Purpose Statement
The Schedule Call Shift feature allows administrators and supervisors to prepare and schedule call shift notifications in advance rather than sending them immediately. This capability enables better workforce planning by allowing you to set up call shifts during business hours for delivery at specific future times, ensuring personnel receive notifications at optimal moments regardless of when you create the call shift.
Background Information
Call shifts are critical notifications sent to personnel when additional staffing is needed to fill vacant positions or respond to anticipated operational demands. The ability to schedule these notifications in advance provides significant operational flexibility, allowing administrators to plan ahead for known staffing needs, schedule notifications during off-hours without manual intervention, and ensure timely delivery of urgent staffing requests.
This feature is particularly valuable for departments managing 24/48 or 48/96 shift rotations, where staffing needs can be anticipated days in advance. Scheduled call shifts maintain all the same ranking logic, mandatory ordering, and notification rules as immediate call shifts—the only difference is the delivery timing.
Common use cases include:
- Scheduling call shifts for weekend or holiday coverage during weekday business hours
- Preparing advance notifications for anticipated high-demand periods
- Setting up call shifts for specific future events or operations
- Managing staffing across multiple time zones with precise delivery timing
Prerequisites:
- Call shift must be fully configured with all required information
- User must have reached the final sending step in the call shift workflow
- Scheduled date/time must be in the future
- System notifications must be properly configured for call shift delivery
Required Permissions
Users need the following permission to schedule call shifts for later delivery:
Initiate Call Shifts - User can start a call shift from both the shift board and from the call shift menu
This permission provides access to the complete call shift workflow, including the ability to create, configure, and schedule call shifts for immediate or future delivery.
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Step-by-Step Guide
1. Select your delivery timing option
When you reach the final sending step after configuring your call shift, you'll see two delivery options:
- Send Now - Sends the call shift notification immediately to eligible personnel
- Send Later - Allows you to schedule the exact date and time for delivery
Click the Send Later button to proceed with scheduling.
2. Configure the scheduled delivery date and time
A date/time picker will appear allowing you to set your precise delivery schedule:
- Select the Date when the call shift should be sent
- Select the Time for delivery (displayed in your agency's configured time zone)
- Verify your selections are correct
- Click Save to confirm the scheduled delivery
The system will validate that your selected date/time is in the future before accepting the schedule.
3. Verify the scheduled call shift
After clicking Save, you'll be automatically redirected to the Call Shift History page, displaying your newly scheduled call shift:
- The call shift status will show as Scheduled at the top of the record
- The scheduled Date and Time will be clearly displayed
- All call shift details and configuration remain accessible for review
- The scheduled call shift will automatically send at the specified time without further action required
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Q: Can I edit or cancel a scheduled call shift after clicking Save?
A: Scheduled call shifts generally cannot be modified after creation. If you need to change the timing or configuration, you may need to delete the scheduled call shift (if permitted by your permissions) and create a new one with the correct information. Contact your system administrator for assistance with modifying or canceling scheduled sends.
Q: What happens if I schedule a call shift but the position gets filled before it sends?
A: The scheduled call shift will still send at the designated time unless manually cancelled. Best practice is to monitor your scheduled sends and cancel them if the staffing need is resolved before delivery. Some agencies configure their call shift logic to check current staffing status before sending, but this depends on your agency's specific configuration.
Q: How can I see all my scheduled call shifts?
A: Access the Call Shift History page from the main Call Shifts menu. Scheduled call shifts will display with a "Scheduled" status and show their planned delivery date/time. You can filter or sort this list to view only upcoming scheduled sends.
Q: What time zone is used for scheduled delivery?
A: Scheduled call shifts use your agency's configured time zone as set in your First Due system settings. Verify your agency's time zone configuration if you're uncertain about delivery timing, especially if your department operates across multiple time zones.
Q: Will personnel receive any advance notice that a call shift is scheduled?
A: No. Personnel only receive the notification when the scheduled call shift is actually sent at the designated time. The scheduled nature of the call shift is transparent to recipients—they receive the same notification they would get from an immediately sent call shift.
Q: What happens if the system is down when my scheduled call shift should send?
A: Scheduled call shifts typically attempt delivery at the specified time. If system maintenance or technical issues occur during the scheduled send time, the behavior depends on your agency's specific configuration. Contact your system administrator to understand your agency's scheduled send retry logic and failover procedures.
Q: Can I schedule a call shift for the same day or does it need to be a future date?
A: You can schedule a call shift for the same day as long as the selected time is in the future. For example, if it's currently 10:00 AM, you could schedule a call shift for 2:00 PM the same day. The system validates that the scheduled time hasn't already passed.