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How shift swapping works

This article explains how Workfeed's shift-swapping feature works.

Updated over a week ago

Sometimes your employees must get rid of a shift when other plans get in the way. We recommend using our shift-swapping feature to make it easy and flexible for your staff to sell and swap shifts. In Workfeed you have multiple options to do so.

The 3 different shift swapping methods in Workfeed.

  1. Sell your shift

  2. Transfer your shift to a colleague

  3. Swap a shift with a colleague


Before you start using shift swaps, you should know that...

Employees can only swap shifts if they are assigned to the same departments and roles in Workfeed. Moreover, employees are not able to double-book themselves, meaning they can't take a shift if they're already working the same day.


Let's look at how you can activate shift swaps and how it works in practice.

Activating shift swapping

Actually, it's activated by default. But you can manage the shift swap settings from your settings under the "Schedule tab".

- 'Allow shift swaps' lets your employees use the shift swapping features in Workfeed. We'll go over them one by one later in this guide.

- 'Auto approve shift swaps' allows you to indicate whether you want to approve a shift swap manually or automatically. As soon as there's anything to approve you'll be notified in the notification center.

How to 'sell a shift' in Workfeed

First start by clicking the shift you want to get rid of. In the detailed view of the shift you'll see a button saying "Give shift away".

Now you'll see a blue button on top of the screen and a list of your colleagues underneath. In case we wanted to swap the shift or transfer it to a colleague we would click on the colleague. But in this case, we just want to make the shift available for all our colleagues to bid on, so we click the blue button saying "Put up for sale".

Now your colleagues will be notified of the available shift and they can choose to to bid on it. You need to be aware that they can only place a bid if they're not already working on the same day as your shift. Furthermore, they need to have the same role as the shift. Depending on your company settings a manager might have to approve the swap before it's confirmed.

How to 'handover a shift' to a colleague

In case you already agreed with a colleague that they'll take your shift you're able to transfer it to them. To do this start by clicking the shift you want to transfer and click "Give shift away".

Now you'll see a list of all your colleagues. Just click the name of the colleague you want to transfer the shift to.

Now you simply click the "Handover shift" button. Then your colleague will be notified of the handover and he'll have to approve it from his side before the change is done. In some cases, this handover might also have to be approved by a manager.

How to 'swap a shift' with a colleague

In case you already agreed with a colleague that they'll take your shift and you take one of their's you're able to swap the ownership of the shifts inside Workfeed. To do this start by clicking the shift you want to transfer and click "Give shift away".

Now you'll see a list of all your colleagues. Just click the name of the colleague you want to swap shifts with.

Now you'll see a list of the colleague's shifts. Simply click the shift you want to swap with and confirm the swap. Remember this change must be approved by your colleague. Depending on your company settings a manager might also have to approve the swap.

FAQ.

Why are my employees not able to see their colleague's shifts in the available shifts list?
This is either because they don't have the same role as the shift or because they're already working on the same day. Roles are assigned by the admin. Is it neither of those things that's the issue, try and make sure they look at available shifts for the right period.


Will I get notified once a shift swap needs to be approved?
Yes, Workfeed will send you a notification every time there are shift swaps to approve.


Can employees transfer a part of their shift to a colleague?
At the moment we don't have a dedicated feature for this. In case they want to arrange something like this we advise them to run it by their manager.

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