How do I modify positions in a department?

You may want to change the positions in a department to enable employees to view department schedules, to manage the labor differently, or to easily manage sales and labor metrics. Employees will not be able to see a schedule for a department that is not associated with their position. The position(s) associated with each department are set up according to your business’ needs.

For example, if Joe is a “Craft Manager” (position) in “Crafts” (department), and all “Craft Managers” are assigned to the “Crafts” department, then Joe won’t be able to see what’s going on in the “Produce” department, unless you assign “Craft Managers” to “Crafts” and “Produce”.

If you don’t want to assign all of the employees associated with that position to a department, you can add them individually. So, if you only want Joe to work in “Produce”, you can reassign Joe without assigning all the other “Craft Managers” to “Produce”. Below are instructions for reassigning department positions.

Go to Departments

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To modify positions in a department, navigate to Set Up and click on the Departments tab.

Select a Department

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Click on the department that you would like to modify positions in.

Go to Positions and Begin Modifying

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Go to the Positions tab, then begin editing the positions that you would like to have in that department.
Remember to click Save!

Posted in Setup Tab / No Comments.

How do I turn off shift confirmations?

Shift confirmations allow employees to confirm that they will work a shift for which they are scheduled, notifying management that they “got the memo”. You will want to turn off shift confirmations if your business does not need employees to confirm their scheduled shifts. By turning off shift confirmations, employees will no longer have the option of confirming their scheduled shifts. To turn off shift confirmations, simply follow the directions below.

Go to Set Up

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Navigate to the Set Up tab and click on Settings.

Disable Shift Confirmations

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Scroll down toward the bottom of the page and find the question: “Do you want to enable staff members to confirm their scheduled shifts?”. To turn off shift confirmations, click on the drop-down menu and select “No”.

Posted in Schedules Tab / No Comments.

How do I set a staff member’s default location?

You will want to set a staff member’s default location if that employee works at multiple locations, but a specific location is that employee’s “home” location or that employee works at one location more than the other.  A default location specifies which location should be given preferential treatment when AutoScheduling, and which location is used when that staff member logs in (if they are a manager).

For example, Joe is an employee at the Big Blue Coffee Retailer. Sometimes, when he has extra time, he picks up shifts at the Little Red café, so he is an employee there too. If the Little Red café and the Big Blue Coffee Retailer both choose to AutoSchedule a shift, there’s no assurance that Joe will be chosen for the Big Blue Coffee Retailer over the Little Red café – he could end up having more hours away from his home location. By setting Joe’s default location to the Big Blue Coffee Retailer, you can make sure Joe is scheduled there first, and at the Little Red café second.

Below are instructions for setting a staff member’s default location.

Location Settings

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Go to the location where the employee is currently working. Select this location from the drop down menu at the top right corner of your screen.

Go to the Employees list

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Navigate to the Employees tab and click on Employees.

Select an Employee

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Choose an employee and click on the blue Edit button.

Locations

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On this employee’s Employee Information page, click on the Locations tab.

Select a Location

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To set this employee to a new default location, click on the drop down box and choose which location. Remember to save!

Posted in Employees Tab / No Comments.

How do I organize locations?

TimeForge enables you to set up multiple locations in the TimeForge system to represent the physical locations of your stores. If you run a corporation or a company with multiple businesses, each business having multiple locations, this can get complicated. Organizing the levels of hierarchy in your operation will help make things run smoothly. For example, your company is Joe’s Confections. Joe’s Confections owns Joe’s Bakery and Joe’s Candy. There are two Joe’s Candy stores. The hierarchy would be (top to bottom): Confections at the top, then Bakery and Candy Store in the middle, then Bakery, Candy store #1 and Candy store #2 at the bottom.

Corporation Settings

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Go to Corporation Settings.

Go to the Locations list

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Navigate to the Locations tab, then click on Company Hierarchy.

Add a new Level

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On the Company Hierarchy page click on the Add a new Level to the Company Hierarchy button.

Add Hierarchy

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To add a hierarchy, click on the New button at the bottom of the page and begin editing. You can add as many levels of hierarchy as apply to your business/corporation.

Posted in Corporate Level / No Comments.

How can I view my schedules and time card on Facebook?

TimeForge will allow you to view schedules, messages, time cards, and more using Facebook. Of course, you can always use a web browser, such as Mobile Safari or Opera Mini, to view the TimeForge website at www.TimeForge.com.

Get to the Setup Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.

Find the Facebook link

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Locate the Access TimeForge on Facebook link. Click on this link.

Login to Facebook

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Sign in to Facebook with your Facebook username and password.

Enter your TimeForge Username and Password

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Sign in with your TimeForge username and password (just like you would on the www.TimeForge.com website)

View the TimeForge Facebook information

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Facebook displays information about your account, including your schedules, time card, and messages. Managers / supervisors will see additional information, and can see whom is clocked in at the location, as well as sales information (if configured).

