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Adding Employee Preferences

Updated over a week ago

Overview

Employee preferences in Shiftlab define when employees are unavailable to work. These preferences are critical for building efficient, automated schedules that respect employee availability while optimizing staffing and business needs.

When to Use This

  • Setting up employee schedules for automated building

  • Accounting for recurring or one-time employee time off

  • Ensuring schedules comply with employee availability and company rules

Step-by-Step Instructions

Video Instruction

Inputting Employee Preferences

  1. Identify employees with unavailable times (e.g., recurring classes, personal commitments).

    • Example: Sofia has school every Wednesday and Thursday.

  2. Hover over the employee’s name under the day they are unavailable.

  3. Click the Pref (Preferences) button.

  4. Specify unavailable hours:

    • Uncheck All Day if only partial hours are unavailable.

    • Enter the start and end time for unavailability.

    • Example: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM every Wednesday and Thursday.

  5. Set repetition if the unavailability is recurring:

    • Example: Repeat weekly until school is over.

  6. Add a note describing the reason (e.g., “School”).

  7. Click Save.

Adding Full-Day Preferences

  1. For full-day unavailability, leave All Day checked.

  2. Example: Liam is unavailable every Sunday for personal reasons.

  3. Repeat for each affected day if recurring.

  4. Add a note and click Save.

Building an Automated Schedule

  1. After entering preferences for all employees, click Auto Build.

  2. Shiftlab will generate a schedule that:

    • Respects all employee preferences

    • Optimizes staffing efficiency

    • Aligns with business forecasts and company rules

Key Details & Definitions

  • Employee Preferences: Times when employees cannot work, including partial or full-day unavailability.

  • Recurring Preferences: Repeated unavailability on specific days each week.

  • Auto Build: Shiftlab feature that generates schedules automatically based on preferences, forecasts, and company rules.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Employee still scheduled during unavailable times: Verify preferences and check if repetition is correctly set.

Preference not saving: Ensure a note is added and the checkmark is clicked before saving.

Recurring preference ends too early: Confirm the end date for repeated unavailability covers the intended period.

Related Articles

  • How to Use Auto Build in Shiftlab

  • Editing Shifts After Auto Build

  • Managing Employee Schedules and Time Off

  • Understanding Shift Types and Color Codes

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