Pro or Enterprise plan · Admin or Manager role, depending on the task
- Plan
- Pro or Enterprise plan. Compare plans
- Set up shift swaps
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Admin role
Or a custom role with Scheduling rules set to Full access on the Configure tab - Give final approval to shift swaps
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Admin or Manager role
Or a custom role with Shift swaps set to Can approve and deny all - Request and respond to shift swaps
- A role with Shift swaps set to View, approve, and deny only their own
If your access is limited to certain sites, you only see eligible shifts, and swap requests, from agents in the same site.
Admins set roles and permissions in Manage team > Roles and permissions.
Use shift swaps to let agents trade shifts with colleagues who are eligible to cover them, without a manager rebuilding the schedule. Assembled shows each agent only the shifts they can swap with, based on rules you set. Each swap needs two approvals: the colleague being asked, then a reviewer.
To set up shift swaps, go to Configure > Shift swaps. To review swap requests, go to Schedule > Schedule requests.
How shift swaps work
- Two approvals. The agent who’s asked approves first, then the reviewer the requesting agent chose, or anyone who can approve and deny all shift swaps, gives final approval.
- One set of rules for everyone. The eligibility rules apply to every agent who has access to shift swaps.
- Shifts are built from scheduled events. Events with gaps of 1 hour or less between them count as one shift. Working hours with no scheduled events can’t be swapped.
- Some conditions always apply. Shifts must be exactly the same length, and they must be in the future: shifts that have already started can’t be swapped. Agents can offer their own shifts up to 3 months ahead.
- Some shifts can’t be swapped. A shift can’t be swapped if it’s time off or includes time off, if it was already swapped, or if it includes events from an extra work or voluntary time off request. A match is also left out if the incoming shift would overlap the agent’s other events.
What gets swapped
Everything on the two shifts is exchanged between the agents, including events that only apply to one person, such as a one-to-one meeting. Reviewers should avoid approving swaps of shifts with agent-specific events, or fix those events afterward. Google Calendar events aren’t swapped and stay where they are.
Set up shift swaps
Set up eligibility before you give agents access, so their first requests follow your rules.
Important: Until you save the shift swap settings, no eligibility rules apply, and any shift of the same length counts as a match, even though Strict appears selected.
Turn on shift swaps
- Go to Configure > Shift swaps.
- Turn on Shift swap access.
This turns shift swaps on for your company and shows the Shift swaps permission in Roles and permissions. If you turn it off later, pending swaps can still be reviewed.
Choose which shifts can be swapped
On Configure > Shift swaps, choose a preset, check the conditions listed under A shift swap is allowed when:, and save your changes.
| Preset | What it means |
|---|---|
| Strict | Swaps require that the agents’ details and shifts match closely. |
| Balanced | Shift length, site, and channel match. Other attributes can vary. |
| Flexible | If their shifts are the same length, people can trade freely. |
| Custom | Adjust your settings manually. You decide what’s important. |
Each condition covers one attribute: shift length, events, sites, teams, channels, queues, or skills. It’s marked Exact match, Partial match, or Not required. With Custom, you choose the condition for each attribute. For example, for events:
| Condition | Example option for events |
|---|---|
| Exact match | The shifts contain the same event types. |
| Partial match | The shifts share at least 1 event type. |
| Not required | The shifts include the same event or different events. |
For example: to make sure agents only swap into shifts they’re qualified to work, choose Custom, set events to The shifts share at least 1 event type., and leave the other attributes not required unless your organization has a specific constraint.
Give people access
- Go to Manage team > Roles and permissions and choose a role.
- On the Schedule tab, under Requests, set Shift swaps to one of these options:
| Option | What people with this role can do |
|---|---|
| Can approve and deny all | Give final approval to any swap request. You can limit this to certain teams or queues. |
| View all | View shift swap requests for all schedules, but not act on them. |
| View, approve, and deny only their own | Request swaps, and approve or deny requests that affect their own schedule. |
| No access | Not use shift swaps. |
By default, Admin and Manager roles have Can approve and deny all, Team Lead has View all, and Standard and Basic have No access. After you’ve set up eligibility, give agents View, approve, and deny only their own so they can request swaps and respond to requests made to them.
Request a shift swap
Agents request swaps from their own schedule. For the agent’s view, see Request a shift swap
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Go to My Assembled > My schedule and select Request shift swap, next to My scorecard and Time off.
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In Swap request reviewer, choose who should give final approval. The list shows everyone who can approve shift swaps.
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In Select day of shift to be swapped, choose the day of the shift you want to swap.
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In Date range of eligible days to swap, choose the days to look for matching shifts in, and select Find matching shifts.
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Under Matching shifts, choose a shift. To narrow the list, use Filter matching shifts by agent.
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Submit the request.
The other agent gets an email asking them to respond.
Approve or deny a shift swap
- The agent who was asked goes to Schedule > Schedule requests, sets Request type to Shift swap, and approves or denies the request.
- If they approve, the reviewer gets an email. The reviewer, or anyone whose role has Can approve and deny all, approves or denies it on the same page. Each request shows the decisions so far, as Agent and Reviewer.
If both approve, the shifts are swapped and the requesting agent gets an email. A swapped shift can’t be swapped again, by either agent. If either one denies the request, the requesting agent gets an email, and nothing changes. They can then request a swap with a different shift.