How do I create recurring shifts?
This article shows group managers how to create recurring shifts for opportunities.
If you'd like to set up multiple shifts with a regular frequency, check the Repeat shift box in the Add new shift window. This will expand the panel to show recurrence options. Here, you can choose from a monthly or weekly recurrence.
Open Add new shift
Open your group management page
Open the Schedule tab
Select the opportunity from the drop-down menu in the top-left corner
Click Add new shift
Check Repeat shift to show recurrence options
Weekly recurring shifts
The weekly recurrence allows to choose the days of the week you'd like the shift applied to, and you can select as many days as you like — for instance, you can use a single recurrence for a shift that occurs every Wednesday AND Saturday, provided the shifts begin and end at the same time on both days.
You can also change the number value in Repeat every if you'd like your shift to recur every two, three or more weeks.
If you'd like to set up recurrences with different times, such as every Wednesday from 9am–12pm and every Saturday from 8am–12pm, you will need to set up the Wednesday shifts first, click Save to return to the calendar.
In the calendar, click on the date you'd like your Saturday shifts to begin to create your recurring Saturday shift pattern, then click Save to add it to your opportunity.
Monthly recurring shifts
If you prefer, you can also select a shift occurs on a monthly basis by changing Weekly to Monthly from the drop-down menu.
By entering a number in the Repeat every box, you can also create shifts that recur less regularly — this can be useful, for instance, if you need assistance with quarterly reports and would like a volunteer to join you every three months.
There are two variations of monthly recurring shift patterns — the first option appears by default when Month is selected as the repeat frequency. Here, you can select specific dates of each month, and you can select as many dates as you like provided the shifts occur at the same time on each selected day.
Using this method does not account for days of the week — shifts will be created on the dates selected regardless of which days they fall on. If you'd like to create a shift that occurs on the 10th of each month but not on Sundays, you have two options:
- Create the full set of shifts falling on the 10th, then return to the calendar view and manually delete any that fall on a Sunday; or
- Create all shifts one-by-one in the calendar, without using a recurrence.
Which of these options suits you best will depend on how many individual shifts your recurring rule creates, and how many exceptions (e.g. not on Sundays, not on weekends, not on public holidays) there are.
These options also work if, for instance, instead of having no shifts on Sundays, you'd simply like them to be shorter. If this is the case, you can create the recurring shift then edit the Sunday shifts from the calendar afterwards.
The second option allows to create a recurrence based on the day of a given week. A good example would be for a farmers' market that takes place on the second Sunday of each month.
This method only allows to set up a single day at a time. If you'd like to create shifts on the second Wednesday AND Sunday of each month, you will need to create the Wednesday shifts first, return to the calendar then create the Sunday shifts.
Save the recurrence
Regardless of which recurring pattern you select, you must also specify a date when the recurrence ends.
The number of shifts created by the recurrence and the end date is shown above the Save button.
Once you're happy with your shift or recurring shift, click Save to return to the calendar view. From here, you can add more shifts (both individual and recurring) if you like.
This means you can, for instance, create the following shift schedule within a single opportunity:
A single shift, 10am–12pm on Sunday 1 April (this could be an induction, for instance)
A recurring shift, 12pm–2pm every Monday from Monday 2 April until Monday 22 April
A recurring shift, 2pm–4pm every alternate Tuesday from Tuesday 10 April until Tuesday 30 April
For each shift you create, you can also specify different numbers of required volunteers. This can be useful if, for instance, you require more volunteers for your weekend shifts than for your weekday shifts.
Edit a shift from the calendar
If you'd like to edit a shift you've just created, click on the shift in the calendar.
From here, you can edit the date, times and number of volunteers required. You can also duplicate the shift if you'd like to copy it to another day, or delete the shift if it isn't required. Otherwise, when you're done, click Save to update your schedule.
For more information on editing shifts, please see the Help Centre article linked below