Shift Tool: Adding a Recurring Shift or Event

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Darren May
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1 Shift Tool: Adding a Recurring Shift or Event Relevant To: Volunteer Administrators Core Concepts Why would I need to add a recurring shift or event? Once you have created a shift tool, you create shifts and/or events in association with it. You have three choices for scheduling them: Adding a one-time shift or event Adding a recurring shift or event Uploading a spreadsheet to create shifts or events Adding a recurring shift or event generates a series of individual shifts or events for the length of the recurrence. For example, a recurring shift set to occur weekly for five weeks generates five events for which volunteers can register. This can be a substantial time-saver when working with regularly scheduled shifts or events. Do the individual shifts or events appear automatically appear after I have added a recurring shift or event? No. You must click the Generate Registrations button to trigger the system to create the individual shifts or events. When I click the Generate Registrations button, does the system create all of the shifts or events in a recurring series at the same time? Not necessarily. The value you enter in the *Number of Days to Schedule Ahead field determines how many days in advance the system creates the shifts or events. So if, for example, you schedule a recurring series of shifts that extends for three months and set the value in the *Number of Days to Schedule Ahead field to 30, the system will initially create shifts for only the next thirty days. It will then generate additional shifts as needed so that the shifts are always displayed thirty days in advance. Can I control when a displayed shift or event is open for registration? Yes. A shift or event can display to registrants even though it is not currently open for registration. The Sign Up Start Days Before and Sign Up End Days Before fields allow you to determine when a shift or event is open for registration. You will want to ensure that the shift or event is displayed to registrants during the time it is open for registration. Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 1 of 10

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3 Can I make a recurring shift or event visible to a different group of volunteers than those who can see the shift tool with which it is associated? Yes. When you add a recurring shift or event, you can make it visible to the same group of volunteers who can see the shift tool or to a subset of those volunteers. You might, for example, want a shift tool to be visible to the entire Metro DAT but a DAT Leader shift to be visible to only Metro DAT leaders. Can I designate a location for a recurring shift or event? Yes. You can select a location that you have added to Volunteer Connection (see the Adding a Location for Scheduling Shifts or Events quick reference guide), or you can designate an ad hoc location. Will custom labels that I created at a shift tool appear when I am creating a recurring shift or event? Yes. They appear alongside text fields that allow you to enter additional information to display to volunteers during registration. If you enter information into one of the text fields, the custom label and the information you added appear to registrants at the Event Registration screen. So if you created a Parking custom label at a shift tool record (for details, see the Adding a Shift Tool quick reference guide), you could enter specific parking instructions for the recurring shift or event. If you do not enter information into a text field, the corresponding label does not appear at the Event Registration screen. Will values for the category filter(s) that I associate with a shift tool be available for me to select when creating a recurring shift or event? Yes. The values associated with a category filter that you associated with a shift tool will be available for selection at the Advanced Category Filters section of the Add a Shift screen where you create a recurring shift or event. You can there select up to five values at the Category Filters field. So if you have associated three counties at a shift tool s county-based category filter, you could select one of those counties for the recurring shift or event. Then volunteers who are looking only for shift or events in that county could filter to find them, and the recurring shift or event would display for them. Note that even if you use a location-based category filter, such as a county, you should still designate a specific location for your shifts or events. Locations feature street addresses that display to your registrants at a shift or event s Event Registration screen. If no category filters are associated with a shift tool, the Advanced Category Filters section will not display at the Add a Shift screen. For further details on working with category filters, see these quick reference guides: Local Dropdown Manager: Adding a Local Category Filter, Local Dropdown Manager: Managing Local Category Filters, and Shift Tool Manager: Adding a Shift Tool. Can I create a recurring shift or event that occurs on more than one day? Yes. If you would like a shift or event to recur on multiple days, for example every weekday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, you can configure it to do so. Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 3 of 10

4 Process Process Flow Access the Shift Tool Manager (if needed) Search for the desired shift tool Access the Add a Shift screen Enter the Recurring Schedule data Enter the Sign Up data Enter the Registration Information data (as applicable) Enter the Custom Fields data (as applicable) Enter the Advanced Category Filters data (as desired) Enter the Advanced data Save the recurring shift or event Generate the individual shifts or events for the recurring series Process Steps Step 1. Access the Shift Tool Manager Choose Unit Configuration from the Administration drop-down menu. Click Shift Tool Manager. Note: The system displays the Shift Tool Manager screen with the shift tools displayed in alphabetical order; you may need to navigate to another page to access the desired shift tool. Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 4 of 10

