ShiftBID | Managing Employees

Modified on Thu, May 7 at 4:29 PM

Effectively managing your employee roster is foundational to using the Shift Bidding feature. Employees can be added to Hero Schedule individually or imported in bulk using an Excel template.

Adding Employees Manually

To add employees one at a time:

  1. Navigate to Menu > Employees.
  2. Click the + Add Employee button.
  3. Complete the required and optional fields for the employee. Here are some tips:
    • Title: Optional.
    • First Name / Last Name: Enter the employee's name.
    • Login Name: A unique identifier, typically their email or first initial and last name (e.g., dsmith). This must be unique per user.
    • Password: You can set a temporary password or leave it blank to send an invitation for the employee to set their own.
    • Email Address: Required for system notifications and login invites.
    • Badge Number / Employee Number: (Optional) Enter internal tracking numbers if applicable.
    • Begin Date: Enter their official hire date. This is used to determine seniority for bidding. Note: If a "Set Bid Order Group" (custom bid ranking) is established and used for a bid, the order in that group can override the Begin Date seniority for that specific bid.
    • Disable all notifications: Check this box if you do not want the employee to receive automated emails.
    • Permissions:
      • Log In: Set this to YES for any employee who needs access to the system.
      • Supervisor Rights: Set to YESonly for staff managing the bidding process.
        • Edit Employees / Manage Permissions: Use these toggles to grant specific administrative powers to supervisors.

Importing Employees in Bulk

For initial setup or adding many users at once, use the Excel spreadsheet template. Importing is also the most efficient way to make bulk updates to existing employees or to deactivate multiple employees at once.

The Import Process: Step-by-Step

  1. Navigate to Menu > Employees and click Import.
  2. Click Download Template to get the current version.
  3. Fill out the template using the field guide below and return to the Import screen.
  4. Click Select File to Import and choose your saved file.
  5. It is recommended to check the option Create Missing Groups/Departments if your spreadsheet contains group names that don't yet exist in the system.
  6. Click Test Run to check for errors.
  7. If the test is successful, click Import to add or update the employees.
How Import Matching Works

The import uses the Login Nameas the unique key to match records.
  • If the Login Name in your file matches an existing employee, that employee's record will be updated with the values in your spreadsheet.
  • If the Login Name does not match any existing employee, a new employee record will be created.
Make sure the Login Name in your file exactly matches what is already in the system when updating existing employees.

Updating Existing Employees

You can use the import to update any field on an existing employee's record — for example, changing a title, email address, anniversary date, or supervisor status. Simply include the updated values in your spreadsheet and re-import.

Important: Blank Cells Will Overwrite Existing Data

When updating existing employees, any cell left blank in your spreadsheet will overwrite the existing value with blank. This applies to all columns. For example:
  • A blank CanLogIn cell will disable the employee's login access.
  • A blank IsSupervisor cell will remove supervisor rights.
  • A blank Password cell will set a blank password, preventing login. Workaround: delete the Password column entirely from your spreadsheet — a missing column is not processed and will not affect the existing value. (A fix for automatic password handling is coming in a future update.)

Best practice: Use the Export button on the Employees page to download your current employee list as your starting point. This ensures every field is already populated, and you only need to modify the specific values you intend to change.

The minimum fields required on each row, whether adding or updating, are:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Email Address
  • Login Name
  • Anniversary Date

Import Spreadsheet Field Guide

When filling out the import template, use the following field guidelines:

ColumnInstructions
TitleOptional. If left blank on an update, the existing title will be cleared.
FirstNameRequired.
LastNameRequired.
PasswordOptional when adding a new employee — leave blank and use the Send Login Invite feature so employees set their own password. When updating existing employees: do not leave this blank — it will set a blank password and prevent login. Instead, delete the Password column entirely from your spreadsheet so it is not processed.
EmailAddressRequired. Used for account setup and notifications.
EmployeeNumberOptional. Used for internal tracking. If left blank on an update, the existing value will be cleared.
BadgeNumberOptional. If left blank on an update, the existing value will be cleared.
LoginNameRequired. Must be unique per user. Typically the employee's email address. This is the key used to match existing records on import.
CellOptional. If included, the value will be imported into the employee's own profile (Menu > My Settings). It is not visible in the admin Employee screen. The employee will still need to complete the cell verification process before it can be used for notifications. If left blank on an update, the existing value will be cleared.
IsSupervisorSet to TRUE only for those managing the bidding process or admin functions. Set to FALSE for all other employees. Do not leave blank on an update — a blank value will remove supervisor rights.
AnniversaryDateRequired. The employee's hire date, used for seniority. Important: Highlight this column in Excel, right-click, set the format to Plain Text, and enter dates in the format MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 12/15/2022). This prevents Excel from converting the date to a serial number, which will cause an import error.
GroupOptional, but recommended. Assign the employee to an existing schedule group (e.g., A Shift, Warehouse). The spelling must exactly match the group name already in the system — a mismatch will create a duplicate group. If left blank on an update, the employee will be removed from their current group.
DepartmentLeave blank. Not applicable for ShiftBID.
CanMakeChangesLeave blank. Not applicable for ShiftBID.
EnableTimeClockLeave blank. Not applicable for ShiftBID.
ViewTimeCardLeave blank. Not applicable for ShiftBID.
DisableNotificationsSet to TRUE during setup to prevent employees from receiving emails before you are ready. Set to FALSE when you want notifications active. This setting can also be changed in bulk directly from the Employees screen. Do not leave blank on an update — a blank value may produce unintended notification behavior.
CanLogInSet to TRUE for all active employees. Do not leave blank on an update — a blank value will disable the employee's login access.
InactiveDateLeave blank for active employees. To deactivate an employee via import, enter a date (past, today, or future) in MM/DD/YYYY format. The employee will be deactivated on that date, removed from all active lists, and retained in the system as inactive. See Bulk Deactivation via Import below.

Bulk Deactivation via Import

To deactivate multiple employees at once, create an import spreadsheet containing only those employees. Include the five required fields (FirstName, LastName, EmailAddress, LoginName, AnniversaryDate) and set the InactiveDate column to the appropriate date for each employee.

Employees are never permanently deleted. After deactivation they remain in the system as inactive records and can be reactivated at any time. See Reactivating an Employee below.


Deactivating an Employee

When an employee leaves, you should deactivate their account. You can do this individually through the interface, or in bulk via import (see above).

Manual Deactivation

  1. Navigate to Menu > Employees and click the employee's name.
  2. Click the Deactivate button in the lower-left corner.
  3. Select the employee's last day of employment. This is the date the deactivation will become effective.
  4. Click Preview to see the changes (removal from groups, etc.).
  5. Click Deactivate again to confirm.

Reactivating an Employee

To reactivate an employee who was previously deactivated, navigate to their Employee Settings page (you will need to filter for inactive employees). Click the Reactivate button to restore their access and status.


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