Use the Group Scheduler

Now the moment of truth…the Group Scheduler page. This is where the magic happens. Okay, maybe not actual magic, but it is where the scheduling happens. This page will become very familiar to your staff, since it’s the "magic page" for organizing group members into a location.

The Group Scheduler can be accessed from People > Group Scheduling > Group Scheduler.

Using Group Scheduler

At first the group scheduler will be empty as pictured below. Let’s start from here to show how we can build a full schedule from a blank canvas. First, we’ll tour some of the features and functions on this page.

1. Page Options - The icons in the top-right corner of the block allow you to see and do different things.
   1. Zoom: We made it easy to change the zoom level, so the group scheduler fits well into screens of different sizes.
   2. Help: Click here to show a handy summary of how various parts of the Group Scheduler works and what different icons mean. This is a great quick-reference tool for staff using the page.
   3. Full Screen: Click this to turn the full-screen view on or off.
   4. Copy Link to Clipboard: Found under the ti ti-dots-vertical menu, a link which includes the filters you’ve selected on the page (i.e., weeks, locations, schedules) can be copied to your clipboard. Anyone with proper permissions who uses it will essentially see the page as it appears for you when the link is copied.
2. Filters - Click here to change what you see on the screen. You can choose which groups, weeks, locations and schedules you want to see.
3. Scheduler Actions -
   1. Clone Schedules: This copies schedules and assignments from one week to another. We’ll cover this a little later below.
   2. Rosters: This button takes you to the Group Schedule Roster page. How convenient!
   3. Auto Schedule: Click this button to let Rock automatically schedule people based on their serving preferences. We’ll talk more about Auto Scheduling below.
   4. Send Confirmations: This will send a scheduling confirmation request to the people who have been scheduled, allowing them the opportunity to accept or decline their assignments.
4. Date/Time Columns - Each column represents a schedule. If there are multiple schedules in the same day, they are grouped together under that date.
5. Locations - Listed vertically beneath each schedule are the locations for that schedule. For each location you can see a progress bar indicating how many people have been scheduled at that location for that time. The bar changes color based on the number of people who are scheduled compared to how many people are needed.
6. Add to Schedule - Click the ti ti-circle-plus icon to start adding people to the schedule for that date, time and location. We’ll show you what that looks like below.

You may have noticed that each group location has a progress bar showing the status of the schedule and how close the location is to being filled. The status is indicated by the color of the bar:

1. Red: There are not enough accepted invites to reach the minimum number of individuals needed.
2. Yellow: There are enough accepted invites to reach the minimum number, but not the desired number.
3. Green: There are enough accepted invites to reach or exceed the desired number.
4. Orange: There are too many accepted invites and the maximum number is exceeded.

This is based on how the location is configured, which we mentioned above in the Configuring Groups section. You can hover over the progress bar to see the configured capacities and the counts for each type of invite response.

At this point we’re ready to start scheduling some volunteers. There are two ways to add people to the schedule.

Auto Schedule Vs. Manual Schedule

Imagine being able to effortlessly match every volunteer with their perfect serving role. That’s what Rock’s Auto Scheduling feature does. It takes the guesswork out of scheduling and ensures your team is ready to serve without a hitch. With just a click, you can confidently assign volunteers based on their preferences, saving time and avoiding scheduling conflicts.

Auto Scheduling relies on preferences set by each volunteer, either through their My Account page or the internal site, where administrators can view and update them as needed. This seamless connection ensures everyone’s availability and preferences are up-to-date, whether volunteers manage their preferences themselves or a staff member adjusts them after a quick chat.

Rock’s logic avoids double-booking volunteers, even the multi-talented ones who are ready for any role. By referencing your schedule configuration, the system ensures no one is assigned to overlapping time slots. As long as you’re using the same schedules to represent the same time frames, then the auto scheduler won’t double book anyone. This is why it’s best to have one shared schedule for a given time, rather than multiple schedules for the same time.

So how exactly does the auto scheduler place people? Are there scenarios where a person can't be automatically scheduled? The table below shows different scenarios for Alisha Marble, who is volunteering with the Children's team. Whether she gets auto scheduled depends on several factors, but it's mostly driven by her preferences. Each row on the table represents a different scenario and its outcome.

Manual scheduling is in the name. It’s physically placing people into their serving locations. If we're being realistic here, we know there are going to be those few people who never get around to setting their preferences, so in those cases you’ll have to manually place them.

We’ll start with auto-scheduling, since that should fill in a good portion of our schedule for us. This also means people with preferences set get priority. After clicking the Auto Schedule button, people will be added to the schedule automatically as shown below.

So, we've got several slots already filled in, but there are still some openings. We can use manual scheduling to fill those gaps. Click the ti ti-circle-plus icon for a location/schedule to manually add people to the schedule. As pictured below, all you need to do is check the box next to the person’s name and click Assign. You can find people using the Search box near the top-right corner, which is very helpful if you have long lists to look through.

You might have noticed the three different tabs above the list of people. Here's what they mean:

• All Group Members - Displays everyone in the group who isn't yet scheduled.
• Matching Week - Only shows people who are available for the week you're looking at. It checks if they've said "yes" to helping out that week through the 
• Matching Assignment - Only shows people who are available for the exact time or place you're trying to fill this week. It helps you see who is already working that specific job or possibly available to work it.

Keep in mind that people who have a blackout date can't be auto or manually scheduled.

Similarly, you can see if someone has a conflict with another schedule.

If you have multiple sites that are close enough to each other that some people volunteer at more than one location, you will run into a scheduling conflict that doesn’t appear as one if the locations have different schedules. For example, one site might have a 4:30pm and 6:00pm schedule while the other only has a 5:00pm schedule. If someone is scheduled for the 4:30pm slot at one site, Rock won’t see a conflict if you try to schedule them for 5:00pm at a different site.

Block settings enable additional tabs to appear at the top of the Select Individuals popup.

Confirmation Communication

You will typically send a mass communication once you have your teams set up for them to accept or decline. Click on the Send Confirmations button near the top of the block to send a confirmation. Rock will automatically send either SMS or email confirmations based on the person's preferences and available information.

Alternatively, you can send an individual a communication to accept or decline by clicking on the three dots near their name. This opens a drop-down list of options where you can choose the Resend Confirmation button to send the email or SMS message to confirm or decline again.

Note the other options you have for managing scheduled people. As pictured above, you can do things like mark them as Confirmed, or update their schedule preferences.

Clone Schedules

Clicking the Clone Schedules button near the top-right of the scheduler allows you to copy schedules and existing assignments from one week to another. As pictured below, you can choose to do this only for certain groups, locations or schedules.