A staff member’s weekly availability communicates what times they are available to work and unavailable to work. Staff members will always be scheduled within their availability. 

Preference Options

When setting availability, there are four preference options: prefer, dislike, cannot work, and no preference. See below for more information about each preference option.

Prefer: Preferred times are times that a staff member is available and willing to work. When scheduling, times set as ‘preferred’ are given the highest priority.

Dislike: Disliked times are times that a staff member is available and willing to work, but are not preferred. When scheduling, supervisors will attempt not to schedule staff members during disliked times. However, staff should still be prepared to work during disliked times.

Cannot Work: Cannot work times are times that a staff member is unavailable and/or unwilling to work. Staff will not be scheduled to work during these times. 

No Preference: This is the default preference, and typically indicates that a staff member did not update their preference for a given time. It is recommended that staff fill in every time of the day with either prefer, dislike, or cannot work. However, if staff choose to keep certain times as ‘no preference,’ they should be prepared to be scheduled during those times.

Setting Weekly Preferences

To set preferences/availability, click on ‘Choose Times I Prefer to Work’ or the ‘Prefs’ tab on the ribbon in When to Work. Staff can then choose whether to set repeating weekly preferences, future weekly preferences, or date specific preferences. See below for more information on each option.

• Repeating Weekly: This option should be used to set current availability. Preferences set with this option will take effect immediately and repeat indefinitely weekly. 
• Future Weekly: This option should be used to set future availability. Preferences set with this option will take effect on the specified date, and repeat indefinitely weekly from there. Current preferences will remain unchanged until the specified date.
• Date Specific: This option should be used to set availability for a specific set of dates, without altering typical weekly availability. This option should only be used for periods of time when a new schedule is being made. For example, this option may be used to set availability during finals week or spring break. Supervisors will communicate with staff when it is appropriate to set availability using the date specific option. This option should not be used to indicate days that a staff member needs off outside of specified periods which we make new schedules for (ex: Spring Break, Thanksgiving), and will not be considered adequate notice for an absence.

A pop-up window will appear once an option is chosen, allowing staff to put in their specific time preferences based on the preference options referenced in the above section. Preferences may be set by either “painting” them on the grid, or by entering specific times. See the screenshot below for reference.

It is highly recommended and preferred to fill in the entire grid with preferences. Leaving times set to ‘no preference’ (white) indicates that you are willing and able to work during that time.

When setting preferences, keep in mind travel time needed to get to College and Memorial Library from classes and other commitments! We recommend that staff give themselves at least 15 minutes between classes/other things and the time they are available to work. For example, if a staff member has a class ending at 3:00pm, they should set their availability to begin at 3:15pm.

Staff may also indicate position preferences. Indicating position preferences is not required. Position preferences may be considered when scheduling. However, staff should still be prepared to work all positions for which they are eligible, even if marked as disliked.

• Note: When scheduling, staff members will ideally have a balance of shifts at each location, availability permitting.

Posting a shift to the tradeboard makes it available for other staff members to pick up. Posting a shift to the tradeboard does not drop the shift or excuse a staff member from the shift. If a shift posted to the tradeboard is not picked up, staff members are still responsible for the shift and will be given an unexcused absence if they do not show up. Tradeboard posts should be used for shifts that a staff member would prefer not to work, but is still prepared to work if not picked up. Please see the late and absence policy for instructions on requesting time off for shifts that a staff member will be unable to come to.

To post a shift to the tradeboard, click on the shift within your schedule, and then click ‘Add shift to tradeboard in the window that pops up.

When adding a shift to the tradeboard, there will be three options: trade, drop, and either. See below for details about each option. There is also an option to add a comment. Comments added to tradeboard posts are viewable by all other staff members. Adding a comment is optional.

Trade: Selecting this option means that any staff member who attempts to pick up the shift from the tradeboard will have to select a shift of their own to offer as a trade. The staff member who posted the shift will then have the option to accept or decline the trade. If the trade is accepted, the staff member who posted the trade will have the original shift unassigned from them, and the new shift they accepted will be assigned to them. The reverse will occur for the other staff member.

Drop: Selecting this option means that once a staff member picks up the shift, the shift is assigned to them and unassigned from the staff member who posted the shift. No further action is required by either staff member.

Either: Selecting this option gives the staff member attempting to pick up the shift the choice to either pick up the shift as is, or offer a shift of their own as a trade.

When a shift that was posted to the tradeboard is successfully picked up by another staff member, that shift is no longer the responsibility of the staff member who posted it to the tradeboard. The staff member who picks up the shift assumes full responsibility for the shift.

Shifts on the tradeboard may be picked up by clicking on ‘Tradeboard - Pick Up Open Shifts’ or the ‘Trades’ tab on the ribbon in When to Work.

Staff will only be able to pick up shifts for positions they have permission to work. For example, Technician 2s will not be able to pick up Lead shifts. Picked up shifts will be automatically assigned to the staff member who picks them up, unless there is an issue which requires the pickup to be manually approved. This typically occurs when picking up a shift will push a staff member above the maximum number of hours that they are allowed to work per week. Shift pick-ups are reviewed and approved/denied on a regular basis, however, student staff may email eucleads-lib@g-groups.wisc.edu if they need the request approved quickly.

When a staff member picks up a shift from the tradeboard, they assume full responsibility for that shift. If circumstances change and the staff member is no longer able to work a shift they picked up from the tradeboard, they must follow the late and absence policy to have their absence excused. If a shift is picked up by mistake, staff should email eucleads-lib@g-groups.wisc.edu as soon as they realize the mistake.

Time off requests can be submitted by clicking on ‘Request Time Off’ or the ‘Time Off’ tab on the ribbon in When to Work.

Time off requests are used to request time off on specific days that a staff member cannot work. Time off requests are an appropriate way to have an absence be excused. See the lates and absences policy for more information on how to use time off requests to have an absence excused.

To submit a time off request, staff members should select the day(s) they require off, and add a comment explaining the reason for their request. Time off requests without a comment will be denied. To request multiple consecutive days off, adjust the number of days in the box under ‘Full Day(s) Off,’ as shown below.

Staff members will receive a message in When to Work as well as an email notifying them when their time off request has been approved or denied. A comment will be attached to the approval/denial explaining the decision and outline whether further action is required. See below for more information on approvals and denials.

Approvals: Approving a time off request causes the staff member to be unassigned from the shift(s) in question. Approval does not necessarily mean that the absence will be considered excused. See the comment attached to the approval for more details, including whether the absence will be considered excused.

Denials: Denying a time off request means no changes are made to the shift(s) in question. Denial does not necessarily mean that the absence will be considered unexcused. Time off requests are typically denied for two reasons:

• An explanation was not included with the time off request. The comment attached to the denial will ask the staff member to resubmit with a comment.

• The absence was not submitted far enough in advance, and will be considered unexcused. The comment attached to the denial will provide further reasoning and next steps.