How do I approve or deny shift swaps for my staff?

TimeForge enables your employees to swap shifts (if you want them to be able to do this).

Shift swaps are simple: If Joe Smith doesn’t want to work the shift that he is currently scheduled for, he can “give up” his shift, and another employee can “pick up” that shift. Then, a manager can approve or deny the swap.

You can view shift swaps either through the Schedules tab or through your Today page. After viewing shift swaps, you can accept or deny shift swaps, and you can also leave a message to the employee regarding the approval or denial of the swap.  TimeForge also has alerts which will email managers (or staff members) which shift swaps are available, or need to be reviewed.

Schedules Tab View: Go to Shift Swaps

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Navigate to the Schedules tab, then click on Shift Swaps.

Schedules Tab View: View Open Shifts

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Click on the blue link: View Open Shifts, Given Up by Employees. A pop up will show you the shifts that are available for other staff members to pick up. These open shifts have already been given up by your staff.

Today Page View: View Open Shift Swaps

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This information can also be seen on your Today page, simply scroll down if you don’t see it right when you log in.

Accept or Deny Shift Swaps

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Once another employee “Picks Up” a shift, you will be able to accept or decline the shift swap, and TimeForge will notify the relevant employees automatically. Simply click on Approve or Deny, according to your preference.

Leave a Message

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After making your decision you can leave a message for the staff members to read, if you want to. Simply type your message into the Message field, then click Continue.

Posted in Schedules Tab / No Comments.

How can I be notified of open shifts from co-workers?

TimeForge makes it easy to swap shifts with your co-workers. You can Give Up or Pick Up shift swaps with only a few clicks by reviewing your Upcoming Schedule and Shift Swaps inside of TimeForge.

However, TimeForge goes one step further. TimeForge can send you daily shift swap digests (email notifications) of all upcoming shifts that are available for Pick Up. Just check your email and click on the shifts you would like to request!

Set Up Your Daily Email Alerts

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Login to TimeForge, and go to My Settings. Then, choose your Alerts tab. You will see the check box displayed above, make it is checked, and then Save your settings.

TimeForge won’t pester you with emails every time that another employee Gives Up their shift, but it will send you a daily digest, or summary, of all of the Shift Swaps that you are available to work.

For example, you will only be notified of shifts that are:

- In your department, and of a position that you can work

- At a location or store that you can work

- Do not overlap with a shift you are already working

- During times where you are currently available

Check your email on a daily basis for eligible shift swaps that TimeForge sends to you.

Of course, you can always go to the TimeForge website to search for upcoming shifts at your convenience!

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What is a Schedule?

Accurate and correct employee scheduling is a powerful labor cost control measure. With TimeForge, supervisors and managers can quickly and accurately build labor schedules while considering the needs of their business, as well as the desires of other staff members.

Each TimeForge schedule is a collection of many shifts, and each shift is assigned a corresponding start and end time, as well as position (or job), and employee. Other information can be included with each shift, including whether the shift is for an “extra” staff member, the section or station being worked, and other pertinent information.

TimeForge schedules can be of any usable business length – some businesses prefer one-week, two-week, or one-month schedules. Other businesses prefer a mix of schedules, and may have differing schedules based on departments or store requirements. Don’t worry … TimeForge automatically notifies managers and supervisors responsible for creating the schedule of any conflicts!

Upcoming Employee Schedules

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Upcoming (and historical) employee schedules are displayed on the Schedule List page. Each schedule can be copied, modified, deleted, analyzed, printed or used to print break reports.

Schedules on the Today Page

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The schedule is easily viewed on the Today Page – including all scheduled and confirmed shifts, pending shift swaps, open shift swaps, pending requests, and other information.

Posted in General TimeForge / No Comments.

How do I pick up a shift (to pick up extra hours or shifts)?

You can Pick Up shifts that have been assigned to other employees, or you can contact other employees who are working shifts that you would like to pick up. Both of these shift pick up steps can be done on the Shift Swaps page.

Please note: You are not responsible for any picked up shift until the shift is approved by your management team, and your manager or TimeForge notifies you of the successful shift swap. You will see approved shift swaps on your Upcoming Schedules page.

Get to the Shift Swap Page on the Schedules Tab

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First, navigate to the “Schedules” tab, and then the “Shift Swaps” sub-tab.

From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Schedules tab, or click on the Shift Swaps Available button.

Review Available Shifts, or Find A Shift

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TimeForge provides two ways to look for shifts to pick up, if you would like to work extra hours.