Visit our TimeForge Facebook page

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At the bottom of the TimeForge application, you can click on the TimeForge Employee Scheduling link to go to the TimeForge Facebook page.

The TimeForge Facebook Page

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Leave us a note about what you like, or want to see improved, and Become a Fan of TimeForge on Facebook.

Posted in Setup Tab / No Comments.

How Can I View My Schedules and Time Card on My Cell Phone?

TimeForge will allow you to view schedules, messages, time cards, and more using any phone capable of reading an RSS feed. Of course, you can always use a web browser, such as Mobile Safari or Opera Mini, to view the TimeForge website at www.TimeForge.com.

However, TimeForge schedules, messages, shift swaps, and much, much more can be viewed directly on your cell phone, iPhone, Blackberry, or other non-web browser reader by using RSS feeds.

TimeForge uses RSS feeds to deliver the information directly to your cell phone, and requires that your phone be able to read both encrypted RSS feeds (over an SSL connection), as well as secured RSS feeds (which require a username and password).

Please note: Not all RSS readers are capable of doing both SSL and security.

Get to the Setup Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.

Find the RSS URL (the RSS Feed)

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Locate the personal information RSS feed URL, which is located on the right hand side, and starts with:

https://www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html

Managers may have several RSS feeds, which include information on different locations / stores within the business.

Add the TimeForge data to your RSS reader – Step 1

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Each RSS program is slightly different in how it requires that you add a feed. In this example, we are using Sage, a popular RSS feed reader for the Firefox web browser.

Click on the Find icon. Other RSS readers may require that you enter the URL of the RSS feed. If that is the case, enter the RSS RSS URL directly into the software. This URL is most commonly:

https://www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html

Some RSS readers (such as Viigo for the Blackberry) do support encryption, but do not support username and passwords. In some cases, these RSS readers can be coerced to support username and passwords by using a URL with the format of:

https://username:password@www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html

For example, if your username is ‘abigail@timeforge.com‘ and your password is ‘testing123‘, the URL you would enter is:

https://abigail@timeforge.com:testing123@www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html

Please note: This step only needs to be done one time.

Add the TimeForge data to your RSS reader – Step 2

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Sage, like many mobile web browsers (such as Safari and Opera) will automatically find any relevant TimeForge RSS feeds. Click on the feed (“Timeforge’s Information“), and then choose Add Feed.

These feeds have a lot of information in them, and contain information such as:

- Upcoming schedules
- Shift Swaps and Open Shifts
- Time card information
- Approved, pending, and denied requests
- Messages from other staff members and management
- And other items …

View the TimeForge RSS Feed

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Sage, or any RSS reader, will show the items relevant to your TimeForge account.

View Upcoming Work Schedules

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Use the TimeForge RSS feed to get upcoming schedule information directly on your cell phone, at any time, without browsing the web.

View or Send Staff Member Messages using TimeForge

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Using the TimeForge RSS feed, you can easily view and send TimeForge messages.

Posted in Setup Tab / 1 Comment

How Do I Edit or Delete a Request?

Editing and deleting requests and changing availability is easy with TimeForge!

Prior to manager approval, Pending Requests can be edited or deleted.

After a request is approved by management, you cannot edit the request, but you may delete it.

Get to the Requests Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Requests tab.

Requests that are not yet Approved can be Edited

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Requests that are pending manager approval can be seen on your Request Calendar with a small cautionary icon next to them. These requests may also be edited, or deleted.

Once a request is approved or denied by management personnel, you will not be able to edit the request.

Delete or Edit Pending Requests

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If you have made a mistake in the request, you can delete the request from this screen, prior to manager approval.

Pending Requests

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After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.

Posted in Employees Tab / No Comments.

How Do I Create a Request or Change My Availability?

Creating requests and changing availability is easy with TimeForge!

Staff requests are immediately sent to management for manager approval, and you will receive notifications through TimeForge and email when your request is approved or denied.

Get to the Requests Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Requests tab.

View the Request Calendar

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The Request Calendar shows the current week, and any requests or availability that has been set for the current week. You can navigate around this page by clicking on the Previous Week or Next Week buttons. Alternatively, you can choose a date from the calendar, and jump directly to the work date.

To create a request or update your availability, click on the date links, or click and drag your mouse on the date and times you are interested in requesting off.

Fill out the Create New Preference Pop-Up

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After clicking on a date on the Calendar, the above pop-up will be displayed.

Choose the appropriate request (Wants to work, Available to work, Does not want to work, or Unavailable to work), enter a reason for management to review, and if necessary, choose a Request Type (such as Sick or Vacation).

