Effective shift planning is important if your employees work on a scheduled shift pattern. This article will walk you through how to plan, publish, and unpublish shifts using the Gutsy platform.
Each section includes:
Step-by-step numbered instructions
Annotated screenshots
Clear use cases and examples
What You’ll Learn
Different shift planning methods — depending on your scheduling needs
How to plan a shift — including manual and template-based methods
How to publish a shift — to make it visible to employees
How to unpublish a shift — if changes are needed after publishing
This guide mirrors the actual platform layout to help you follow along easily.
Who Is This For?
This guide is ideal for:
Admins or Managers responsible for workforce scheduling
New users learning to manage shifts
Existing users needing a refresher on publishing processes
Planning the Shift
You can plan shifts in three ways, depending on your scheduling needs. This section walks you through each method with clear steps, use cases, and examples.
Method 1: Using a Pre-Created Shift Template (Drag-and-Drop)
Best for:
Quickly schedule shifts for the week using existing shift templates.
Limitation:
You are unable to set a recurring shift(s) using this method.
Steps:
Go to the side navigation menu and select Shift Schedule.
Select the week you want to plan shifts for. If you're planning for the current week, simply click “Today” to jump to this week's roster. You can also use the right arrow to navigate and plan for upcoming weeks.
Click the T icon to show all pre-created shift templates.
Choose the relevant Outlet.
View all available Shift Templates – including:
Shared Templates: Visible to all Admins
Unshared Templates: Only visible to the creator
Drag and drop the chosen shift template to the respective employee’s row.
Shift is now added to the schedule.
Click the shift to view details.
To make changes, click the Edit button.
Method 2: Add a Shift by Clicking the + Icon on the Employee's Schedule
Best for:
Planning a shift for one specific employee, and setting a recurring shift(s).
Steps:
Go to the side navigation menu and select Shift Schedule.
Click the + icon next to the desired employee’s name.
A. If using a Pre-created Template:
In the pop-up, open the Shift Template dropdown.
Select the desired template – shift details will auto-fill.
Edit any field(s) if needed:
a. Shift Type
b. Date
c. Time
d. Repeat Shift
e. Breaks
f. Pay Items
g. Colour
h. Remarks
i. Publish toggle
Click Create to confirm.
B. If creating the shift manually:
Choose the Outlet the employee will work from.
Select Shift Type: Working day, Off day, or Rest day.
Note for Non-Singapore Users:
The terms Rest Day and Off Day follow Singapore’s employment regulations as outlined in the Singapore Employment Act. If your company operates outside of Singapore, these settings may not apply to your local labour requirements. You can still configure shifts and time off as needed, but feel free to disregard this section if it’s not relevant to your region.
Choose the Date.
Choose the Shift Start and Shift End.
Decide if this is a repeated shift.
Add Break details (if applicable), and select whether it’s paid.
Add pay items for this shift.
Choose a colour for visual differentiation.
Add any remarks (if any).
Toggle Publish on/off as needed.
Publishing a shift means it will be visible to employees in their account. You can create a shift without publishing it right away, as publishing is not mandatory during shift creation. This gives you the flexibility to draft or plan shifts before making them visible to the team.
Click Create to finalise the shift.
The shift will now appear in the schedule for the selected employee.
Method 3: Click + Create a Shift Button (Bulk Assignment)
Best for:
Assigning the same shift to multiple employees in one go, and setting a recurring shift(s).
Steps:
Open Shift Schedule from the side nav.
Click the + Create a Shift button.
Use the dropdown to select one or more employees with the same shift.
A. If using a Pre-created Template:
Open the Shift Template dropdown and choose a template.
The shift details will auto-fill.
Adjust any field if needed.
Click Create.
B. If creating the shift manually:
Select the relevant Outlet.
Choose the Shift Type: Working day, Off day, or Rest day.
Note for Non-Singapore Users:
The terms Rest Day and Off Day follow Singapore’s employment regulations as outlined in the Singapore Employment Act. If your company operates outside of Singapore, these settings may not apply to your local labour requirements. You can still configure shifts and time off as needed, but feel free to disregard this section if it’s not relevant to your region.
Select the Date.
Select the Shift Start and Shift End.
Enable Repeat if it’s a recurring shift.
Add Breaks, and set them as paid/unpaid.
Add pay items for this shift.
Choose a colour.
Enter any remarks (if any).
Toggle Publish as needed.
✏️Note: Publishing a shift means it will be visible to employees in their account. You can create a shift without publishing it right away, as publishing is not mandatory during shift creation. This gives you the flexibility to draft or plan shifts before making them visible to the team.
Click Create.
The shift will now appear in the schedule for all selected employees.
Method 4: Adding from the Open Shift
Best for:
Urgent scheduling needs, last-minute changes, or when flexibility is required in assigning shifts.
Steps:
From the Side Navigation Menu, go to Shift Schedule
You have two options to create an Open Shift:
A. Click the + icon on the desired date within the Open Shift row (ensure you are selecting from the Open Shift row).
B. Click the + Create Open Shift button at the top of the Shift Schedule page.
You’ll be directed to the New Open Shift setup page.
