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Creating a Schedule

A schedule is the main output of WFM - the assignment of employees to shifts for a specific period. This guide explains how to create a new schedule.

Before you start

Make sure you have set up all prerequisites:

  • [x] At least one workplace with employees
  • [x] Contracts assigned to employees
  • [x] Skills assigned to employees
  • [x] Shifts available at the workplace
  • [x] Needs defined (or you plan to use Smart Schedule without needs)

See Prerequisites for detailed setup instructions.

Create a new schedule

  1. In the left menu, click Schedule (top-level item).
  2. Click + New Schedule Plan.
  3. Select the workplace.
  4. Enter the period details:
    • Name - Period name (e.g., "May 2026")
    • Date From - Start date
    • Date To - End date
  5. Click Create.

The system creates a schedule in Draft state and redirects you to the schedule detail.

Schedule states

A schedule goes through several states:

State Description
Draft Schedule is being created. Agents cannot see it.
Prepared Initial structure is ready. Can proceed to calculation.
Calculated Shifts have been assigned. Ready for review and publication.
Closed Published and visible to agents.

What happens when you create a schedule

When you create a schedule, the system:

  1. Creates the schedule record with the specified period
  2. Links it to the workplace
  3. Sets the initial state to Draft

The schedule is empty at this point - no shifts are assigned yet. You can now either:

  • Add shifts manually - Click on cells in the schedule grid
  • Use Smart Schedule - Let the system generate shifts automatically

Add employees to the schedule

Before generating or adding shifts, make sure the right employees are in the schedule.

  1. Click Add Employee in the top bar.
  2. In the Assign Employees to Plan dialog:
    • Filter employees by skill or role
    • Search by name
    • Use the TransferList to select employees to add
  3. Click Assign.

Only employees assigned to the schedule can have shifts.

Add shifts manually

To add a shift manually:

  1. Click on an empty cell in the schedule grid (row = employee, column = day).
  2. Select a shift from the available options.
  3. The shift is added to the schedule.

To modify a shift:

  1. Click on an existing shift.
  2. Edit the shift details or delete it.

Generate shifts automatically

For automatic shift generation, use Smart Schedule. See Smart Schedule for details.

View modes

The schedule can be viewed in different modes:

Mode Description
Period view Overview of the entire period with employee rows and day columns
Day view Detailed view of a single day with a time axis
Table view Tabular representation for easy editing

Switch between views using the dropdown in the top right corner.

Next steps

After creating a schedule:

  1. Generate shifts automatically using Smart Schedule
  2. Review and edit the schedule
  3. Publish the schedule for agents to see