The Happens selection can be modified so that the request can happen:

- One time: The request occurs only once on the start date
- Daily: The request occurs every day between a start date and end date
- Every weekday (Mon – Fri): The request happens on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every weekend (Sat – Sun): The request happens on Saturday’s and Sunday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every Mon, Wed, and Fri: The request occurs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every Tue and Thurs: The request occurs on Tuesday and Thursday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Weekly: You can pick which days of the week the request occurs on
- Monthly: The request can occur either monthly or based on the day of the month.

At the bottom of the pop-up window, you can see a written version of what the request will look like on the calendar.

Click Next to continue.

Enter your own Time Range for a Request or Availability Change

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Rather than click on an actual date (such as the previous example), TimeForge will allow you to make a request for specific parts of the day. You can enter your own time range (as depicted above), or you can choose from predefined Work Periods or Day Parts, if management has previously defined these time ranges.

Click Next to continue.

Requests may be denied if made too early

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Managers can require that all requests and availability changes be made several days in advance, to ensure that their labor schedule is not disrupted carelessly. In this example above, requests must be made at least 3 days in advance, and TimeForge will not allow you to continue.

If you have an emergency request, please speak directly with your manager, or send them a message using TimeForge.

Pending Requests

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After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.

Posted in Employees Tab / No Comments.

I think TimeForge rocks! How can I recommend it to a friend?

TimeForge is changing how labor management, employee scheduling, and time management is done in businesses around the world. If TimeForge has affected how you schedule your time, we’d love for you to tell your friends about it!

Get to the Setup Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.

Click Recommend TimeForge to a friend.

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On the “Setup” tab, click on Recommend TimeForge to a friend.

Enter the friend’s email address, and enter a custom email message

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Enter your friend’s email address in the “Send to:” field. You can also customize the Message Subject, and the actual message.

Click on Submit when you are done to send the message.

Posted in Setup Tab / No Comments.

How can I receive text messages or emails about my work schedule?

TimeForge can send nightly emails about upcoming shifts that you are scheduled to work. In addition, your management team may use your email address to contact you about important work messages.

In addition to nightly email messages, TimeForge can send a reminder text message to your cell phone before shifts start, and can notify you of successful / approved shift swaps by text message as well.

To enable this functionality, TimeForge needs to know your email address and cell phone number.

Get to the Setup Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.

Enter your email address and cell phone number in TimeForge

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On the “Setup” tab, enter your email address into the “My Email” field, you can also enter your cell phone number into the “My Cell Number” field.

Identify which Alerts you want to Receive

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TimeForge can generate a number of different email and text message alerts, based on the information that you would like to know about.

For example, you can receive daily schedule reminders as text or email messages. You can also be notified of bid shifts, or when other co-workers want to swap shifts with you. Other notifications include when shift swaps are approved or denied, or when a request is approved or denied by management.

If you would like to be notified about upcoming schedules, choose the check box which starts with “I would like to be emailed…” You will receive nightly emails about any posted schedules. The number in the drop-down box (above shown as “2“) is the number of days you would like to be notified, and can be set up to 30 days.

Note: You will only be able to receive information about schedules that your management team has posted.

If you would like to be notified about upcoming shifts, choose the check box which starts with “I would like to be sent a text message …”. TimeForge will send you a text message before the shift begins as a reminder of your upcoming work schedule.

Note: You may be charged by your cell phone carrier to receive the text message. TimeForge is not liable for any text messaging charges that you may receive from your carrier.

Click on Save My Settings when you are done.

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heartWhat some of our clients have to say ...

We are one year into it now, well past being enamored with the newness. We are married to TimeForge. It's as essential to us now as any of our management tools today, and we very happy about that.- Steve @ Hermosa Cyclery
We really like the program so far. I know that it is geared towards restaurants, but we are a real estate company and we love it because it is inexpensive and it is so easy to use.- Nicole @ Exit Premier Realty
The Timeforge scheduling system has not only increased our efficiency tremendously; decreased the errors in what is normally an error prone environment; it has also saved us ten times what it costs us each month.- Michael @ Tiara Cafe
I would highly recommend TimeForge to anyone making work schedules. ... What used to take 1-2 hours, now takes 15 minutes. The reports section is comprehensive and useful.- Lawrence Payne @ Mid Pacific Country Club
I've been really pleased with this latest version of TimeForge. I'm really getting familiar with this program and its become a great time saver! Keep up the good work!- Loren @ Fresh Produce
Before using TimeForge, creating a schedule took 2 hours. With TimeForge, it takes less than 10 minutes.- Gail @ Kerr Drug

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Phone: 1 866 684 7191
Fax: 1 866 684 7191
E-Mail: info@timeforge.com

 

About TimeForge

The best tools available for managing labor in the restaurant, retail, food-service, and hospitality industries. Includes time management, employee scheduling, and other labor management tools.

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