Setting up locations and shifts in Zendesk WFM

What's my plan?

Locations are part of your organizational structure and are used to group agents who share the same geographic location. You can also use locations to split teams in the same physical location that have different shifts and scheduling rules. For example, you might create two San Francisco locations: one for part-time agents and one for full-time agents.

You’ll define your operational hours and create shifts that apply to agents’ schedules in the locations you add.

When setting up a location’s shifts, you can create either automatic shifts, where forecasted requirements determine the shifts’ days and hours, or fixed shifts, where managers have more control.

This article contains the following sections:

• Accessing the Locations page
• Adding a location
• Creating automatic shifts
• Creating fixed shifts
• Organizing shifts
• Managing locations

Related articles

• About Zendesk WFM workstreams
• Creating Zendesk WFM general tasks
• Using the WFM time zone switcher

Accessing the Locations page

You must be an admin to access the Locations page.

To access Locations

1. In the Zendesk WFM web app, hover over the admin icon () in the navigation bar, then select Organization structure.
2. Click Locations.

   

Adding a location

Add locations to group agents that share the same geographic location, such as an office, country, or region. Note that agents can be assigned to only one location.

To add a location

1. On your Locations page click the add location (+) icon.
2. Enter a unique Location name.
3. Click the drop-down menu and select the Time zone.
   Note: By default, the time zone selected in the Time zone switcher is used.
4. (Optional) If you plan to use automatic shifts, choose your Operational Hours. Select either Open 24/7 or select Specific hours to choose certain days of the week and specific hours. If you select specific hours, it's recommended to set the same length of time for each day.
   Note: A location’s operational hours and automatic shift requirements only apply if you're using automatic shifts. Fixed shift logic overrules these settings.
5. (Optional) If you plan to use automatic shifts, set the Automatic shift requirements.

   

6. Click Save.

   Next, you’ll create shifts for the location and assign agents. You can create both automatic and fixed shifts for each of your locations.

Understanding a location's time zone

Here are a few things you should keep in mind when setting up a location’s time zone:

• The agent's Location time zone determines where time off and shifts are scheduled.
• The time zone set in the Location is also what determines whether or not daylight savings time (DST) applies for that shift or time off.
• The time zone the agent sees their shifts in is controlled through their time zone selector in the Agent Schedule app. This means that if, for example, a Location's time zone is in the US during daylight savings time (DST), agents who have set their time zones in the Agent Schedule app to a non-DST time zone will see their shifts move when DST takes effect in the time zone their shift is anchored to inside of Locations.

Creating automatic shifts

Automatic shifts are based on your forecasted requirements. These shifts allow Zendesk WFM to automatically decide the best days and starting times for each agent. However, you do have some control over the starting times for your automatic shifts.

To create an automatic shift

1. On your Locations page select a location.
2. Click Shifts in the top-right corner.
3. Click the add shift or folder (+) icon and select Automatic shift from the menu.
4. Enter a Shift name, then click Add shift.
5. Click the add Intraday variants (+) icon below the Actions menu.
6. In the Settings tab, configure the following:
   • Name
   • Shift length
   • Select either Flexible shift start time or Specific shift start time.

     

     Flexible shift start times allow you to choose the Max difference in shift start time (such as +2 hours). This is the window of time in which agents can be scheduled. For example, if your max difference is two hours, an agent scheduled to work at 9:00 am can only have their next shift start between 7:00 am and 11:00 am.

     For Specific shift start time, enter more than one starting time. The start times for each agent will be chosen to best satisfy the forecasted staffing needs.

7. Click the Intraday tab. This is when your agents' general tasks should occur. You can set only one intraday variant per automatic shift.
8. Click the Task (+) icon, then select a Task from the menu.
   This can be any general task that your agents need to accomplish daily, such as a break, lunch, or a daily stand-up meeting. It can also include any workstreams they're assigned to. If you don't select any workstreams, the workstream is auto-populated for you based on what's been forecasted.
9. Set the time interval in which the task can occur, counting from the start of the shift, and the duration of the task.

   

10. Click Save.
11. Select Agents on the top right to assign users to this shift and then click Save. By default, all users who are assigned to workstreams are displayed, but you can filter by your teams, workstreams, other locations, and your Zendesk groups.

