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Creating a Schedule

A schedule is the main output of WFM - the assignment of employees to shifts for a specific period. This guide explains how to create a new schedule.

Before you start

Make sure you have set up all prerequisites:

  • [x] At least one workplace with employees
  • [x] Contracts assigned to employees
  • [x] Skills assigned to employees
  • [x] Shifts available at the workplace
  • [x] Needs defined (or you plan to use Smart Schedule without needs)

See Prerequisites for detailed setup instructions.

Create a new schedule

  1. In the left menu, click Schedule (top-level item).
  2. Click Add Schedule Plan. The Create Schedule Plan panel opens.
  3. Select the Workplace.
  4. Under Period, choose one of:
    • New period - enter the Period Name (e.g., "May 2026"), Period Start and Period End. The period is created together with the schedule.
    • Existing period - pick a period that already exists. Periods that would collide with another schedule of the same workplace are not offered.
  5. Click Create.

The schedule is named after the workplace and the period (for example "Main Office May 2026") and opens in its detail. You can rename it later in the schedule's Settings (see Working with Schedules).

Schedule states

A schedule goes through several states:

State Description
Creating The schedule is being set up. Wait until it finishes.
Draft The schedule exists and can be edited.
Prepared Ready for scheduling. A published schedule is also in this state.
Calculating Smart Schedule is running. Wait until it finishes.
Calculated Shifts have been assigned. Ready for review and publication.
Locked A long-running action (for example a recalculation) is in progress.
Error The calculation failed. The error is shown in the top bar next to a Recalculate button.
Closed The schedule is locked and can no longer be changed. Publishing does not put a schedule here.

What happens when you create a schedule

When you create a schedule, the system:

  1. Creates the schedule record with the specified period (and the period itself, if you chose New period)
  2. Links it to the workplace
  3. Sets the initial state

The schedule is empty at this point - no shifts are assigned yet. You can now either:

  • Add shifts manually - Hover over an empty cell in the schedule grid and click +
  • Use Smart Schedule - Let the system generate shifts automatically

Add employees to the schedule

The schedule lists the people it can schedule. To bring in somebody else - a new hire, or an agent from another workplace - use the + Add employee row below the last name in the schedule. See Add employees.

Only employees in the schedule can have shifts.

Add shifts manually

To add a shift manually:

  1. Hover over an empty cell in the schedule grid (row = employee, column = day) and click +.
  2. Select a shift from the available options.
  3. The shift is added to the schedule.

To modify a shift:

  1. Hover over an existing shift and click its โ‹ฎ menu.
  2. Edit the shift or remove it.

Generate shifts automatically

For automatic shift generation, use Smart Schedule. See Smart Schedule for details.

View modes

The schedule can be viewed in different modes:

Mode Description
Period Overview of the entire period with employee rows and day columns
Day Detailed view of a single day with a time axis
Day - Compact A single day with one bar per employee - a quick look at who works when

Switch between views using the dropdown in the top bar. See View modes for details.

Next steps

After creating a schedule:

  1. Generate shifts automatically using Smart Schedule
  2. Review and edit the schedule
  3. Publish the schedule for agents to see