Assigning workers to jobs and shifts

Once you’ve set up a job, you can use SmartMatch to find resources for its shifts. You can also repeat an assignment over time for a given resource, and mass add, copy, mass edit, and delete assignments.

Once you’ve assigned resources to shifts, you’ll need to publish those shift assignments so resources can see when they’ll be working.

Assigning workers to jobs using SmartMatch

Once you’ve set up a job, laying out exactly what roles you need filled for each shift, you can start assigning specific employees to those roles.

Replicon’s SmartMatch tool will automatically rank and score all schedule workers in your system based on their availability and the role, skill, and cost requirements you specified, plus the importance ratings you set for that job. This helps you easily find the right worker for each role.

To assign workers to roles:

1. Go to Schedule > Job View and ensure you’ve selected the date range you want to assign workers to.

2. Select the icon for the job you want to assign workers to.

3. Find the role you want to assign in the left-hand column.
4. From that row, click a shift block for an open shift (a white block with a colored border), which represents one role within a shift.

5. If you’re looking for a specific employee to assign to this role, enter their name in the Search box.

6. Click a resource’s name from the list to select them for this shift.

The assigned, but still unpublished, blocks are a solid color, with diagonal stripes.

How SmartMatch works

SmartMatch is a tool that automatically finds the best matches for a role/shift based on your shift requirements, and presents them to you in order from best match to worst.

SmartMatch offers two modes of operation:

• SmartMatch

• SmartMatch & Cost

Modes can be selected on a per-assignment basis, within each SmartMatch dialog.

You can use both of these methods when trying to find a match, by toggling between them.

Repeating an assignment

To save time, you can repeat any shift assignment for a user across multiple days. To do this:

1. Click the  icon for a shift, and select Repeat Assignment.

2. In the dialog that displays, choose the date range for the repetition, and which days of the week the shift should be assigned on.

Mass adding assignments

You can apply shift assignments for one or more users at once, if you don’t want to use SmartMatch. Assignments created in this way are not associated with jobs.

To do this:

1. Go to Schedule > Employee View, click the Actions button, and select Add Assignments.

2. Under Select Users, select All Users to assign the shift to all users, or select specific users to assign the shift to.

3. Under Assignment Dates, choose the date range and days of the week the shift will be added to. You must choose at least one day of the week.
4. Under Configure Assignment, select the type of shift to assign. And, if needed, update the start and end time fields that displayed when you selected the shift.
5. Click Add.

Copying assignments

You can copy shifts from one date range to another, to save time. You can copy all shift assignments from that range, or only assignments for a particular shift or user.

Any new shift assignments created by copying will be unpublished by default.

To copy a schedule:

1. Go to Schedule > Employee View, click the Actions button, and select Copy & Paste Assignments.

2. Under Select Users, select All Users to copy assignments for all users, or select specific users to copy their shifts only.

3. Under Assignment Dates, in the Copy From fields, select the date range to copy.
4. In the Paste To field, select the starting date of the range to paste assignments to.

5. Under Copy Assignments With, in the Shift drop-down, select Any Shift to copy assignments for all shifts, or select a shift name to copy assignments just for that type of shift.
6. Click Apply.

The shift assignments will be copied to the target date range. Remember you have to publish these new shifts before they’ll be visible to the shift workers.

Mass updating shift assignments

You can use the shift update feature to switch shift assignments over a date range, for one or more users. You can also use it to mass publish or unpublish, or change the content of shift assignment notes.

To update shift assignments:

1. Go to Schedule > Employee View, click the Actions button, and select Update Assignments.

2. Under Select Users, select All Users to update a shift for all users, or select specific users to update their shifts only.

3. Under Assignment Dates, choose the date range and days of the week of the shifts you plan to update.
4. From the Shift field, choose the type of shift to update.
5. Under Update Assignments To, choose the new shift or note, or choose a new publish status.
6. Click Update.

Removing and deleting shift assignments

To remove a single shift assignment related to a job, click the Remove Assignment link located in the lower, right-hand corner of the SmartMatch dialog.

If the shift is published, it will automatically become unpublished, and will be in an open state, allowing you to assign a new employee.

You can also mass delete shift assignments that are not associated with a job.

To do this:

1. Go to Schedule > Employee View, click the Actions button, and select Delete Assignments.

2. Under Select Users, select All Users to delete a type of shift for all users, or select specific users to delete their shifts only.

3. Under Assignment Dates, choose the date range to remove the shift from.
4. Under Delete Assignments With, select the type of shift to remove.
5. Click Delete.

FAQs

What does Busy mean in the SmartMatch results?

If the employee you choose already has an assignment that overlaps with the shift you’re populating, you have two options:

• Find another employee - You’ll be returned to the assignment dialog to choose someone else
• Replace old shift with new - The worker will be assigned to the new shift, and removed from their other assignment. You can check what they’re already scheduled on using the Employee View

Why can’t I find a particular user in the Delete Assignments dialog?

This functionality only applies to assignments created in the Employee View or in the legacy shift scheduling UI; Users only assigned to job-based shifts will not appear in the list, but you can delete their shifts one by one using the SmartMatch dialog.

How are shift workers notified about their new or updated shift schedules?

Shift workers can be set up to receive email or text messages with their schedule, and can also view their schedule on their My Replicon > Schedule page. You can also configured their timesheet to display their schedule, if they access a timesheet.

Can we assign users to a different role than they’re assigned in Replicon?

Yes. The role of the selected user doesn’t have to match the required role for the shift.

Can we assign skills to a different role than they’re categorized under?

Yes. Some companies add skills under role categories, to keep their list organized, but these have no impact on shift assignments. You can assign any skill to any shift worker when setting up a job.