This will then give you a pop up asking if you want to attach the shift to the existing recurring shift, so it will pull from all of the correct volunteer preferences.
Removing a shift:
- If you need to remove a shift from a specific date onward, instead of deleting the recurring shift, edit the shift 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 recurring shift.
- If a recurring shift is deleted in a different way, the shifts may still show on the schedule as one-time-only shifts. In this case, you will need to individually remove them from each instance.
Editing a shift:
- When editing a recurring shift from the open schedule, you can adjust just one instance of the shift, or edit all shifts associate with the recurring shift. Editing a single shift is always the safest option.
- If editing all shifts, a few important pieces come into play:
- When editing the number of positions required, any updates will affect the number of positions left to fill. This is different than the total number of positions. For example, if you update a shift with no filled positions to require 3 Ushers, then apply that change to all instances, it will make sure there are 3 unfilled positions at all shifts. If a shift already had 2 positions filled, there will now be 5 total positions. For this reason, we suggest using caution when editing the number of positions on schedules that may already have assigned volunteers.
- In the event too many positions are added to a shift, we recommend manually deleting the extras so you can verify the correct number of total positions at each shift.
Use caution when making changes to the Recurring Shifts pane, or adjusting the shifts on an existing schedule
You can think of the Recurring Shifts 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 pane, it can be done without removing those from the existing schedules. In that case, those become one-time-only shifts, 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.