Two Availability Control Modes

XShift AI gives organizations a choice in how employee availability is managed. You can switch between modes at any time in your organization settings.

Manager-Controlled

Employees submit change requests with a reason. Managers review, approve, or deny each request with notes. Full audit trail of every change.

Best for: regulated industries, larger teams, high-turnover environments

Employee-Controlled

Employees update their own availability directly. Changes take effect immediately. Managers can still view and override any employee's availability at any time.

Best for: flexible teams, part-time staff, trust-based environments

How to Switch Modes

1. Go to your Manager Dashboard
2. Click Settings in the sidebar
3. Scroll to Advanced Settings
4. Find Availability Control Mode
5. Toggle between Employee-Controlled and Manager-Controlled
6. Save — the change takes effect immediately for all employees

Section 1: Manager-Controlled Availability

In Manager-Controlled mode, employees cannot change their own availability directly. Instead, they submit a formal change request explaining why they need a change. The manager reviews every request and either approves or denies it with notes. This gives managers full control and a complete audit trail of all availability changes.

The Manager Experience

Managers access availability management from the Employees page in their dashboard. There are two tabs: Requests and Manage Availability.

Tab 1: Requests

This tab shows all employee availability change requests. Managers can filter by status: Pending, Approved, or Denied.

What managers see for each request:

• Employee name and email
• Their current availability (preferred days, unavailable days, times, and any blocked time windows)
• Their requested availability (what they want to change it to, including any new time blocks)
• The reason the employee provided
• Date and time the request was submitted
• Current status (Pending / Approved / Denied)

How to review a request — step by step:

1. Go to Employees → Availability Requests tab
2. Make sure the filter is set to Pending
3. Find the employee's request and click to open the review modal
4. Review their current availability vs. what they're requesting
5. Read the reason they provided
6. Optionally add Manager Notes to explain your decision
7. Click Approve or Deny
8. If approved — the employee's availability updates automatically
9. If denied — the employee's availability stays the same; they can see your notes

Tab 2: Manage Availability

Managers can directly view and edit any employee's availability at any time — regardless of control mode. This is useful for onboarding new hires, correcting mistakes, or making immediate adjustments.

How to edit an employee's availability directly:

1. Go to Employees → Availability Requests tab
2. Click Manage Availability (second tab)
3. Use the search bar to find the employee
4. Click the employee's name in the left sidebar
5. Their current availability loads in the right panel
6. Click days to toggle preferred (green) or unavailable (red)
7. Adjust preferred start and end times using the AM/PM selectors
8. Add or remove time blocks for specific days — for example, block Friday 9 AM–1 PM if the employee has a recurring commitment that morning
9. Click Save — changes take effect immediately

Note: Manager edits bypass the request workflow entirely. The change is applied directly without requiring employee approval. Use this for corrections, onboarding, or urgent adjustments.

What the System Enforces

When generating schedules or running auto-assign, the AI checks the following:

✅ Unavailable Days — the AI will NOT assign an employee to a shift on a day they've marked unavailable
✅ Time Windows — if an employee has a blocked time window on a day (e.g. 9 AM–1 PM on Fridays), the AI will skip them for any shift that overlaps that window
✅ Approved PTO — employees with approved time-off are automatically skipped for those dates
✅ Shift Conflicts — employees already assigned to an overlapping shift are skipped
✅ Location Access — employees are only assigned to locations they have access to
✅ Role Requirements — employees are matched to shifts based on their assigned role

Preferred days and preferred times are visible to managers but are not automatically enforced by the scheduler. They serve as communication tools — managers can see preferences and factor them in when reviewing or adjusting schedules manually. Unavailable days and time windows are the settings the AI actively enforces.

The Employee Experience in Manager-Controlled Mode

When the org is in Manager-Controlled mode, employees can still see their current availability settings, but they cannot save changes directly. Instead, the Save button is replaced with a Request Change button.

How an Employee Submits a Change Request — Step by Step

1. Employee logs into their dashboard
2. Goes to My Preferences in the sidebar
3. They can see their current availability (preferred days, unavailable days, times, and time blocks)
4. They make their desired changes — toggling days, adjusting times, or adding and removing time blocks for specific days
5. Instead of a Save button, they see Request Change
6. Clicking it opens a modal asking for a reason
7. Employee types their reason (e.g. "Starting college classes on Mondays")
8. They click Submit Request
9. The request is sent to their manager with Pending status
10. Employee can see all their pending, approved, and denied requests on the same page
11. Once a manager approves it, their availability updates automatically

Important: Requests Don't Apply Until Approved

Until a manager approves the request, the employee's existing availability stays in place. If an employee marks Monday as unavailable in their request but the manager hasn't approved it yet, the AI may still schedule them on Monday based on their current (pre-request) availability.

Section 2: Employee-Controlled Availability

In Employee-Controlled mode, employees manage their own availability directly. There is no approval process — changes save immediately and are reflected in the system right away. Managers retain the ability to view and override any employee's availability at any time.

1. Preferred Days

Employees select which days of the week they prefer to work. These are visible to managers and help inform manual scheduling decisions. They are not automatically enforced by the AI scheduler.

