Manage Field Service Shifts

Shifts are similar to operating hours in that they define when your workforce is available to be assigned service appointments. However, shifts offer more flexibility than operating hours because you can create them for specific time periods on particular dates and times when you need workforce coverage. You can then assign these shifts to service resources. This flexibility allows you to accommodate the varying availability of contractors, retail workers, healthcare workers, or on-call staff for service appointments.

• Manage Your Shift Schedule in Field Service
  Identify which shifts are covered, and which ones still require a worker to confirm that they’re available. The list view for shifts lets you examine upcoming shifts and their status. Switch to the schedule view to see shifts grouped by service territory or job profile in a calendar.
• Add Field Service Shifts
  Shifts in Field Service determine when your workforce is available to be assigned service appointments. Shifts differ from Operating Hours in that for shifts you can define single time periods for which you need workforce coverage. This capability lets you flexibly assign your shift-based workforce to service appointments. Shift-based workforces have varying availability, such as contractors, retail workers, healthcare workers, and on-call staff. You can use predefined patterns to quickly create a set of standard shifts for weekdays and weekends.
• Define Which Appointments Can Be Scheduled During Shifts
  Similar to how you use designated time slots on operating hours, in Field Service, you can use Record set Filter Criteria to define and designate which appointments can be scheduled to service resources during shifts. Create Recordset Filter Criteria based on service appointment field values, and then add the filter to a shift so that only relevant appointments get scheduled.
• Assign and Update Field Service Shifts
  In Field Service, make sure that shifts are staffed by assigning them to a service resource. You can assign shifts individually or update the assignee and status in bulk.
• Color-Code Field Service Shifts
  Use a background color to identify different types of shifts in the Field Service schedule view and dispatch console. Background colors let you add visual information that works along with status-based horizontal color bars in shift cells. You can add a background color to a shift or a shift template.
• Nonstandard Field Service Shifts
  Nonstandard shifts in Field Service are shifts not sought by mobile workers for various reasons, such as inconvenient hours or increased workload. Identifying and marking shifts as non-standard helps the shift planner assign shifts in a more equitable and balanced way, which can reduce dissatisfaction and attrition.
• Field Service Guidelines for Shift Availability
  Learn how to define valid shifts and show when your workers are available for shift work. Shifts can work alone or alongside operating hours and service territory memberships to define workforce availability. Designate shifts to show availability for specific types of work or tasks, or for specific territories. For example, you can designate an on-call shift for emergency appointments only.