5 Step 2. (if needed) Search for the desired shift tool 3. Access the Add a Shift Screen 4. Enter the Recurring Schedule data Use the filtering options at the Shift Tool Manager screen to locate the desired shift tool. Note: For details, see the Searching for a Shift Tool quick reference guide. Click Recurring at the desired shift tool s listing. Note: The system displays the shift tool s Edit Schedule screen, which lists any recurring shifts or events associated with the shift tool. Click Add Shift at the bottom of the Edit Schedule screen. Note: The system displays the Add a Shift screen for the shift tool with which you are working. Enter the *Start Date for the recurring series of shifts or events. Note: The *Start Date for the series does not have to match the date of the first shift or event in the series. You could set a series to span from June 1 (a Saturday) to August 30 (a Friday) but have the individual shifts or events occur on Mondays. Note: When you click in the *Start Date field, a calendar widget appears where you can select the date. Enter the *End Date for the recurring series of shifts or events. Note: The *End Date for the series does not have to match the date for the last shift or event in the series. You could set a series to span from June 1 (a Saturday) to August 30 (a Friday) but have the individual shifts or events occur on Mondays Note: When you click in the *End Date field, a calendar widget appears where you can select the date. Enter the *Start Time for the individual shifts or events in the series in an hh:mm am/pm format (e.g. 10:00 am or 6:00 pm). Enter the *Shift Duration in Hours. If the shift or event s duration is not to the hour, enter the Shift Duration in Minutes. Note: If a shift or event s duration is 3.5 hours, you would enter 3 as the *Shift Duration in Hours and 30 as the Shift Duration in Minutes. Select a *Frequency for the individual shifts or events. Select one or more *Day of Week values for the Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 5 of 10

6 Step individual shifts or events. Note: If you choose multiple values at this field, the system will create separate shifts or events on each of the selected days. So if you select each of the weekdays, the system will generate a shift or event for each weekday during the designated date range. Enter the number of days in advance of the shift or event that you would like it to display to registrants in the *Number of Days to Schedule Ahead field. Note: The best practice is to set this value between thirty and ninety days. Note: This value can be distinct from the value you enter in the *Sign Up Start Days Before field; a shift or event can display to registrants even though it is not yet open for registration. 5. Enter the Sign Up data Enter the number of days in advance of the shift or event that you would like to open it for registration in the *Sign Up Start Days Before field. Note: This value should be less than or equal to the value that you enter the *Number of Days to Schedule Ahead field. You do not need to open a shift or event for registration before it is displayed to registrants. Note: This value can be distinct from the value entered in the corresponding shift tool s Days Before Allow Signup field. If desired, enter the number of days in advance of the shift or event that you would like to close registration in the Sign Up End Days Before field. 6. Enter the Registration Information data Enter the name of the shift or event in the Registration Name field. Note: This name will appear for volunteer registration; take care with its entry. If desired, click Choose File and then browse for and select an Event Image to associate with the shift or event listing. Note: Registrants see the image at the Event Registration screen that displays when they click to register for the shift or event. If desired, enter the minimum number of registrants needed for the shift or event in the Min Reservations field. Note: The system cannot send a notification of openings for shift or event unless you set a Min Reservations value. For further details on the Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 6 of 10

7 Step notification of openings feature, see the Administrator Tip Sheet for the October 2014 Shift Tool Updates. Enter the maximum number of registrants in the *Max Reservations field. Note: The system will show registration as full if/when the shift or event reaches the number of registrants that you designate here. The Enable Wait List value defaults based on the Enabled Wait List by Default value at the associated shift tool record; you can override the default value, if desired for this shift or event. Note: When Enable Wait List is set to Yes, the system displays an On member cancellation field; when it is set to No, the system hides that field. Note: For details on configuring a new shift tool, see the Adding a Shift Tool quick reference guide. To allow volunteers to register for multiple shifts or events in the recurring series at a single screen, select Yes at the Allow Series Signup field; otherwise, select No. Note: If you select Yes, the system will turn off express registration for the shifts or events in the recurring series, even if you have it enabled at the associated shift tool, and it will make a custom question optional, even if it is configured to be required at the associated shift tool. It must do so to enable the series signup function. Note: For further details regarding the series signup function, see the Administrator Tip Sheet for the October 2014 Shift Tool Updates. (if applicable) At the On member cancellation field, designate how the system should respond if a volunteer cancels their registration for a full shift or event: o To have the system notify the administrator designated at the shift tool s Advanced Wait List category, select Notify administrators o To have the system automatically register the first person on the wait list and send them as configured at the shift tool s Advanced Wait List category, select Automatically add first person on wait list If desired, enter a Description for the individual shifts or events. Note: The description appears at the Event Registration screen when a volunteer registers; take care with its entry. Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 7 of 10