Fill in the following details:
Outlet: Choose the outlet where this shift will apply
No. of Headcount: Define how many employees are needed
Shift Template (optional): Apply a pre-created template to save time
Shift Type: Working Day, Off Day, or Rest Day
Note for Non-Singapore Users:
The terms Rest Day and Off Day follow Singapore’s employment regulations as outlined in the Singapore Employment Act. If your company operates outside of Singapore, these settings may not apply to your local labour requirements. You can still configure shifts and time off as needed, but feel free to disregard this section if it’s not relevant to your region.
Position/Sub-position: Define the required role for this shift
Date
Shift Start / End Time
Break Settings: Include break duration or timing, and define whether it's Paid or Unpaid
Colour Tag: Pick a colour to easily identify this template visually in the schedule.
Remarks (optional): You can add any special notes or instructions here. Please note that this remark will also be visible to the employee.
Toggle Publish:
On: The shift becomes visible to eligible employees under that outlet, who can then bid to take it
Off: Only you can view it, and assign specific employees manually
Click Create
After Creating the Open Shift:
If Published, employees can see and bid for the shift from their profile
If Not Published, follow the steps below to assign employees directly.
Steps:
Click the created Open Shift in the schedule
Click the + Employee button
Under the Employees dropdown:
Select employees manually or use Select All
⚠️Note: An error will appear if you exceed the headcount
Click Add
The assigned employees will now be visible in the Open Shift card.
(Optional) Click Publish to finalise the shift and notify the assigned employees — or refer to the steps below for detailed instructions on how to publish a shift.
Scenario:
An outlet employee calls in sick — either the day before or on the day of their scheduled shift. The Outlet Manager needs to find a quick replacement to ensure operations continue smoothly.
With Open Shift, the manager has two options:
Publish the vacant shift — The shift becomes visible to eligible employees, who can choose to bid for it if they are available and willing to work.
Manually assign the shift — The manager can directly assign the open shift to any employee who is not already scheduled to work that day.
This feature helps teams respond quickly to changes and ensures shift coverage without unnecessary delays, and enables attendance clocking for employees.
To learn how to clock attendance, view this guide here.
Publishing Shifts
After creating shifts, the next step is to publish them so employees can view their assigned schedule. A shift must be published before it becomes visible on the employee's account.
How to Tell if a Shift is Published
Unpublished Shift = Partially filled with colour (faded).
Published Shift = Fully filled with colour (solid block).
Why Publish?
Notifies employees of their scheduled shifts.
Locks the shift in their calendar.
Ensures team visibility and accountability.
Methods to Publish Shifts
Method 1: Publish While Creating the Shift
This method is available when:
Using the + icon on the employee’s schedule, or
Using the + Create a Shift button
Steps:
Plan a shift using either the + icon or + Create a Shift button.
In the shift creation window, scroll to the "Publish" toggle.
Toggle it on before clicking Create.
✅ Once saved, the shift appears fully coloured — indicating it’s published.
Method 2: Select and Publish Existing Shifts
Best for:
Manually publish specific shifts that have already been created but not yet published.
Steps:
Go to the Shift Schedule module.
Locate the shift(s) with a partially filled colour.
Tick the checkbox next to the shift(s) you want to publish.
Click the Publish button (at the top right corner).
The shift will now appear fully coloured and visible to the employee.
Method 3: Publish All Shifts at Once
Best for:
Fastest way to publish all open and normal shifts on the current view (i.e. the current week).
Steps:
Go to Shift Schedule.
On the top right of the screen, click Publish All.
A confirmation prompt will appear explaining that all visible shifts will be published.
Confirm by clicking Publish.
📌 This will publish all shifts for the current page view.
Unpublishing a Shift
There may be times when you need to unpublish a shift, for example:
The shift was assigned to the wrong employee
There has been a last-minute change in scheduling
You want to edit or reassign the shift before the employee sees it
Unpublishing removes the shift from the employee’s view but does not delete it. This gives you the flexibility to review or make adjustments.
How to Unpublish a Shift
Steps:
Go to the Shift Schedule page.
Locate the published shift you want to unpublish (shown with a fully filled colour).
Click the shift to view the details.
Click the Edit button.
Scroll down to find the "Publish" toggle.
Switch the toggle from ON to OFF.
Click Update to save the changes.
✅ The shift will return to a partially filled colour, indicating it is no longer visible to the employee.
You’ve Successfully Planned and Published Shifts!
Congratulations, you’ve now learnt how to plan, publish, and unpublish shifts for your employees!
You can choose from the four planning methods based on what best fits your workflow, and with publishing options built right into the platform, you’re fully in control of what employees can see and when.
Looking for More?
Visit our Help Centre to explore other guides, tips, and tutorials to support your shift management needs
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at support@gutsyhq.com. We'll get back to you from there.