Make a shift available to staff and manage staff requests
Publish an unassigned standalone shift so an eligible staff member can claim it or request operator approval. This guide shows you how to choose the approval mode, create and publish the shift, help staff find it, and resolve pending requests.
Scope: This guide covers standalone, one-off shifts shown in Enroute → Shifts. It does not cover departure-linked assignments, recurring shifts, the Operations Calendar, or unavailability requests.
Before you start
Confirm that the staff member has the shift's Position and Location assigned to them. Staff only see available shifts that match their eligibility.
Decide how staff should take the shift:
Turn Require operator approval off when staff can claim the shift immediately.
Turn Require operator approval on when an operator must approve each request.
Keep the shift Unassigned. A published standalone shift is available only while it has no assigned staff member or owning departure assignment.
1. Choose the approval mode
If an operator must review each request, enable approval before staff request the shift:
Open Settings → Operations → Shifts.
Turn on Require operator approval.
Screenshot: Require operator approval
Select Save.
If staff can take the shift without review, leave Require operator approval off and skip this step.
2. Create an unassigned standalone shift
Open Operations → Shifts.
Select Create shift.
Screenshot: Create shift
Set the Start and End time.
Select the Shift Location and Position.
Leave Staff member (optional) set to Unassigned.
Add a Note if staff need extra context.
Turn on Save as draft when you want to keep the shift hidden while you prepare it.
Save the shift
Screenshot: Save as draft
A draft shift stays hidden from Enroute. Publish it before staff look for it.
3. Publish the shift
If you saved the shift as a draft, publish it before continuing. If you saved it without draft mode, skip to How staff find the shift.
Open Operations → Shifts.
Find the shift in the table.
Open the row actions.
Select Publish.
Screenshot: Publish
The shift must be Published, Unassigned, standalone, and eligible for the staff member's position and location before it appears in Enroute.
4. How staff find the shift
Through a shift notification message: If shift notifications are turned on any eligible staff member will receive a notification about a new available shift. The notification will include a direct link to the available shift in the Enroute staff portal.
Directly on the Enroute staff portal: Staff members can also open Enroute → Shifts in the staff portal.
Staff member select the week that contains the shift's start time.
They turn on Show available shifts.
Open available shifts should be visible for the chosen week.
Troubleshooting shift visibility on Enroute staff portal
If the shift does not appear with the expected date, time, position, and location, check the following:
The shift is Published, not Draft.
Staff member (optional) is still Unassigned.
The shift is standalone, not a departure-linked assignment.
The staff member has the shift's Position and Location assigned to them.
The selected week includes the shift's start time.
5. Let staff claim or request the shift (automatically approved shif)
The available action depends on the approval mode.
Approval is off: let staff claim the shift
Staff member can select Claim.
They confirm by selecting Yes, claim it in the confirmation dialog.
Confirm that the shift is assigned to them and the card shows Assigned.
Approval is on: let staff request operator approval
Staff member selects Request shift.
Staff member enters an optional note for the reviewing operator.
Staff member selects Send request.
Shift card shows Requested while the request is pending.
Screenshot: Request shift
Screenshot: Send request
A staff member can select Cancel request while the request is pending. If an operator denies the request, the card shows Denied and the operator's note. The staff member cannot submit the same denied request again from that card.
6. Resolve pending requests
If staff requested approval, resolve the request from the operator queue:
Open Operations → Staff requests.
Select the Pending tab.
Screenshot: Pending staff requests
Find the request for the shift.
Select Approve to assign the shift to the requester, or select Deny to leave the shift available for another eligible staff member.
Review any confirmation or conflict warning before you finish the action.
Verify the result
Approved: the shift is assigned to the requester and the request leaves Pending.
Denied: the shift remains available and the request moves to resolved history.
Cancelled: the staff member withdrew the pending request; no operator approval occurred.
Open the Resolved tab on Staff requests to find approved, denied, and cancelled requests.
Next steps
Create a Shift for a detailed walkthrough of the shift form.
Shift Settings to review other shift configuration options.
My Shifts to learn how staff view their assigned shifts.
Assigning Staff on a Departure when you need a departure-linked assignment instead of a standalone shift.