8 Step If you want the shift or event to be visible to all who can see the shift tool, leave the Registration Access value at Select; to have it be visible to a subset of those who can see the shift tool, select the appropriate access group at the Registration Access drop-down menu. To schedule the shift or event at a location that you have added to the system, select it at the Select Location drop-down menu. Note: An add a location link is available to take you to the screen where you can add a location to the system. But the best practice is to add needed locations before creating shifts or events to be scheduled at them. For details, see the Adding a Location for Scheduling Shifts or Events quick reference guide. To schedule the shift or event at an ad hoc location, or to provide additional information regarding a location you selected at the Select Location field, enter the needed information in the Other Location text box. 7. (as applicable) Enter the Custom Fields data 8. (as applicable) Enter the Advanced Category Filters data 9. (as desired) Enter the Advanced data If you created one or more custom labels at the shift tool and would like to enter corresponding information to display at the Event Registration screen when a volunteer registers for a shift or event in the recurring series, enter the desired information in the text field(s) associated with the desired custom field label(s). Note: If you do not enter information into a text field, the associated custom field label will not appear at the Event Registration screen when a volunteer registers. Note: For further details on custom fields, see the Will custom labels that I created at a shift tool appear when I am creating a recurring shift or event? item in the Core Concepts above. If you selected one or more category filters at the associated shift tool and would like to add up to five values to identify a shift or event from the recurring series when a potential registrant applies a filter, click in the Category Filters field and make your selection(s). Note: For further details on custom filters, see the Will values for the category filter(s) that I associate with a shift tool be available for me to select when creating a recurring shift or event? item in the Core Concepts above. If you would like the system to automatically take registrants to another web site when they complete Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 8 of 10

9 Step registration, enter the desired web site s URL in the Other Site Registration URL field. If you would like the shift or event to appear in a viewonly mode that does not allow registration, select Information Only at the Type field; otherwise, leave it at the default value of Sign Up (which allows registration). Note: The system hides the Type field if the associated shift tool has a Calendar Type of View Only. If you would like to apply a custom color to the shift or event s calendar listing, select it at the Calendar Color field. Note: If you designate a custom color, it applies regardless of the shift or event s status. For further details on the system s default color coding, see the Administrator Tip Sheet for the October 2014 Shift Tool Updates. 10. Save the recurring shift or event 11. Generate the individual shifts or events for the recurring series Click Submit. Note: The system lists the new recurring shift or event alongside others, if any, at the Edit Schedule screen. Click Generate Shifts at the bottom of the Edit Schedule screen. Note: The system displays a message indicating that Registrations are being updated and creates the individual shifts or events for the recurring series. Note: Required fields are marked with an asterisk *. Related Training Materials Shift Tool Manager: Introduction Shift Tool Manager: Searching for a Shift Tool Shift Tool Manager: Adding a Shift Tool Shift Tool Manager: Viewing a Shift or Event as It Appears to Volunteers Shift Tool Manager: Editing a Shift Tool Shift Tool Manager: Archiving a Shift Tool Shift Tool Manager: Adding a Location for Scheduling Shifts and Events Shift Tool Manager: Editing or Deleting a Location for Scheduling Shifts and Events Shift Tool Manager: Adding a One-Time Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Editing a One-Time Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Copying a One-Time Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Editing a Recurring Shift or Event Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 9 of 10

10 Shift Tool Manager: Copying a Recurring Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Searching for a Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Canceling a Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Adding an Attendee to a Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Printing a Sign-In Sheet or Roster Shift Tool Manager: Recording Attendance at a Shift or Event Shift Tool Manager: Sending Shift- or Event-Related Shift Tool Manager: Mass Assigning Attendees to a Shift or Event Searching for Volunteers at the Manage People Screen Viewing Volunteer Data at the Manage People Screen ing Volunteers at the Manage People Screen Shift Tool Manager: Associating a Shift Tool with a Shift Aggregation Type Dispatcher Tool: Viewing Shift and Event Registrants through the Dispatcher Tool Local Dropdown Manager: Adding a Local Category Filter Local Dropdown Manager: Managing Local Category Filters Volunteer Connection was made possible through the generous support of W.W. Grainger, Inc. Volunteer Connection 2015 American Red Cross Page 10 of 10

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