Manage shifts in bulk in Roster Manager

Follow this guide to manage large numbers of shifts efficiently in Roster Manager using bulk actions.

Whether you're creating shifts, assigning employees, or adjusting shift statuses, bulk actions streamline your roster management.

Part 1: Add multiple shifts

1. In Shift view, click the + icon on the desired date.
2. Select Add multiple shifts.
3. Choose the Location and Department, then click Apply.
4. For each role, enter the number of shifts needed in the Shift Count field (use arrows or type directly).
5. Update the shift details as needed:
   • Area, Event, Function, Shift Type, Start/End time, or Breaks.
   • Each role row can only have one set of shift details.
     To create shifts with different times or conditions for the same role:
     • Click the + icon at the far right of the role row.
     • A new row for that role will appear, where you can enter alternate details.
6. Click Add Shifts Only to create shifts without assigning employees.

The new shifts will be added to the roster and appear as unassigned tiles, ready for assignment or editing.

Continue to assign shifts

⚠️ Available in WFM Cloud version 6.0.54 and later.

1. Click Add and Assign Shifts instead.
2. The Assign Employees window opens.
3. Click Assign on the desired grouped shift row.
4. Use filters or the search bar to find employees.
5. Select employee/s using the checkboxes.
6. Click Assign, then repeat steps 3–6 for all roles.

All newly created shifts will be assigned and shown in the roster.

Part 2: Bulk confirm or unconfirm shifts

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions.
3. Select Confirm or Unconfirm, depending on the shift’s current status.
4. Choose All Shifts or Selected Shifts.

The shift status updates accordingly, confirmed shifts display a green confirmation tick. Unconfirmed shifts remain visible to employees with an unconfirmed status.

Part 3: Bulk publish or unpublish shifts

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions.
3. Select Publish or Unpublish, depending on the shift’s current status.
4. Choose from:
   • All Shifts
   • All Assigned Shifts
   • All Unassigned Shifts
   • Selected Shifts
   • Selected Assigned Shifts
   • Selected Unassigned Shifts

Published shifts are visible to employees per their access level; unpublishing hides them.

Part 4: Bulk edit shifts

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions > Edit.
3. Choose All Shifts or Selected Shifts (limit of 100 shifts).
4. Click Edit under each field you want to update:
   • Scroll right to view and edit additional fields.
   • Use the down arrow to choose from list fields.
     • Use the search bar in list fields to quickly locate values.
   • Use the calendar icon to select a date.
   • Use the clock icon to set start/end times.
5. Use Reset to clear all edits, or Close to exit without saving.
6. Click Save to apply your changes.

All valid shifts will be updated. If any shifts cannot be updated, the Edit window will remain open and display a warning icon beside each errored shift. Hover over the icon to view the reason (e.g. locked status, access restrictions).

Part 5: Bulk assign or unassign shifts

Assign shifts:

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions > Assign.
3. Choose All Shifts or Selected Shifts (limit of 200 shifts).
4. Click Assign on the grouped shift row.
5. Use filters or the search bar to find employees.
6. Select employee/s using the checkboxes.
7. Click Assign and repeat steps 3–6 for all roles as needed.
8. Click Close once all roles are assigned.

Shifts will now appear as assigned to selected employees.

Unassign shifts:

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions > Unassign.
3. Choose from:
   • All Shifts
   • All on Leave
   • All Unavailable
   • Selected Shifts
4. Click Yes to confirm.

Shifts will now return to unassigned status and appear in the unassigned row (people view).

Part 6: Set shifts to Read-Only or reset

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions
3. Select Read only or Re-set Read only.
4. Choose from:
   • All Shifts
   • All Assigned Shifts
   • All Unassigned Shifts
   • Selected Shifts
   • Selected Assigned Shifts
   • Selected Unassigned Shifts

Read-only shifts display a lock icon and cannot be edited without appropriate access.

Part 7: Recost shifts

1. Click Actions > Recost.

All shifts are recalculated using the latest award rules and pay rates.

Part 8: Delete shifts

1. Decide which shifts you want to action:
   • All Shifts - This applies the action to all shifts that meet the current filters and date range.
     • Apply Filters (e.g. by location, department, role, shift status, or date range) to narrow the roster scope. This ensures only the relevant shifts are included in the bulk action, up to the system’s limits.
   • Selected Shifts - This applies the action only to individual shifts you select manually.
     • Switch to People or Role view. (Selected shifts are not supported in Shift view.)
     • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each shift to select it.
     • A border will appear around each selected shift to confirm your selection.
2. Click Actions > Delete.
3. Choose All Shifts or Selected Shifts.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Shifts are permanently removed from the roster.

Access level permissions may restrict who can delete or edit shifts. 
Check with your system administrator if options are unavailable.

Next steps

You may also want to:

• Request shift confirmations
• Offer or reassign a shift
• Save the roster as a template for reuse

Additional information

• Shifts automatically become Read-Only when offered to employees. This protects the offer and prevents accidental changes.
• Permissions for Read-Only and Delete actions are managed under Access Levels > Rostering Screen settings.