What is the difference between qualifiers and groups?
Qualifiers are the positions that the employee can fill on the shift board. Most often, these will be used for hiring necessary positions on an apparatus. It might be the rank of the employee, but it can also be the position the person can fill outside of their normal role within the agency. Qualifiers also create the call shift lists, so you may create qualifiers for specialty teams, different call shifts rules or hiring practices.
Examples:
- Captain
- Firefighter
- Paramedic
- HazMat
- Short Notice Staffing
Groups should be separate ways to contact employees, to pull specific users out of a call list. Groups will be heavily used within the messages sub-module to contact employees.
Examples:
- A Shift
- Technical Rescue Team
- Acting Captains
- Volunteers
What is the benefit of the candidate method?
The candidate method allows you to send out a call shift to all available users at once, allowing them a set amount of time to respond back into the shift before the system closes the call shift and awards it to the correct candidate. This method allows you to save time when it comes to filling shifts without waiting for a response from one user before moving on to the next. When transitioning from a manual hiring process to an automated one, the candidate method allows all available users to know about all over time, offering a wider net to hiring from in a shorter period. This also allows organizations to keep shifts open longer, as a user can respond back in as long as the call shift is still open.
How do I setup boards and what are they used for?
Boards are designed to be able to view only the assignments you wish to see. Many organizations will use boards to set up Stations, Districts, or Battalions. You may also use boards to keep all your temporary staffing assignments in one place.
How do I move people for partial shifts vs full shifts?
The system uses drag-and-drop functionality to assume the time of the assignment in question, or of the partial space in question. When adding a user into a partial shift, it is better to click on the partial shift and fill them in manually so that you can split the shift between two different periods when needed.
What is Off-Roster used for?
Off Roster is designed for instances when an employee needs to be paid for work that is not tied to an assignment. Attending meetings, classes, or drill nights are all notable examples of when an employee should be put off-roster. Keep in mind that an employee can be both off-roster and on the shift board and the system will require you to force the entry if the user is already fulfilling a role. If you need to put additional employees into a position and potentially hire from that position, a snap assignment should be used.
What is a Snap Assignment?
A Snap Assignment is designed to be deployed as needed and is perfect for assignments not normally staffed. Whether it is a detail, an academy session, or a training opportunity, you can use Snap Assignments to show how many people you need, who can fill the role as well as the time in which they will be working. These are great for signifying additional needs for staffing and can be deployed on specific dates to fit your overall need.
Can people sign up for shifts?
Yes! If you have the ability to sign up for shifts turned on in your settings, employees can sign up for any vacancy they are qualified for. You can also require that all sign ups be approved before they are placed on the shift board.
How do trades work for payroll?
Trades can depend on what your expectations are for the payroll export. If payroll needs to see the trade, then you will want to keep the ‘reverse trade’ setting off. If trades are ignored by payroll and the original employee who gets paid for the shift is who needs to display, you will want to keep ‘reverse trades’ on. This shows the original employee on their original work type as if the trade did not happen.