When you add an open shift in RotaCloud, it will default to not needing approval - you can, however, change this status on each individual shift meaning it will require approval. Doing this means multiple employees can request to work the shift and you can choose to approve or deny the request before it is assigned to an employee.
This feature is currently being beta tested with a select number of customers and will be made available to all customers in the coming weeks.
Allowing employees to claim on shifts
In order for employees to request to claim open shifts, you'll first need to allow employees to claim them in your account settings. This can be done by any admin level user in your account by clicking the cog icon in the top right and scrolling down slightly to the Open Shifts section.
Here, you can tick 'Allow employees to claim open shifts'. Once ticked, you will also have the option to enable an additional open shift settings you like.
Creating an open shift that requires approval on desktop
Open shifts can be created by any user able to edit the rota. Begin by creating your open shift in the usual way - in the open shift row on your Rotas page, click the cell below the date you'd like to add it for.
You can then add your start and end time, optional break, role, choose to publish if you would like to share the shift with staff instantly, and finally select the option 'approval required to claim'.
Click 'Add' and your shift will be created - if published, staff will also be notified that there is a shift available to claim.
Approving or denying an open shift on desktop
When you publish your open shift, it will be made available to all employees able to work it and multiple employees can request to claim it. To see if an open shift has any claim requests on it, head to your Rotas page and find the shift. If it has any pending requests, the shift will have an orange bell icon.
To see and/or action the requests, click on the and select the 'Requests' section. If you deny the claim request, it will no longer show on the shift's 'Request' section. If you approve the request, it will automatically assign to the employee.
Creating an open shift that requires approval on the app
To create an open shift that requires approval on the app, start by clicking the blue plus icon in the bottom right of your screen. You will then have the option to click 'Add shift'.
On the next screen, the employee will default to an open shift - enter the location, date, start and end time and optional role and break. Finally, you have the option to publish the shift to immediately share it with your team and, below that, for the shift to require approval.
Tap 'Add shift' once you've entered all your shift information and it will available for your team to request to claim.
Approving or denying an open shift on the app
To check if any users have requested to claim your open shift and/or action the requests, start by going to your Rotas or Shifts tab and tap on the open shift.
Next, click the 'Review' button at the bottom of the page to action any requests.
Here, you'll see a list of any requests that have been made for the shift. Tap 'Approve' or 'Deny' beside the request you'd like to action.
What an employee can see and do
Employee submits claim request |
|
Approved shift request | Employee is notified** their request has been approved and the shift is automatically assigned to them. |
Denied shift request | Employee is notified** their request has been denied. |
Request is not actioned (approved for another user or expires) | Employee will not receive a notification but can see shift is not assigned to themselves. |
*Employee may also not be able to claim the open shift if it clashes with their leave and/or day off depending on account settings.
**Employees will receive this providing they have notifications enabled on their account.
To learn more about how each user can change their notification settings, click here.