How to Set Preferred Days

1. Go to My Preferences in the employee dashboard
2. Find the Preferred Days row
3. Click any day to mark it as preferred — it turns green
4. Click again to deselect
5. Click Save Preferences

Note: Preferred days are a communication tool. They tell your manager when you'd like to work, but the AI scheduler does not automatically prioritize preferred days when assigning shifts. Your manager can use this information when building or adjusting schedules manually.

2. Weekly Availability

Employees mark days they cannot work at all, or block out specific time windows within a day when they are unavailable. Both are enforced by the AI — the schedule generator and auto-assign will not place an employee on a shift that conflicts with their unavailable days or blocked time windows.

How to Mark a Full Day as Unavailable

1. Go to My Preferences in the employee dashboard
2. Find the Weekly Availability section
3. Click the Block Day button next to any day to mark the whole day unavailable — it turns red
4. If a day is currently marked as preferred, blocking it will remove it from preferred
5. Click Save Preferences

How to Block a Specific Time Window

Use time windows when you are only unavailable for part of a day — for example, every Friday morning from 9 AM to 1 PM because of a class or appointment.

1. Go to My Preferences in the employee dashboard
2. Find the Weekly Availability section
3. Click + Add Time Block next to the day you want to block
4. Set the start time and end time for the block using the AM/PM selectors
5. Repeat for any other days or time ranges you need
6. Click Save Preferences

Note: You can add multiple time blocks on the same day. For example, you could block Monday 8 AM–10 AM and Monday 3 PM–5 PM if you have two separate commitments that day.

✅ What the AI Enforces for Availability

• The AI Schedule Generator skips employees on their marked unavailable days
• The Auto-Assign feature skips employees on their marked unavailable days
• If an employee has a time window blocked (e.g. Friday 9 AM–1 PM), any shift that overlaps that window — even partially — will not be assigned to them
• Time window checks apply to both whole-day blocks and partial-day blocks
• This applies to both Manager-Controlled and Employee-Controlled modes
• Managers can still manually assign an employee to a shift on an unavailable day or during a blocked window if needed

Common Time Block Examples

Student with Morning Classes

Block Monday and Wednesday 8 AM–12 PM — has class those mornings, available in the afternoon

Part-Time Employee with a Second Job

Block Tuesday and Thursday entirely — works another job those days

Childcare Pickup

Block Monday–Friday 3 PM–6 PM — needs to pick up kids from school every weekday afternoon

Weekly Appointment

Block Friday 9 AM–11 AM — has a recurring weekly appointment every Friday morning

3. Preferred Start & End Times

Employees can set their preferred start and end times for shifts. Like preferred days, these are visible to managers and help inform scheduling decisions, but are not automatically enforced by the AI scheduler.

How to Set Preferred Times

1. Go to My Preferences
2. Find Preferred Start Time — set the hour and AM/PM
3. Find Preferred End Time — set the hour and AM/PM
4. Click Save Preferences

Note: Preferred times are a communication tool. The AI does not filter or prioritize shifts based on preferred start and end times. Your manager can view these preferences and use them when manually assigning or adjusting shifts.

Common Time Preference Examples

Morning Shift

Start: 6:00 AM

End: 2:00 PM

Standard Hours

Start: 9:00 AM

End: 5:00 PM

Evening Shift

Start: 4:00 PM

End: 12:00 AM

Complete Step-by-Step: Saving Your Preferences

1. Log into your employee dashboard
2. Click My Preferences in the sidebar
3. Toggle your preferred days (green) and mark any fully unavailable days (red)
4. Add time blocks for any partial-day unavailability (e.g. Friday 9 AM–1 PM)
5. Set your preferred start and end times
6. Click Save Preferences — changes take effect immediately

In Manager-Controlled mode, step 6 opens a change request modal instead. You'll enter a reason and submit for manager approval.

Best Practices

1. Set Unavailable Days and Time Blocks First

Unavailable days and time windows are the only availability settings the AI enforces automatically. Make sure employees set these accurately — they are the most important fields for conflict-free scheduling. If an employee is only unavailable for part of a day, use a time block instead of marking the whole day unavailable.

2. Choose the Right Control Mode for Your Team

Manager-Controlled mode is best when you need oversight and an audit trail. Employee-Controlled mode works better for flexible teams where trust is high and schedules change frequently.

3. Review Pending Requests Promptly

In Manager-Controlled mode, employees' availability doesn't update until you approve their request. Check the Requests tab regularly — especially before generating a new schedule.

4. Use Time Blocks for Recurring Partial-Day Commitments

Time blocks are perfect for recurring commitments that happen at the same time each week — classes, appointments, childcare pickups, or a second job. Instead of blocking a full day when you're only unavailable for a few hours, set a precise time window so the system still considers you for shifts outside that window.

5. Update Availability When Life Changes

A schedule built on outdated preferences creates conflicts. Remind employees to update preferences — or submit a change request — whenever their availability changes: new semester, new second job, childcare changes.

6. Use Manager Override Sparingly

Managers can directly edit any employee's availability at any time. Use this for onboarding and corrections, not as a workaround for skipping the request process. Respecting the workflow builds trust with your team.

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Employee Availability Management