Category: Scheduling

Supervisor and administrators can create shifts that have certain positions that need to be filled without scheduling specific volunteers, allowing any volunteer to sign up for these positions. For information on creating shifts, scheduling volunteers, and specifying which positions need to be filled, see our FAQ post here.

Volunteers can sign up for shifts they were not scheduled for by following these steps:

1. Once the shift has been scheduled, volunteers will be able to access it from the calendar view in their Scheduling tab by clicking on the shift
2. After clicking the shift, volunteers will then see details about it (eg. start and end time/date), which position(s) the shift requires, and which volunteers (if any) have been scheduled
   • Note: multiple positions and more than one volunteer per position can be requested
3. Click Sign Up next to the desired role
4. Volunteers will then have to wait for approval from a supervisor or administrator as indicated by the red textThe shift will also have a red colour in the calendar view while awaiting approval
   • Note: While waiting for approval, the shift will be indicated as taken (as noted by the decrease in positions available for Stand Up) and other volunteers will be unable to sign up for that position unless there are other slots available
   • Note: Each volunteer can only sign up for one position per shift and the Sign Up buttons for all positions will disappear once they have signed up
5. Once the shift has been approved by a supervisor or administrator, it will appear green in the calendar view and the volunteer will see that they have been scheduled upon clicking the shift as indicated by the green text below

Q: How do supervisors and administrators accept a volunteer sign up?

A. Once a volunteer has signed up for a shift, an administrator or supervisor can Accept or Decline their shift by completing the following steps:

1. Select the shift in question from the calendar view in the Scheduling tab
2. Click the Scheduled tab (1) and there will be options to Accept or Decline the volunteer’s shift (2)
3. Once the shift is accepted or declined, the Status will change to reflect this

 

Q: How do I schedule a recurring shift?

1. Create a new shift by clicking the green plus sign (1) (click here for steps on how to do so) or select a pre-existing shift (2)
2. If you are creating a new shift, fill out the shift information (e.g. start and end date). For both new and pre-existing shifts, ensure that the start and end date is the same or else the recurring shift will not function properly.
3. Click the Recurring tab (outlined in red)
   • Note: If you selected a pre-existing shift and it is not the original shift, there will be a prompt you can click to take you to the original which you can then edit
4. Once in the Recurring tab, you check the “this shift repeats” box (1, see image below).
5. Select the frequency with which you want the shift to repeat from the dropdown menu (2). You can have shifts repeat across days, weeks, or months.
6. In days and weeks, you can select what days of the week a shift repeats (3).
7. You can select an End Date for your duplicating shifts or have them continue to appear on your schedule indefinitely (4)
8. Check the box below the Ending date if you would like the position requirements to apply to all recurring shifts (e.g. if you need 5 volunteers for a particular position and that requirements applies to current and future recurring shifts)  
9. Select the  button
10. A pop-up will ask if you want changes to apply to this shift or all future shifts. Select “This and future shifts” to apply changes made to this shift to subsequent shifts
11. You will then be taken back to the calendar view where you will see your recurring shifts scheduled

Q: How do I edit recurring shifts?

A: To edit recurring shifts you complete the following steps:

1. Select the desired shift. If it is not the original you will be prompted to edit the original
   • Note: Click Edit Original if you want to make changes that affect all recurring shifts, otherwise edit the duplicate shift if you only want to make changes to that shift
2. Make the necessary changes to the shift (e.g. what days of the week it repeats, start and end times)
3. Click Save
4. A pop-up will ask if you want the changes to apply to this shift or this shift and future shifts
   • Select “This shift” if you want the changes to apply only to the shift you are editing
   • Select “This and future shifts” if you want the changes to apply to this shift and subsequent recurring shifts (again note that you have to be editing the original for changes to apply to all recurring shifts)
   • Note: This pop-up only appears with recurring shifts. Recurring shifts are indicated by a checkmark in the “This shift repeats” box in the upper left corner of the Recurring tab
5. Click OK

Q: How do I delete recurring shifts?

A: You can delete either all recurring shifts or just one shift

To delete all recurring shifts you:

1. Select the desired shift and click the Recurring tab to see if it prompts you to edit the original shift
2. Click Edit Original
3. Once you are looking at the original shift, click Delete (top right) and select “This and future shifts” in the pop-up
4. Click Ok

To delete one shift you:

1. Select the desired shift
2. Click Delete (top right)
3. Select “This Shift” in the pop-up that appears
4. Click OK
   • Note: if you delete the original shift the next shift will become the original

Q. What are the different colours that appear on the schedule?

A.  There are 4 colours that will show when you are scheduling volunteers on the calendar depending on the positions that have been filled for each shift.

