Group Chat Types for Messages
Whether you need to coordinate across entire locations, specific departments, employee roles, or custom groups, 7shifts offers flexible group chat options to suit your needs.
In this guide, we’ll break down each chat type—Location, Department, Role, and Custom Groups—so you can easily understand how to use them to improve collaboration and keep everyone in the loop. Every Employee who is assigned to the group can post comments, reply, and upload attachments.
Prerequisites
⚠️ To ensure that the correct users receive your message, Admins must have Assignments and Locations/Departments/Roles set up in the Account.
⚠️ Managers/Assistant Managers will have access to group channel chats for their assigned Locations and Departments, including all Role channel chats within their assigned Departments. This access is maintained regardless of their specific role to ensure they stay connected with all relevant teams in the areas they manage.
SKIP AHEAD TO:
Chat by Location/Department/Role
Chat by Scheduled Shift
Chat with Individuals or Custom Groups
Chat by Location/Department/Role
Use the tabs to change your viewing preferences through the mobile or web app:
- Tap the chat bubble in the bottom navigation bar > tap + > New Channel Message.
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You'll notice you've been assigned to certain groups based on the Locations, Departments, and Roles you've been assigned to. Tap on the group you'd like to message.
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Click on the chat bubble at the top right:
- You'll notice you'll have two tabs:
Recents tab: shows you all recent conversations.
All Messages tab: each Location, Department, and Role in your account has its Messaging group. For example, if you only want to communicate something to your Servers, you can post it under the Server group. You can include attachments and staff can post their messages or reply to others. You can also search your current messages.
Chat by Scheduled Shifts
Use the tabs to change your viewing preferences through the mobile or web app:
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Tap the chat bubble in the bottom navigation bar > tap + > New Chat > select a Location/Department/Role :
- You can message multiple groups in the same message by selecting another target roster:
- Tap on Next when you're ready to send your message.
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Pro Tip!
- If an Admin is set to Appear as an employee in their Account, and is NOT scheduled, they will be included in any 'Not Scheduled' Roster Talk chats/announcements.
- You can mix and match your chat groups by adding multiple "schedules" options, other group types, or specific employees.
- Employees scheduled 'Today' include anyone who has a published shift assigned within the Hours of Operations for the Location.
- Only employees with published shifts will be included in the chat/announcement; unpublished shifts will not be recognized in the Roster Talk targets
- 'Today' is considered a shift that falls within any Hours of Operation for the present day at the Location. Click Here for info on how to set or change your Hours of Operation.
- Click on the chat bubble at the top right > select the New message icon:
- Message your team that is (or, isn't) scheduled for today, or tomorrow, or select More options for a specific day:
- You can message multiple groups in the same message by selecting another target roster:
Pro Tip!
- If an Admin is set to 'Appear as employee' in their Account, and is NOT scheduled, they will be included in any 'Not Scheduled' Roster Talk chats/announcements.
- You can mix and match your chat groups by adding multiple "schedules" options, other group types, or specific employees.
- Employees scheduled 'Today' include anyone who has a published shift assigned within the Hours of Operations for the Location.
- Only employees with published shifts will be included in the chat/announcement; unpublished shifts will not be recognized in the Roster Talk targets
- 'Today' is considered a shift that falls within any Hours of Operation for the present day at the Location. Click Here for info on how to set or change your Hours of Operation.
Chat with Individual or Custom Groups
⚠️ Individual chats will only have the option to mute or archive the chat.
Use the tabs to change your viewing preferences through the mobile or web app:
- Tap the chat bubble in the bottom navigation bar > + icon in the top right corner > select New Direct Message.
- You can create a custom group chat by adding more than one person. Select one or more people to add to the chat.
Simply tap on the Employee(s) or type their name in the 'To' field > tap Next
- To customize the chat settings, tap on the participant names at the top of the screen:
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Chat Settings allow you to:
- Re-name the group chat
- Mute the notifications
- Add people to the chat
- Archive the chat - archiving a chat will remove it from your Recents list. It will come back when someone in the chat sends a new message.
- Leave the chat
- Tap the chat bubble icon in the top right corner.
- Select New Direct Message to start a brand new chat.
- Search or choose user(s) from the list.
- Tap Go.
- Or, choose an existing chat from your Recents/All Messages tabs.
- To customize a group chat's settings, click on an existing chat.
- Click on the More options icon
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- Re-name the group chat
- Mute the notifications
- Add/remove people from the chat
- Archive the chat - archiving a chat will remove it from your Recents list. It will come back when someone in the chat sends a new message.
- Leave the chat