[Customer Beta] Workforce Management

Edited

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Overview

Front’s Workforce Management (WFM) feature ensures you have the right number of teammates, with the right skills, working at the right time. Plan shifts, manage time off, and automatically balance workloads. With real-time schedule visibility and conversation auto-assignment, your team stays covered and ready to deliver great service, every time.

You must have the Front company admin or workspace admin permissions to manage time off and shifts via the Workforce Management feature.


When to use Workforce Management

The Workforce Management feature is useful for admins who want to manage their inbox staffing directly in Front. With this feature, you can easily:

Streamline shift planning

Effortlessly create and customize recurring shifts, set staffing requirements per inbox, and manage time off all in one place.

Instantly identify coverage gaps

Get a complete picture of your team's availability so team leaders can quickly identify gaps and make fast, informed decisions that keep service levels high.

Improve team productivity

Keep your team operating at peak performance by giving them full visibility into their upcoming shifts and automatically routing conversations based on shift schedules and workloads.


Creating shifts

Step 1

Click the gear icon at the top right of Front. In the left sidebar, select the workspace you’re working in, then click Time off and shifts.

Step 2

In the Shifts tab, click Create shift.

Step 3

A Create shift panel will open on the right. Fill in the following fields:

  • Name: Enter a name for the shift.

  • Color: Select a color for the shift.

  • Days: Select the days of the week the shift applies to.

  • Time: Enter a start time and end time for each shift day. Toggle on the Same time each day setting to apply the start and end times to all selected days.

  • Time zone: Select the time zone for the shift.

  • Effective date: Select the calendar date the shift starts.

  • Repeats: Select how often the shift should repeat (weekly, doesn’t repeat, etc.).

  • Teammates: Select the teammate(s) assigned to the shift.

  • Inboxes: Select the inbox(es) the shift applies to.

Step 4

Click Create. You’ll see the new shift in your shift timeline. Teammate assignments as configured in your assignment rules will now change based on this shift.


Editing shifts

After a shift is created, you can edit any current or upcoming occurrences. This is useful when you need to adjust your coverage hours due holidays, changes in message volume, and more.

All future occurrences

Step 1

In your timeline view, select the shift you’d like to edit.

Step 2

In the Edit shift panel, adjust your shift settings as needed. To delete the shift, click the trash can icon.

In this example, the current Friday shift and all future occurrences will end at 6:00 PM.

Step 3

Click Save. The timeline view will update with your changes.

One day only

Step 1

In your timeline view, select the shift you’d like to edit.

Step 2

In the Edit shift panel, enable the This day only toggle, then adjust your shift settings as needed. To delete the shift, click the trash can icon.

In this example, Jun 17 is a half day, so these updated hours will not affect future occurrences of this shift.

Step 3

Click Save. The timeline view will update with your changes.


Managing coverage gaps

In your timeline view, any shifts with coverage gaps are indicated with an ⚠️ exclamation mark icon. You can edit the shift to ensure your inboxes are fully staffed.

Step 1

Select the shift to open its settings. In this example, there is a coverage gap due to a teammate’s time off.

Step 2

In the Edit shift panel, hover over the teammate you want to swap out, then click the X icon to remove them from the shift.

Step 3

Select a new teammate to add to the shift. Click Save.

Step 4

The timeline view will update with your changes.


Viewing shifts

Admins and teammates can view current and upcoming shifts in the timeline view.

Day or week view

Choose between day or week view to focus on the current shift, or review upcoming shifts.


FAQ

How does this compare to the basic shifts feature?

The Workforce Management add-on replaces the basic shifts feature once it’s enabled.

Can I edit past shifts?

No. You can only edit current or future shifts.

Can I integrate external calendars?

Not at this time. Shifts will only use Front’s native time off feature to determine teammate availability. 

Can non-admins adjust their shifts?

No. Non-admins assigned to shifts cannot modify their own shifts.


Pricing

This feature is free to use during beta, but will be moved into a paid add-on in the future.