1. Find Shifts. You can search for shifts on a certain date, which start at a time that you specify. The shifts that TimeForge locates may not be given up yet by the staff member that they are assigned to. For example, you can search for a shift that starts on Thursday, March 19, 2009 and starts after 9:00pm.

2. Pick Up an Available Shift. Qualifying shifts that have already been given up by other staff members are listed beneath the Find Shifts section. These shifts display the date, length of the shift, position, and the employee that is currently assigned to work the shift. If the shift swap is approved, you will be replacing the Assigned Employee.

Pick Up a Found Shift

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After searching for shifts using the Shift Swaps page, any found shifts are displayed directly beneath the Find Shifts screen, and are easily identified by the Request to Pick Up this shift link. This shift is currently assigned to another staff member, and that coworker has not yet Given Up the shift.

TimeForge will send a message to the employee (in this case “C Bartender“) on your behalf after you click on Request to Pick up this shift

If the employee agrees to allow you to pick up the shift, a manager must approve the shift swap. Once the shift swap is approved, TimeForge assigns the shift to your account, and will notify you that the shift is now your responsibility.

Pick Up an Available Shift

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Alternatively, instead of searching for a shift to pick up, you can simply click on the Pick Up link next to an already available shift.

After clicking on the Pick Up link, TimeForge will request that a manager approve the shift swap. If the shift swap is approved, you will be notified, and TimeForge will assign the shift to your account (visible on the Upcoming Schedules page).

If the shift swap is denied, you will not be notified (this reduces the amount of email that you might get from TimeForge).

Posted in Schedules Tab / No Comments.

How can I give up a shift (to allow someone else to pick up the shift)?

You can Give Up shifts that have been assigned to you by your management team. For example, you may give up a shift on a Thursday night if you have a conflicting event (such as an exam, a birthday party, a concert, etc…), but were unable to request the time off. Alternatively, you may be able to find another staff member to pick up extra work hours.

Once you give up a shift, it is placed on the Shift Swap board, and other qualified staff members (coworkers) can review the shift swap board to try and pick up extra shifts that staff members do not want.

Please note: You are responsible for all scheduled work shifts unless otherwise notified by TimeForge or your management team. You are responsible for all shifts that have been given up, until notified that another employee has successfully picked up the shift.

Get to the Schedules Tab

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First, navigate to the “Schedules” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Schedules tab, or click on the My Schedule is Available button.

Review Upcoming Work Schedules

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Your upcoming work schedules are displayed in an easy to read format, and include today’s scheduled shifts as well as any upcoming shifts that your managers have posted. Each shift includes the start and end times, as well as the position (and section) you are supposed to work.

Click on Give Up This Shift for the shift that you want to give up.

Give Up the Scheduled Shift

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On the Give Up Shift screen, review that the shift information is correct, and you can also enter a brief message which will be shown to other staff members and managers before they Pick Up the shift or before management approves the shift.

When you are ready to proceed, click on Give Up.

Shift Swap is Pending

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Once the shift is given up, the shift will be shown as “Pending” and you can pick it back up on the Upcoming Schedules page.

Posted in Schedules Tab / No Comments.

What is on the Today Tab?

The Today tab displays important information about your TimeForge account such as pending, approved, and denied requests, and includes the ability to clock in / clock out (if enabled), and information about upcoming schedules or possible shift swaps.

Top portion of the TimeForge Today Tab

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1. Important Messages from the TimeForge team are displayed here. This will include information about planned downtimes, outages, relevant upgrades, and other information.

2. Warnings about your account may appear if there appear to be issues with your TimeForge account. Make sure that you have entered your email address, cell phone number, and a Secret Question to ensure that you receive the most from TimeForge.

3. The weather for today and tomorrow at your work location is displayed.

4. If you are allowed to clock in from the computer you are using to access TimeForge, an appropriate clock in message will be displayed here.

Bottom portion of the TimeForge Today Tab

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1. Information about your TimeForge account can be viewed with this set of control buttons. Upcoming schedules, available shift swaps, unread messages, and availability / requests can be viewed from these buttons.

2. Pending Employee Requests are schedule requests / changes to availability that have not yet been approved or denied by your management team. These are displayed for your reference.

3. Approved Employee Requests are schedule requests / changes to availability that have been approved by your management team. These are displayed for your reference.

4. Denied Employee Requests are schedule requests / changes to availability that have been rejected by your management team. These are displayed for your reference.

Posted in Today Tab / No Comments.

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

Quick Contact

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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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