Getting Started With Microsoft Teams Shifts (Part 2/2)

Welcome to part 2 of our Microsoft Teams Shifts blog post! We will keep exploring how to make the most of this powerful scheduling tool by discovering the range of customizations you can build.

If you haven’t read part 1, you can access the article here.

2. End User Shifts Functionality

End users/team members can view their shifts, create requests for time-off, offer/swap shifts, see the team schedule and see other schedules if you belong to more than one team. There are several types of requests that an end user can submit. They are as follows: Time-off request, Swap, and Offer a shift.

2.1 See the team schedule

Check out who’s got a shift on any given day.

• Go to More options “…” in the far-left side of the app and choose Shifts
• You can change the dates you’re viewing with the buttons at the top of the frame
• From there you can select a shift to see the details, swap it, or offer it to someone else

2.2 Open a different schedule

Here’s how to open a different schedule if you are on more than one team.

• Go to More options “…” in the far-left side of the app and choose Shifts
• You can change the dates you’re viewing with the buttons at the top of the frame
• From there you can select a shift to see the details, swap it, or offer it to someone else

 

3. Shifts Functionality – Settings Tab

The member of the Team’s Owner security group and identified Schedule Owners are able to access and update various settings under the Settings page accessed by clicking on the “Settings” tab in the upper left-hand corner. Please see an image below for more details what settings are available.

 

3.1 Time Clock Feature

Time clock feature enables members to clock in when they start a shift and clock out when they end their shift. To enable “Time clock” click on the “Begin Setup” button. This action will present the following screen on which a location coordinates will need to be provided as per the below image. By clicking on “Turn On” button, this feature will be enabled.

After turning on Time Clock feature more options will become available under the Settings page for a Time Clock setting as per the below image.

3.2 Export Excel to Spreadsheet

Time clock feature enables members to clock in when they start a shift and clock out when they end their shift. The system will capture all that information and allow Owners to export it to an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis. To export a schedule, click on the “Export” button displayed under the “Time Clock” setting under the Settings page.

After clicking on the “Export” button the following screen will appear on which user can select a Start and End date for the export.

3.3 Shifts Functionality – Additional Settings

In addition to the above functionality there is some other functionality that could be accessed by clicking on the ellipsis displayed in the upper right-hand side corner next to the “Share with team” button (see image below). Here you can:

• Undo Edit
• View/Recall Shared Schedule
• Export/Import Schedule

3.4 Export Schedule

After clicking on the “Export Schedule” link under ellipsis the following screen will be displayed. Export in a format that can be imported has to be toggled off to allow a proper format of the export to be created.

3.5 Import Schedule

After clicking on the “Import Schedule” link under ellipsis (“…”) the following screen will be displayed.

Download a sample file that has to be used for creation of the import schedule to satisfy systems requirements for number of columns and other information required for successful import.

The sample file doesn’t have to be used if a schedule is first created in MS Shifts and exported as per instructions listed under “Export Schedule”, as this exported file can be used for creating of new schedules since it has a correct format for importing.

3.6 Open a different schedule

To open a different schedule, click on the hamburger menu in the upper left-hand side corner as per the image below.

 

3.7 Create a new schedule

To create a new schedule, click on the hamburger menu displayed in the upper left-hand side corner and on the screen that appears click on “+ New Schedule” link at the bottom of that screen.

A new screen will pop-up with a list of Teams that you’re listed as an Owner.

After clicking on “Create” the steps explained under “Getting set up MS Shifts” at the beginning of this document should be followed.

However, if you don’t have any other teams, a message will be displayed to you that you don’t have any teams to create a schedule for.

 

4. Shifts Functionality – General

4.1 Day/Week/Month Schedule Display

To change the view of the shift, click on the arrow next to the “Week” displayed in the upper right-hand corner and select either “Day” or a “Month”. This action will change the view from a default “Week” view to whatever option is selected.

4.2 Print a schedule

To print a schedule, click on the “Print” button displayed in the upper right-hand corner and select Print. This action will prompt you with a print screen and detect your default printer.

 

4.3 Filter a schedule

To filter a schedule, click on the “Filter” button displayed in the upper right-hand corner and select any of the options available like a group(s) name or a person(s). This functionality is great when you want to find information about somebody or a group in general.

4.4 View a schedule

To change a view of a schedule, click on the “View” button displayed in the upper right-hand corner and select any of the options available like view only your shifts or a team’s shifts. You can also view by people or shifts and you can select what is going to be shown on the screen. Please see below image for more details on the available options.

4.5 Submit a time-off request

To submit a Time-off request, click on the button named “Requests” in the upper left-hand corner and click on the “New Request” button. Select “Time-off” as a type of request and provide required details displayed on the screen. Click on “Send request” button and your manager will receive a notification about your request.

4.6 Submit a Swap of Offer a shift Request

To submit a swap/offer a shift request, click on the button named “Requests” in the upper left-hand corner and click on the “New Request” button. Select “Swap” or “Offer” as a type of request and provide required details displayed on the screen. Click on “Send request” button and your manager will receive a notification about your request.

A member that is assigned to a shift you have selected will be notified and will need to accept it for the system to send it to the manager to approve it as the last step in this process.

 

We hope you found this article insightful. If you need some help with Microsoft Teams or Microsoft Teams Shifts, feel free to reach out to Softlanding.

Appendix – Video Links for Shifts

• How to use Shifts in Microsoft Teams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nPuWYC-wFs

• What is Shifts?: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-is-shifts-f8efe6e4-ddb3-4d23-b81b-bb812296b821