Shift coverage
Someone called out. Post the shift and let the team pick it up
Instead of texting everyone who might be free, the employee posts the shift in the app. Coworkers volunteer, you see their hours for the week, and you approve one. The published schedule updates right away.
Coverage requests are on the free plan. New teams also get 14 days of Pro.
Updated
- 1MarcusEmployeeOpen
Requests coverage for Fri 4:00–11:00 PM. Note: family thing.
- 2Priya and TomCoworkers2 offers
Both volunteer from the coverage board in the app.
- 3YouManagerApproved
Priya is at 22h this week, Tom at 38h. You approve Priya.
- 4SchedulePublished weekUpdated
Friday close is Priya's. Marcus and Priya are notified.
Step by step
From posted shift to covered shift.
Step 1
They post the shift
From the shift in the app, with an optional note. It has to be their own published shift that hasn't started.
Step 2
Coworkers volunteer
The request shows on the coverage board for everyone else. Anyone can offer, and can take the offer back if plans change.
Step 3
You choose
You're notified at each step. Pick one volunteer, or deny the request and handle it another way.
Step 4
The week updates
Approval moves the shift to the volunteer on the published week. No second Publish. The two people involved are told; nobody else is.
Your call
Volunteering doesn't change the schedule. You do.
- Every offer in one place
- Open requests and their volunteers sit in Requests on the dashboard and in the approvals screen in the app.
- Hours in view
- You can see how many hours each volunteer already has that week before you pick, so a cover doesn't turn into overtime by accident.
- Nobody else pinged
- The rest of the team isn't notified about a shift that was never theirs once it's covered.
Worked example
Marcus can't work Friday close.
- 1.Wednesday 2:15 PM. Marcus opens Friday's shift in the app and requests coverage with a note: family thing.
- 2.You get a notification that Marcus needs Friday 4:00–11:00 PM covered.
- 3.Priya volunteers at 3:40 PM and Tom at 6:05 PM. You're notified each time.
- 4.Thursday morning you open Requests. Priya is at 22 hours this week and Tom at 38. You approve Priya.
- 5.The shift moves to Priya on the published week. Marcus and Priya are told, and Tom's offer closes.
Result: One posted shift, two volunteers, one decision, and the timesheet already expects Priya on Friday.
Names and times are illustrative; the rules are the product's.
FAQ
Questions worth answering up front.
Yes. They're on every plan, including Free for up to 10 people.
Every employee on the team except the person who posted it, on the coverage board in the app. Managers are notified when a request is posted and each time someone volunteers.
Yes. Volunteering doesn't move the shift. It changes hands when a manager approves one volunteer, and not before.
A coverage request gives a shift away to whoever volunteers. A swap is a trade between two named people, and each ends up with the other's shift. Swaps are on Starter and Pro.
An employee's own published shifts that haven't started yet. Draft shifts and shifts in the past can't be posted.
Related
- Shift swaps
Two employees trade shifts. You see both people's hours and approve once.
- Employee scheduling
Build the week on one board, check it, and publish it to your team's phones.
- Employee availability
Employees set the hours they can work and the dates they can't. The schedule warns you.
- Restaurants
Front of house and the kitchen on one week, and call-outs posted as open shifts.
- How to handle shift swaps
A simple swap policy and the checks to make before you approve a trade.
- Pricing
Free for small teams, then one flat monthly price per team, not per person.
Next call-out, post the shift instead.
Coverage requests are free for up to 10 people.
No credit card needed.