HosPortal can send automated shift reminders in advance of a shift. Reminders can also be sent to roster administrators to remind them if there are upcoming vacant shifts.
To create a reminder
1. On the Admin page, under the Roster Reminder Settings tab, click the '+Add' button (A in the screenshot)
2. Set the rosters that the reminder applies to (B). This can be an entire roster group or individual rosters.
3. Set the type of reminder from the dropdown (C). The options are:
Shift is about to occur. This is the more usual reminder to send a reminder to assignees on a shift.
Shift is vacant. This is usually used to alert a roster administrator that there is a vacant shift coming up that needs to be addressed.
Shift reminder not acknowledged. This is used in conjunctions with reminder acknowledgments (explained below) to define what to do if the reminder has not been acknowledged.
Shift assignment not acknowledged. This is similar to (3) but used for shift alerts.
4. Define if the reminder will be by SMS, email or both.
5. Define who will receive the reminder. The option of 'all assignees' will send the reminder to the people on the shift. The option 'Selected users' is to send to a specific person (who might not be on the shift), and typically used with unacknowledged reminders.
6. Define when the reminder should be sent (D).
7. Determine if the recipient of the reminder needs to acknowledge that they have received the reminder, and whether the recipients can opt out of receiving reminders. If you request acknowledgements users cannot opt out.
8. Click Save.
You can set multiple reminders for the same roster, for instance to send an email a week before a shift and then an SMS a day before the shift. Or to send a vacancy reminder to more senior people over time if a shift remains unfilled.
To manage acknowledgements
Acknowledgements send an email or SMS alert to a roster administrator if a shift assignee does not confirm that they have received their reminder. Acknowledgements can be used to reduce the work in chasing users and reduce the number of unexpected no-shows.
Acknowledgments require two separate reminders to be set:
The first reminder is a 'shift is about to occur' reminder (described in item 3 above), defining when the reminder is sent to the assignees (e.g. 7 days before the shift). The 'Acknowledgement required' box must be ticked.
A second reminder for 'Shift reminder not acknowledged' (E) to defining how long the recipient has to acknowledge the reminder (e.g. 24 hours after they receive it) and the people who will get that alert.
Editing and deleting reminders
On the Admin page, under the Roster Reminder Settings tab, click Edit or Delete next to the relevant reminder (F).
If there are many separate reminders you can use the filters (G) to find the rosters or roster groups that you are looking for.
