Managing Auto Schedule

Creating schedules for employees is an important part of keeping store operations smooth, but it can often take a lot of time and effort. Managers need to consider employee availability, time off requests, labor laws, and making sure the right number of people are assigned to each role. Managing all these details manually can be complicated and may lead to errors.

Auto scheduling makes this process easier and faster. Instead of spending hours planning shifts, managers can quickly generate a complete schedule. The feature uses shift templates and assignment rules to create fair and balanced schedules while still giving managers the flexibility to review and adjust before publishing.

This article walks you through how to set up shift templates, configure assignment rules, generate schedules, handle unassigned shifts, and publish the final schedule.

Creating Shift Templates 

Shift templates are required before you can use auto scheduling. Templates define recurring shifts, including roles, timings, and staffing levels. 

1. From the menu bar, select Scheduling > Manage Schedule. 

2. Open the Templates panel and select New Template.
   

   The Shift Template screen appears. For more information on how to create a shift template, see Creating Shift Templates. 
   

3. Fill in the template details:
   • Position- Select the job role for the shift, such as Cashier, Sales Associate, or Inventory Coordinator.
   • Shift timing- Enter the start and end times of the shift.
   • Meal timing (optional)- Define lunch or break periods if applicable.
4. In the Auto-Scheduling Defaults section, specify how many employees are needed for each day of the week. 

5. Select  Save to save the new shift template. 

   Note: Create templates for all key roles and shift types (for example, peak hours, weekends, and closing shifts). This helps provide full coverage when running auto scheduling. 

Creating Auto Schedule

After setting up shift templates, generate a schedule using auto schedule to automatically assign shifts based on staffing needs, employee availability, and rule-based preferences.

To create an auto schedule: 

1. Select Create > Auto Schedule.
   
   The Auto Schedule screen appears.
   
2. Compete the following fields:
   • Shift templates- Select one or more templates for roles such as Cashier, Inventory Coordinator, or Sales Associate.
   • Date Range- Specify the scheduling period. You can select for up to 31 days.
   • Employees- Choose the employees for shift assignments.
   • Overrides- Select the checkboxes to bypass certain employee-related rules such as availability, shift limits, and spacing between shifts.
   • Schedule Default Position- Select the checkbox to allow only employees with the matching default position to be considered for shift assignment. 
     Example: If the shift is for cashier, only employees with cashier as their default position will be assigned. Those with cashier as a secondary position will be excluded.
   • Assign by- Choose the method to distribute shifts among employees. Options include:
     • Fair Hours- Distributes hours evenly across employees.
     • Low Hourly Cost- Prioritizes employees with lower hourly cost.
     • Employee Seniority- Gives preference to employees with a longer tenure.

To adjust assignment rules for a single scheduling run without changing the store defaults, select the edit   icon in the Auto Schedule screen. The Assignment Rules pop-up appears, where you add, remove, or reorder rules as needed. 

Note: You can select and set the order of rules. If you do not select any rules, auto scheduling assigns shifts randomly among all eligible employees. 

Setting Assignment Rules for a Store

To configure default assignment rules for the store:

1. Select settings icon from the menu bar.

2. In the Store Settings section, select Auto Scheduling.
   

   The Auto Scheduling screen appears.
   

   In this screen, you can: 

   • Add a Rule – Select rules such as Fair Hours, Low Hourly Cost, or Employee Seniority.
   • Remove a Rule – Remove rules you no longer want.
   • Drag to Reorder – Arrange rules in priority order. The system applies rules starting from the top of the list.
3. Select Generate to create the schedule.
4. When complete, the Auto Schedule Generated screen appears.
   
   Use the week selector to view auto-scheduled and unassigned shifts for each week in the selected date range.
   If some shifts remain unfilled due to employee unavailability or other constraints, they appear under the Unassigned shifts row. You can:
   • Select the Convert Unassigned Shifts into Open Shifts check box to create open shifts for those unassigned shifts and allow employees to claim the shifts.
   • Assign them manually to a specific employee.
   • Adjust templates or rules and rerun auto scheduling to fill the unassigned shifts.
5. From the Auto Schedule Generated screen, you can either: 

   • Select Publish Assigned Shifts check box and then select Done to immediately publish the schedule. 

     or

   • Leave the option unchecked and select Done to make manual adjustments. Once the draft schedule is finalized, select Publish to share it with employees.  
      

By following these steps, you can quickly generate a balanced schedule, handle unassigned shifts, and publish a finalized schedule for employees.