To create an employee shift schedule, define the shifts and required staffing first, then collect employee availability and constraints, apply recurring work patterns and hour limits, assign eligible employees, review shortages and conflicts, and only then publish or export the schedule.
1. Define the work that must be covered
Create the relevant shifts or shift templates and decide how many people each period actually needs. If different locations have separate minimums, capture those separately.
2. Configure the employee inputs
Record leave, weekly hour settings, recurring work patterns, employee shift preferences, location suitability, and any organization rules that affect eligibility.
3. Make assignments
Assign employees manually or use an automatic scheduling tool that evaluates the configured demand and employee constraints.
4. Review coverage and diagnostic reasons
Look for partial coverage, unfilled locations, hour-limit problems, leave conflicts, pattern conflicts, or other reasons demand remains uncovered.
5. Publish, export, and review actual hours
Once managers are satisfied with the rota, share or export it. After work happens, review actual hours rather than assuming the schedule is identical to the final timesheet.
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