Creating a Shift Bid: A Step-by-Step Guide

Watch this video to see how easy it is to set up a shift bid for your agency!

This guide outlines the process of creating and managing shift bids using Hero Schedule.

1. Setting Up a New Schedule

• Navigate to Menu > Setup Schedules.
• Click New Schedule.
• Name the schedule (e.g., "2026").
• Set the start and end dates for the scheduling period.
• Click Create Schedule.

2. Defining Shifts and Activities

• Select the desired shifts from the dropdown menu.
• Create multiple shift groups if needed.
• Create Shifts using the Copy Down tool.
• Name the shifts (e.g., "Shift 1", "Beat 201").
• Click on the shift name to cascade it down to all instances.

3. Creating the Schedule Pattern

• Click on a shift to open the schedule grid.
• Select a 7-day or 14-day pattern (or other length).
• Choose the activity (e.g., "Beat 201") and enter the shift hours.
• Use the "Copy to all cells" button to populate the entire schedule.
• Adjust individual days as needed by clicking on specific cells.
• Click Save.
• To copy the pattern to other shifts, click on the yellow box in the first shift, then Ctrl+click on the other shifts.
• Update the activity names for each shift.
• Click Save to save the pattern and beats.

4. Managing Bidding

• Go to Manage Bidding from the dropdown menu.
• Select the employees who will participate in the bid. You can:
  • Manually select employees.
  • Or Add All employees from a specific shift.
• Arrange the bidding order:
  • Seniority: Orders employees based on their hire date.
  • Manual: Allows you to customize the bidding order.
• Configure bid settings:
  • Hours to bid: Set the time each employee has to select a shift (e.g., 24 hours).
  • Sprint: Enables a faster bidding process where the bid moves to the next employee as soon as the current employee makes a selection.
• Click Begin Bidding to start the process. Employees will receive notifications via text and email.

5. Employee Bidding, Supervisor Monitoring and Adjusting Bids

• Employees can click on the shift information icon to see details like days on/off and holidays work.
• As a supervisor, you can monitor bid progress under Menu > Shift Bidding.
• To edit bids:
  • Go back to Setup Schedules.
  • Select the schedule and click on the relevant shift.
  • Clear the assigned employee from a shift to reopen it.
  • Make manual adjustments as needed.
• View detailed bid information, including timestamps and employee selections, in the Manage Bidding section.

6. Downloading and Archiving Bid Data

• Under Menu > Shift Bidding, click on the shift and download the Excel file.
• The Excel file contains comprehensive bid details, including:
  • Employee information
  • Shift assignments
  • Start and end dates
  • Beat selections
  • Schedule patterns
  • Bidding timestamps

7. Making the Schedule Live

• Once bidding is complete, go to Menu > Setup Schedules.
• Select the schedule and click Make Live. This will populate the actual schedule with the bid results. This overwrites any schedule already in that date range.
• Refresh the schedule view to see the updated assignments.

Additional Notes

• Hero Schedule supports complex shift bidding scenarios with multiple shifts and activities.
• Contact support for assistance with setting up more intricate shift bids.