This is where your schedule comes to life.

You use shift templates to build, adjust, and publish your team’s working pattern.

If this is set up well, daily scheduling becomes quick and easy.

Before you start

Make sure you have completed the setup steps in this order:

• Skills created
• Employees added
• Staffing templates configured

Staffing templates are critical.

They define how many people are needed and are used by automatic scheduling.

If this step is skipped, your shift template will not reflect real demand.

Create a shift template

Follow these steps:

1. Go to Shift Templates
2. Click New
3. Enter:

• Template name
• Active period
• Staffing template

Shift template mode

When creating a shift template, you need to choose how it behaves. There are two options.

1. Repeating template

Repeating templates are used for fixed schedules.

They repeat over a defined cycle.

Example:

• Weekly schedule
• Two week rotation
• Fixed shift patterns

Use this when:

• Your schedule follows a consistent pattern
• You want to reuse the same structure
• Planning is predictable

This is the most common setup.

2. Continuous

Continuous templates are more flexible. Each date is planned individually. There is no repeating pattern.

Use this when:

• Demand changes frequently
• Schedules are built day by day
• You need full control

This gives more flexibility but requires more manual planning.

Choose how to create the template

After selecting the mode, choose how to build it:

• Empty to start from scratch
• Generate automatically to let the system build it
• Copy other shift template to reuse a previous template

Save to open the template.

If a staffing template is selected, the system can use it to automatically build a schedule based on demand.

How shift template mode works

Shift templates use a paint style interaction.

This means:

• You select a skill
• You drag across time blocks
• The shift is applied instantly

This is how you:

• Add shifts
• Update shifts
• Remove shifts

You will use this same behaviour across the platform.

Build your schedule

Add a shift

1. Select a skill from the dropdown
2. Click and drag across time blocks for an employee
3. The shift is applied instantly
4. Click to Save

Edit a shift

You can adjust shifts in a few ways:

• Drag the edges to change start or end time
• Right-click to change the skill or remove it
• Drag the shift to another employee to move it

Remove a shift

1. Right-click on the shift
2. Select ‘Clear shift’
3. This clears the time block.

Work across days and weeks

Use:

• Day tabs to switch between days
• Week selector to move through the cycle

This helps you build full schedule patterns.

Use actions to speed things up

In the top right, use the Actions menu to manage your schedule faster.

You can:

• Apply bulk changes
• Generate breaks
• Copy a full day
• Automatically fill gaps
• View employees by skill

Use these tools to avoid manual work.

Save & Publish your changes

Click Save regularly while building. Changes are not live until published

Once your schedule is ready, click Publish

This makes the schedule visible to employees.

Important to know

• Published templates cannot be unpublished
• You can still make changes after publishing
• Updates will apply to the live schedule

When to update the template

Update the shift template when changes are:

• Repeating
• Long term
• Structural

Examples:

• New operating hours
• Team changes
• Demand shifts

Do not fix these in the daily schedule.

Common mistakes

1. Choosing the wrong template mode. Leads to unnecessary rework later.
2. Not publishing the template. The schedule will not appear for employees.
3. Overbuilding manually. Use automation and bulk actions instead.
4. Fixing recurring issues in the schedule. This creates repeated work every week.

Best practice

• Use repeating templates where possible
• Use continuous templates only when needed
• Start simple and improve over time
• Use staffing templates to guide planning
• Use automation to save time

A strong template reduces daily effort.

What next

👉 Automate and Optimise Your Schedule

Learn how to save time and improve coverage using automation.