How to Set up Open Shift Rotations

Hero Schedule's Open Shift Rotations help supervisors distribute open shifts consistently and transparently. A rotation can track when employees were assigned shifts, how many open-shift hours or individual shifts they were assigned, or their total hours worked during a selected period.

Rotations are useful for voluntary overtime, mandatory overtime, and any process where supervisors need a clear, defensible way to compare eligible employees.

Related articles:

• Setting Up Open Shift Pools
• Managing Mandatory Overtime with Open Shift Rotations
• How to Create an Open Shift

Create an Open Shift Rotation

1. Open Open Shift Setup. Go to Menu → Setup → Open Shift Setup.

2. Start a new rotation. Select the Open Shift Rotations tab, then select New Open Shift Rotation.

3. Name the rotation. Use a name that makes the rotation's purpose clear wherever it appears. When appropriate, include both the measurement and period — for example, Detectives — Open Shift Hours This Year, Mandatory — Last Assigned Moment, or Total Hours This Pay Period.

4. Choose a rotation method.

   • Last Assigned Moment — Records the date and time when a supervisor assigns an employee to an open shift using the rotation. The value is set at the moment of approval, not the date of the shift itself. Use it when fairness is based on who has gone the longest since being awarded a shift.
   • Last Assigned Shift — Records the start date and time of the latest scheduled shift assigned to the employee using the rotation. Unlike Last Assigned Moment, this records when the assigned shift occurs — not when the supervisor approves it.
   • Open Shift Hours Assigned — Totals the hours the employee has received through open shift assignments. For example, a 12-hour shift and a 6-hour shift produce a running total of 18 hours. Additional assignments continue to increase the total. Choose a tracking period: per week, per pay period, per calendar month, per calendar quarter, per calendar year, or all time. Most agencies use per calendar year or all time.
   • One Point Per Shift — Adds exactly one point for each approved open shift assignment, regardless of shift length. A 2-hour shift and a 12-hour shift each count as one point. Choose the applicable tracking period (same options as Open Shift Hours Assigned).
   • Total Hours Worked — Totals the employee's recorded hours across regular scheduled shifts, schedule changes, overtime shifts, and open shifts. Choose per week, per pay period, or per month. Per pay period is the most common choice, since it provides a broader view of the employee's workload during the current cycle.

5. Select the default open shift pools. Choose the open shift pools that normally use this rotation. Different groups or departments can have separate rotations and fairness rules.

6. Save the rotation.

Review or Correct Rotation Values

From the Open Shift Rotations setup page, select the grid/list icon next to a rotation to view its current stored values for each employee. You can manually correct a stored date, hour total, or point count when an assignment was recorded incorrectly or an exception needs to be recorded. Select the checkmark to save the edited value.

Use a Rotation When Approving an Open Shift

1. Go to Approve Requests → Open Shifts and open the shift you are assigning.
2. Review the employees who have expressed interest in the shift.
3. Expand a sorting option to compare eligible employees. Available options include your configured rotations and built-in seniority options.

4. Choose the sort direction that matches your agency's policy. For example:

   • Least to most open-shift hours
   • Most to least open-shift hours
   • Oldest to newest last-assigned value
   • Fewest to most points, or most to fewest
   • Most senior or least senior
5. Select the employee who should receive the shift.
6. Before approving, select which rotation or rotations should be updated by this assignment. You can update one rotation, multiple rotations, or none, depending on the purpose of the shift. For example, a shift might count toward Open Shift Hours Assigned but not toward Mandatory Points.
7. Select Approve. Hero Schedule updates the selected rotation values for that employee.

Seniority Sorting

Most Senior and Least Senior are built-in sorting options, not rotation methods you create in Open Shift Setup. They use the seniority date configured for each employee, such as hire date or begin date, depending on your agency's setup.

Examples

• Equal opportunity for voluntary overtime: Sort an annual Open Shift Hours Assigned rotation from least to most and consider employees with fewer assigned open-shift hours.
• Mandatory overtime: Use Last Assigned Moment or One Point Per Shift to identify who has gone the longest without a mandatory assignment or who has the fewest mandatory points.
• Balance the current workload: Use Total Hours Worked for the current pay period to compare all hours already worked — not only open-shift hours.

Tips

• Use separate rotations when voluntary and mandatory assignments follow different rules.
• Keep the setup simple. Most agencies only need one or two rotations.
• Name each rotation clearly enough that supervisors can understand it on the approval screen without returning to Setup.
• When you select multiple rotations during approval, all selected measurements are updated at the same time.
• A rotation supports consistent decision-making, but your agency's own policy determines which employee should receive the shift.