Rotating automatic shifts (EAP)

Note: The ability to define a rotation period for automatic shifts is currently in an Early Access Progam (EAP). You can sign up for the EAP here.

When you create or edit automatic shifts, you can define a rotation period for these shifts in either days or weeks. Rotation periods allow agents to rotate between shifts with different starting times. For example, if you define a rotation period of one week, then agents that start at 9:00 am can start at 11:00 am the following week, and so on.

By rotating agents' shift start times automatically, managers don't have to decide a specific order in which to rotate shifts.

To create a rotation period for an automatic shift

1. Create or edit an existing automatic shift.
2. Click the shift's Intraday variant.
3. Enter a Rotation period, then select if it's in either day(s) or week(s).

   

   If the intraday variant has a Flexibile shift start time, the best starting time for each agent is calculated according to what's forecasted and is maintained for the defined rotation period. During the next rotation period, a new starting time may be selected for agents.

   If the intraday variant has a Specific shift start time, agents are randomly assigned to the different specified times and are rotated between the different starting times during each rotation period.

4. Click Save.

Creating fixed shifts

Fixed shifts allow you to set specific days and times for shift start. The fixed shift logic overrides the location's operational hours and automatic shift requirements.

Fixed shift intraday settings work similarly to the automatic shift intraday, but with the following key differences:

• You can set up multiple intraday variants for each shift.
• Each variant can be assigned to one or more day of the week (each day can only have one intraday variant)
• The covered days for the shift are displayed at the top of the intraday variants screen.

To create a fixed shift

1. Click your Location's Shifts section in the top-right corner.
2. Click the add shift or folder (+) icon and select Fixed shift from the menu.
3. Enter a Shift name. For example, 9am MWF.
4. Click Add shift.
5. Click the add intraday variant (+) icon below the Actions menu.
6. In the Settings tab, configure the following:
   • Name
   • Start time
   • Length
   • Working days. The days your agents will work. The days that appear dimmed will be their days off.

     

7. Click the Intraday tab. This is when your agents' general tasks should occur.
8. Click the add Task(+) icon, then select a Task from the menu.
   Note: This can be any general task that your agents need to have or accomplish on a daily basis such as a break, lunch, or a daily stand-up meeting. It can also include any workstreams they're assigned to. If you don't select any workstreams, the workstream is auto-populated for you based on what's been forecasted.
9. Set the time interval in which the task can occur, counting from the start of the shift, and the duration of the task.

   

10. Click Save.
11. Select Agents on the top right to assign users to this shift and then click Save. Make sure that agents are assigned to workstreams so they can be selected.

Rotating fixed shifts

You can add your fixed shifts to a rotation folder so that your agents' shifts are rotated. For example, you may want to rotate agents' shift start times every week so that agents who start at 9:00 am one week, can start at 11:00 am the following week, and so on.

To create a rotation folder

1. Click your Location's Shifts section in the top-right corner.
2. Click the add shift or folder (+) icon and select Folder from the menu.
3. Enter a Name and then click Add folder.
4. Choose your Rotation period. For example, enter 1 week to rotate agents' shifts every week.
   Note: All rotations start from Jan 01, 2022, and not from the day or week that your rotations are created. The order of the shifts will dictate the order of the rotation that week.
5. Click Save.
6. In the Shifts sidebar, select the shifts you want to rotate and drag them into the rotating folder.

After a shift has been added to the rotation folder, you can view the rotation period of your agents by clicking the Rotation preview tab inside of the folder. If you'd like to change the order of shifts, you can reassign agents to different shifts.

Organizing shifts

Arranging shifts in folders can help you keep all your shifts organized and help you locate shifts.

To create a shift folder

1. Click your Location's Shifts section in the top-right corner.
2. Click the add shift or folder (+) icon and select Folder from the menu.
3. Enter a Name and then click Add Folder.
4. Click Save.
5. In the Shifts sidebar, select the shifts you want to organize and drag them into the folder.

Managing locations

Manage locations by editing or deleting them.

To edit a location

1. Access your Locations page and click the location you want to edit.
2. Edit the location settings and shifts as needed.
3. Click Save.

To delete a location

1. Access your Locations page and hover over the location you want to delete.
2. Click the options menu () that appears next to the location name.
3. Click Delete.
4. Confirm you want to delete the location by clicking Delete location.