Shifts and coverage

Program Manager sets up volunteer shifts with a title, date, start and end times, location, places needed and volunteer role. Status moves through Planned, Open, Filled and Completed, with Cancelled available when plans change. The shift is the scheduling anchor for volunteer assignments. A coordinator can see which volunteer and assignment belongs to a particular slot instead of reconstructing coverage from a separate calendar.

program activities holds a planned event with its date, location, volunteer need, status and summary. It helps the team organize program work, while shifts hold the individual staffing slots. Use consistent activity and shift names and dates when planning the same event.

• Plan. Program Manager enters the date, time, location, role and places needed while the shift is Planned.
• Open. Once the details are ready, the manager marks the shift Open for Volunteer Coordinator to staff.
• Cover. Coordinator creates assignments against the shift, then the manager checks places needed against linked assignments and updates the shift status.

Choose one owner for shift dates and time changes. Decide how the team interprets a place needed when a shift has several assignments, and when a shift is marked Filled. Set a consistent time format for start time and end time, which are text fields. Agree which time zone applies before communicating a shift schedule to volunteers.

For a pilot, pick a real program date with at least one volunteer role and an open shift. Enter the places needed and have a coordinator create an assignment. Compare the record’s date and times to the team’s published schedule so a format mismatch is caught before staff rely on it.

Program Manager prepares an evening shift for a role that needs a screened volunteer. The manager enters its location and places needed, checks the volunteer role and moves the shift from Planned to Open. Volunteer Coordinator selects a ready person and uses the assignment action. The new assignment should point to this exact shift, and its action receipt should show a failure if the placement fails.

Then change the plan. If the shift is Cancelled, inspect related assignments before communicating the change. A shift status does not by itself explain each assignment’s status, so the coordinator updates the affected records and checks the coverage board. Use the same rehearsal for a Filled shift to agree when no more places should be offered.

• Open shift schedule — Dated open shifts with start and end times, location, role and places needed.
• Shift coverage board — Planned, open and filled shifts grouped by status for staffing review.
• Activity planning — Upcoming or active program events and their volunteer needs.

See shift staffing for the planning and placement handoff and assignment review for confirmation.