Shifts in Teams

Index

1. When to Use?
2. Add the Shifts app in Teams
3. Create a Shifts schedule
4. Manage and view a Shifts schedule

When to Use?

Shifts in Microsoft Teams is a schedule management tool that helps you create, update, and manage schedules for your team. 

Add the Shifts app in Teams

Note: You must be a Team owner in order to create a schedule in Shifts.

1. Log into the Teams desktop or web application.

2. In the navigation pane, click on the three dots.

3. Search for the Shifts application.

4.  Once added, right click to pin the application to the navigation pane.

5. Once pinned, click on the Shifts application to open it.

6. In the upper left corner, click on the three lines to open the Team schedules.

7. Select a Team to open an existing schedule or choose + New Schedule to build one from scratch.

 

Create a new schedule

With Shifts in Microsoft Teams, create a schedule, assign shifts to your team members, copy and reuse shifts, and add open shifts.

Watch: Create a Shifts schedule

Create a new schedule

You must be a team owner to create a schedule. In Shifts, each team in Teams gets one schedule to work with, and you can create and manage a schedule for any team you’re an owner of. 

1. Create a schedule for your team.

   1. In Shifts, select Choose or create a schedule 

      

      , and then select New schedule.

   2. Select Create next to the team you want.

   3. Set the time zone for your team’s location, select the closest city, and then choose Confirm.

2. Add schedule groups to organize people in the schedule based on job type or department. To add a group:

1. Select Add group.

2. Select More options... > Rename group, give your group a name, and select Save.

Tip: The name can be used in @mentions in chats and channel posts in Teams, so be sure to choose a name that’s easy to recognize. To learn more, see Turn on shift-based tags in Teams.

3. Add team members to each group. To add a person to a group: 

   1. Next to a group, select Add people.

   2. Enter the person’s name or email address, select their name in the list, and then choose Add.

4. Go to the Settings tab. From here, define the schedule options and choose the Shifts capabilities that you want to make available to your team. 

To learn more about each setting, see Configure settings for your team's schedule in Shifts.

 

 

Assign shifts to team members

1. Go to the row of the team member, and under the date that you want, select More options > Add shift. Or, double-click the empty shift.

2. Fill out the information for the shift, including start and end times and notes, and then select Save.

Tip: To reuse the same shift across your schedule, on the shift you want to copy, select More options > Copy. Or, press CTRL + C. Then, to paste it, choose an empty slot and select More options> Paste. Or, press Ctrl + V.

 

Add open shifts

 

1. Go to the Open shifts row in a group, and under the date that you want, select More options… > Add open shift. Or, double-click the empty shift.

2. Fill out the information for the shift, including the number of slots to make available, and then choose Save.

 

Manage and view a Shifts schedule

Manage and view your team schedule with Shifts in Microsoft Teams. 

Watch: Manage and view a Shifts schedule

 

View the schedule by day, week, or month

Quickly switch between different calendar views. Choose Day, Week, or Month to narrow or expand the view.

 

Change the schedule time frame

Select the date range and then choose the time frame you want to view. Or, use the arrows to change the timeframe. 

 

Customize the view by people or shift

Customize the view by people or shift, and to show the items that you want to see.

1. Select View, and then under View by: 

   • ​​​​​​​Choose People if you want to view the schedule by people and see everyone's availability and shifts.

   • Choose Shifts if you want to view the schedule by shift. See the number of assigned shifts and make sure you have enough coverage for a shift.

2. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Under Show, choose the items that you want to show in the view.​​​​​​​

 

Manage requests

1. Go to the Requests tab to review requests from team members like for time off, open shifts, shift swaps, and offers.

2. Select a specific request to review, add a note if you want, and then approve or deny the request.

 

Publish a schedule

Whether you’re creating a new schedule or updating an existing one, share it when you're ready to make your changes visible to team members.

1. Select Share with team.

2. Make sure the time frame that’s shown is what you want to share.

3. Decide whether you want to notify affected team members (for assigned shifts) and schedule group members (for open shifts).

4. Select Share.