How to Create & Manage Shifts

Before volunteers can sign up, you'll need to create shifts for each Job. Shifts represent the date and time components of a Job, and volunteers can sign up for one or more based on their availability and interest.

Does your Job not include a standard shift? Consider Self-Reporting

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Types of Shifts

There are three types of shifts you can create:

1. Standard Shift – Includes a specific date and time.

2. Placeholder / Waitlist Shift – No date or time; used to gather interest or waitlist volunteers.

3. Flexible Hours Shift – Has a date but no set start or end time, allowing volunteers to choose their availability.

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Shift Details

Each shift can be customized with the following details:

• Date

• Time

• Spots – Number of volunteers needed

• Visibility – Online (visible to volunteers) or Offline (hidden from volunteers)

• Password – Optional, if your plan includes this feature

• Shift Location – Optional

• Public and Profile Descriptions – Information visible on the sign-up page and in volunteer profiles

• Internal Notes – For admin use only

• Shift Reservations - Created after the Shift is created, if your plan includes this feature

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Creating Shifts

You have multiple options for creating shifts:

Individually

Create one shift at a time.

Recurring Shifts 

Create a shift that repeats with various timing options:

• Every week

• Every other week

• Every month (same day)

• First, second, third, fourth, or fifth day of the month

Copy Shift in Bulk

If your organization has a weekly schedule of shifts, you can create a “source” week as a template and copy it forward for multiple weeks.

Steps:

1. Create the shifts to copy (this is the source/template).

2. Click the Copy Shifts button.
   

3. Use the form to set the source dates and the target date range (e.g., multiple weeks into the future).
   Example:

   • Shifts in the source range: Jan 5–Jan 11

   • Target range: Jan 12–Dec 31

   • The shifts in the source (one week), range will be copied to the target range (the rest of the year).
     

     Note: When copying shifts, you need to specify whether your source/template is based on the day of the week (e.g., Tuesday shifts copy to all Tuesdays in the target range) or the day of the month (e.g., shifts on the 5th of the month copy to the 5th in each month of the target range).

     

Copy from One Job to another Job

Use the Copy all shifts to… option in the job with the shifts to copy.

• Click and drag the button to the job that will receive a copy of the same shifts.
  

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Managing Shifts

On/off Toggle

The on/off toggle updates the visibility of the shift on the Event/Program's signup page for volunteers. Use the shift filter to mass update shifts to online or offline.

Shift Filter

Use the Shift Filter to isolate the view of shifts by the following: 

• Date Range
• Online/Offline
• Day of the week

Additionally, you can also make the following mass update of visible shifts (when the filter is applied)

• Delete (all shifts)
• Update all shifts to online (visible to volunteers on signup page)
• Update all shifts to offline (visible to volunteers on signup page)

Your Preferences Filter

Enable a default date-range shift filter with the following steps

1. Navigate to Account > Your Preferences
2. Update the "Limit the scope of shifts that are displayed in various reports and administrative functions."
   

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Import Shifts

👉 Read how to Import Jobs & Shifts into an Event or Program