• Events without positions = grey
• All positions have been filled = green
• Some positions have been partially filled = orange
• There are no positions that are filled = red

Q: How do I schedule a shift?

A: Visit the Scheduling section

1. Create a new shift by selecting thebutton (top right)
2. Enter a Shift name (e.g. Front Desk Volunteers (Morning))
3. Select the main Contact for this shift                                                                           NOTE: These contacts represent Administrators and Supervisors that were previously added.
4. Enter the Start Date (DD/MM/YYYY) and Time of the shift
5. Enter the End Date (DD/MM/YYYY) and Time of the shift
6. Select Department / Program that the shift is affiliated with
7. Select the Site for the shift                                                                                          NOTE: This information was added via the main Organization section
8. Select Positions to be filled for the shift (e.g. enter 5 beside the Front Desk Volunteer position to indicate that 5 volunteers are required for the shift) and click Done when complete.                                                                                                NOTE: By selecting “Done”, this does not save the information entered. The  button must be selected to save the entire shift.                                                   NOTE: You can select more than one Position for a shift.
   NOTE: When all positions have been filled (e.g. 5 Front Desk volunteers), volunteers can no longer sign up for the shift.
9. Select the Volunteers field to schedule specific volunteers and click Done when complete.                                                                                                                                   NOTE: You can filter and search for volunteers by Department and Site                                                                   NOTE: You are not required to invite specific volunteers to a shift. By selecting a position and leaving the Volunteers field blank, any volunteer (assigned to the selected Department, Site or Position) can sign up for a shift. For example, if you indicated that you need 5 Front Desk volunteers for a particular day, then simply add 5 positions and do not invite specific volunteers for the shift.
10. Enter a Description for the shift (e.g. specific duties required for the shift)
11. Select the  button

Q:How do I schedule a recurring shift?

See our FAQ post here on scheduling recurring shifts.

Q: Once a shift has been saved, how do I know when volunteers have accepted the shift?

A: After Saving a shift, two new tabs will appear when you select the saved shift: Available Positionsand Scheduled Volunteers 

Scheduled Volunteers 
By selecting this tab, you can view which volunteers have accepted or declined a shift. You can Accept or Decline a shift on a volunteer’s behalf and Resend reminders prior to a shift.

Available Positions
By selecting this tab, you can view how many volunteers are needed, how many volunteers have been scheduled, and how many volunteers are confirmed for the shift, organized by position.

 

Q: What happens when a volunteer declines a scheduled shift?

A. When a volunteer declines a shift they were scheduled for, their status will say “Volunteer Declined” in the Scheduled Volunteers  tab.

By clicking Resend, volunteers will once again be given the opportunity to Accept or Decline the shift.

Q: Can volunteers decline shifts once they have accepted them?

A. Without an administrator or supervisor, volunteers cannot decline a shift once they have signed up for an open shift or accepted a scheduled shift. A supervisor or administrator can allow them to Decline or Accept a shift again by going into the Scheduled Volunteers  tab and clicking Resend.

Q: Can I edit or modify an existing shift once it’s been saved?

A. Yes, simply select the shift and edit the desired fields. Select  when done.

Q: Can volunteers sign up for a shift if they haven’t been invited to a specific shift?

Yes, you are not required to invite specific volunteers to a shift. By selecting a position and leaving the Volunteers field blank, any volunteer (assigned to the selected Department, Site or Position) can sign up for a shift. For example, if you indicated that you need 5 Front Desk volunteers for a particular day, then simply add 5 positions and do not invite specific volunteers for the shift.

NOTE: When all positions have been filled (e.g. 5 Front Desk volunteers), volunteers can no longer sign up for the shift.

Q: How do I filter the events on my schedule?

A: To find a specific shift or event, use the search bar or drop down menus at the top of the scheduling page. Choose to filter by Department or Site.

Q: What’s the difference between scheduling in Charity Republic versus Excel?

A: Overall, the scheduling features in Charity Republic are much more powerful compared to Excel. For instance:

• Excel is a spreadsheet that is not intended for scheduling;
• A coordinator can’t send email invitations via Excel, but you can via Charity Republic;
• Volunteers can access the schedule any time in real time in Charity Republic whereas they can’t in Excel;
• Volunteers can sign up or decline shifts in real time via Charity Republic
• Coordinators can set up recurring shifts in Charity Republic which is not possible in Excel;
• Coordinators can link positions to the schedule, with all of the position requirements captured in Charity Republic (that’s not possible in Excel);
• Availability for each volunteer is automatically integrated into scheduling (that’s not possible in Excel);
• Coordinators and volunteers are able to view multiple schedules in one place (e.g. by site, by department, by day, by week) in real time (again, not possible in Excel).