How to Trade Shifts (for Employees)

Updated August 01, 2024 16:20

Shift Trading in 7shifts lets you easily swap shifts with your co-workers. Depending on your account settings, admins and managers may review and approve these trades before they are finalized.

Continue reading to learn how the Shift Trading process works between you and your team.

Prerequisites

⚠️ Employees can only trade shifts with other Employees who share the same Locations/Departments/Roles.

⚠️ The original shift is still yours until the Shift Trade is approved.

Make a Trade Request

Start a trade request with a fellow Employee by completing the following, using the tabs to change your viewing preferences through the mobile or web app:

Head over to your schedule and tap on the shift you wish to offer to open the shift details.
Tap Find Cover:
Tap Trade Shift:
Scroll through to view and select an available shift you wish to take in exchange.
Tap on the Select date option to filter by date and/or enter an Employee's name under Search co-worker to choose a specific Employee to trade with:
After selecting an Employee's shift you wish to take, tap on Send request.
(optional) Include a message about the request within the text box. This message will also be viewable by Managers:
Tap Send Request to submit the trade request.
An email or SMS/push notification will be sent to the Employee you wish to trade with, waiting for them to accept the offer.
All set! You can keep an eye on a request you've initiated by heading to the bottom right more menu ☰ > Shift Pool > Mine:

Or, head to your schedule > the shift you offered > tap on Shift Trade pending:

The Other Employee in the trade can do the following:

Review the Shift Trade offer by going to your notifications or heading to the bottom right more menu ☰ > Shift Pool > Up for grabs.
Select the request you wish to view > tap Accept Trade to proceed or Decline Trade to deny the request:
Tap on the other Employee's shift to see the Shift Details, such as any notes or who you would be working with:
Once the other Employee accepts or declines, an email or SMS/push notification will be sent to the Employee who initiated the trade. A separate notification will go to an Admin or Manager for approval before the Schedule changes are final.

The status of the trade will be Awaiting Manager Approval in the meantime.

⚠️ Depending on the Admin's Account settings, the Shift Trade and Schedule changes may happen immediately after the other Employee accepts the trade offer.
Once the trade has been approved by an Admin or Manager, an email or SMS/push notification will be sent individually to both Employees and their schedules will reflect the changes.

If the trade is declined, both Employees will still receive an email or SMS/push notification but their schedules will remain unchanged.

On the Schedule page, click Trade on the shift you'd like to offer:
Scroll through to view and select any available shifts you wish to take in exchange.
Use the filters to narrow down your shift results on a specific day and/or choose a specific Employee to trade with:
After selecting a shift, you can include a message about the request within the text box. This message will also be viewable by Managers.
Click Trade Shift to submit a request.
Click OK to acknowledge the Shift Trade requested message. You are still responsible to work your shift until your coworker accepts the trade and a manager approves.
An email or SMS/push notification will be sent to the Employee you wish to trade with, waiting for them to accept the offer.

The other Employee can complete the following:

Review the Shift Trade offer by heading to the Schedule > Shift Pool > My Trades > select the Pending dropdown to accept or decline the trade request.
The Employee can also click on the request to see the trade details and click on Shift Details to see who they would be working with:
From there they can hit Accept Trade to proceed or Decline Trade to deny the request.
If the other Employee accepts or declines, an email or SMS/push notification will be sent to the Employee who initiated the trade. A separate notification will go to an Admin or Manager for approval before the Schedule changes are final.

The status of the trade will be Awaiting approval in the meantime.
Once the trade has been approved by an Admin or Manager, an email or SMS/push notification will be sent individually to both Employees and their schedules will reflect the changes.

If the Shift Trade was declined, both employees will still receive an email or SMS/push notification but their schedules will remain unchanged.

How to Cancel a Shift Trade Request (for Employees)

Prerequisites

Make a Trade Request

The Other Employee in the trade can do the following:

The other Employee can complete the following:

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