Positions: How to set them up correctly

Positions are the foundation of schedule building.  They are categories that summarize a task (or a set of subtasks).In Shift Agent, a position is a unique skill-set, a major role that makes up all of the tasks.  For example, if you have a position that is Drive-thru, the drive-thru position is the name that assumes the entire skill-set required to perform that position.  Positions are the major way that Shift Agent allows you to understand WHO can work a shift.  This is useful when you authorize two employees to trade shifts.  Employees that do not have the position, cannot trade or take a shift with that position.

You add and manage positions from a few different places in the app, but the main place is from the organization profile.

Create a limited number of positions:  The scheduling part of Shift Agent is built upon the foundation of positions, and shifts for each position are displayed on a timeline.  For example, you plan to schedule your cashiers for the whole day, and Shift Agent puts it on a timeline.

Time is left to right. By default, the calendar will load to a place where you can see the earliest shift of the day. If there are no shifts yet, it will start at 6am. You can scroll the calendar, and even see the latest hours of the previous day, as well as the earliest hours of the next day.

Position are listed Top-to-Bottom – Positions are listed top to bottom. Starting in the upper left corner of the calendar, you will see a ‘+’ button with the name of each position. Pressing this button for any position is how you begin to add shifts.

Because you have departments and positions, they act as broad and specific categories for your scheduling.

Things to do, things to know:

  • Make a list your job codes or roles or positions to help you get setup.
  • One of the main reasons we use positions is to help employees trade shifts appropriately.  Employees cannot trade for a shift if they do not have that shift’s position.
  • Work to have the least amount of positions as you can and still cover your bases. (less complicated)
  • If you have more than one department, the positions are only listed within the department they were created for.
  • Make sure that employees have all of the positions that you want them to have in their profile.  This ensures that you can schedule them appropriately.
  • You CREATE positions under your company profile in “Company Positions”.
  • You ASSIGN positions to employees under their profile under “Positions”.
  • The app allows to you “Add Shifts” under the Schedule window, these positions must be assigned to employees in order to add them to your company’s schedule.