--- schema_version: "1" id: 393ebbb928d91d559dd2cc3172edf2bbad4358460328507d9abf6f3f53744e26 title: Field Service Guidelines for Shift Availability collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/service/264-0-0/fs_shifts_guidelines.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shifts_guidelines.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 4d4b69d6553eeb7ef98947ccf7a5b7152d5d4c620fb25f19744a27d27f4ebf82 description: Learn how to define valid shifts and show when your workers are available for shift work. Shifts can work alone or alongside operating hours and service territory memberships to define workforce availability. Designate shifts to show availability for specific types of work or tasks, or for specific territories. For example, you can designate an on-call shift for emergency appointments only. products: - Field Service release: "264" --- # Field Service Guidelines for Shift Availability Learn how to define valid shifts and show when your workers are available for shift work. Shifts can work alone or alongside operating hours and service territory memberships to define workforce availability. Designate shifts to show availability for specific types of work or tasks, or for specific territories. For example, you can designate an on-call shift for emergency appointments only. ### Required Editions
Available in: Lightning Experience
The Field Service core features, managed package, and mobile app are available in Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions.
## Considerations For shifts to be valid, they must meet the following criteria. All shifts - To create shifts, you must have at least one service territory and one service resource that’s assigned to that service territory. A shift must be fully contained within a primary service territory membership for a service resource in that territory. - If you're not using Enhanced Scheduling and Optimization, when you schedule designated shifts for secondary service territories, use optimization rather than scheduling operations. Scheduling operations, such as Book Appointments or Get Candidates, don’t consider designated shifts with secondary service territories. - Add the Timeslot Designated work rule to the scheduling policy for scheduling and optimization to respect shift and time slot designations. The **Overtime** field in the Service Resource Availability work rule enables scheduling service appointments on Extended shifts. You may need to add the **Overtime** field to the layout. - Shift availability (Extended or Normal) must correspond across all of a resource’s service territories. - Add the Limit Non-Standard Shifts scheduling rule to balance less desirable shifts amongst your team. The Non-Standard field on shifts marks the shift as nonstandard. Shifts with a specified service territory - When you create a shift with a specified service territory, the shift’s time span must be fully contained within the service resource's primary service territory membership for that territory. Shifts without a specified service territory - When you want to define workforce availability across many territories, create the shift without a specified territory. A shift without a specified service territory must be fully contained in a primary service territory membership (STM). It adds availability in _all_ territories based on territory memberships; availability is added where the shift intersects service territory memberships. ![A shift without a territory adds availability to all territories based on its intersection with each territory’s STM.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-service-support_field_service-264-0-0-production-enus/3f7dceb9-dd70-454a-b49e-bbb4526a158d/support_field_service/images/fsl_shifts_wo_territories.png) ## Scheduling, Optimization, and Shift Availability When the managed package is installed, scheduling and optimization considers workforce availability during shifts. Shifts and worker availability - Shifts always add availability. - Shifts have priority over overlapping time slots. - Shifts relax time slots for designated work or extended work (overtime). For example, if you assign a time period for emergency work and create a shift that overlaps, scheduling can assign non-emergency appointments during the shift. Or, if you create a shift for weekend on-call duties, you can schedule appointments although the shift is during extended hours. - When Shifts overlap for a certain resource, territory-specific shifts have priority over shifts that aren’t territory-specific. - When shifts overlap for a certain resource and the overlapping shifts are both territory-specific or both non territory-specific, the first shift of the day takes precedence. - Shifts with designation don’t take precedence over shifts without designation. - For shifts that aren’t territory-specific, you can apply work rules to narrow the territories in which scheduling uses shift availability. To use shift availability in the primary service territory, use a Match Territory work rule in your scheduling policy. To use shift availability in the primary and other territories, use the Working Territories work rule. - If a service resource is unavailable during the day at a specific time slot or during a specific shift, you must indicate this using Resource Absence, and not split availability. For example, if a resource is available on Wednesday, 6 AM to 12 PM, and again from 1 PM to 6 PM, then extend availability from 6 AM to 6 PM and insert a Resource Absence between 12 PM and 1 PM. - When you use Enhanced Scheduling and Optimization, if a service appointment doesn’t have a territory and a shift with designation is configured, the service appointment must match the designation in order to be scheduled. If a resource has primary and secondary territories and each territory has a shift with a different designation, the service appointment without territory must match both designations. Scheduling processes - When you schedule work using the Classic Dispatch Console or Book Appointments or Candidates global actions, scheduling uses availability from confirmed shifts. Optimization also uses available resources from confirmed shifts. - When you use the Get Candidates and Mass Shift Update features, the scheduling logic takes into account any scheduling rules and objectives. - Scheduling and optimization match shifts to service appointments according to the shift’s filter criteria. Recordset filter criteria help you narrow the scope so that only appointments matching the criteria get scheduled. ## Example: Adding Availability with Shifts Rotating on-call duties are split into two shifts for Saturday morning and afternoon. The shift is associated with the San Francisco territory and is fully contained in the service territory membership. The shifts are assigned to two workers that have accepted the shift work. The managed package is installed in this org, so the Gantt displays the workers’ additional availability. When the dispatcher looks for candidates, scheduling considers availability from the confirmed shifts (1) and from service territory membership (2). ![The Gantt shows availability from confirmed shifts and from service territory membership.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-service-support_field_service-264-0-0-production-enus/3f7dceb9-dd70-454a-b49e-bbb4526a158d/support_field_service/images/fsl_gantt_shift_candidates_hilite.png) #### See Also - [Manage Your Shift Schedule in Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shifts_view.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Identify which shifts are covered, and which ones still require a worker to confirm that they’re available. The list view for shifts lets you examine upcoming shifts and their status. Switch to the schedule view to see shifts grouped by service territory or job profile in a calendar.") - [Add Field Service Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shifts_create_all.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Shifts in Field Service determine when your workforce is available to be assigned service appointments. Shifts differ from Operating Hours in that for shifts you can define single time periods for which you need workforce coverage. This capability lets you flexibly assign your shift-based workforce to service appointments. Shift-based workforces have varying availability, such as contractors, retail workers, healthcare workers, and on-call staff. You can use predefined patterns to quickly create a set of standard shifts for weekdays and weekends.") - [Define Which Appointments Can Be Scheduled During Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_rfc_create.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Similar to how you use designated time slots on operating hours, in Field Service, you can use Record set Filter Criteria to define and designate which appointments can be scheduled to service resources during shifts. Create Recordset Filter Criteria based on service appointment field values, and then add the filter to a shift so that only relevant appointments get scheduled.") - [Assign and Update Field Service Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shifts_assign.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "In Field Service, make sure that shifts are staffed by assigning them to a service resource. You can assign shifts individually or update the assignee and status in bulk.") - [Color-Code Field Service Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shift_background_color.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use a background color to identify different types of shifts in the Field Service schedule view and dispatch console. Background colors let you add visual information that works along with status-based horizontal color bars in shift cells. You can add a background color to a shift or a shift template.") - [Nonstandard Field Service Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_shifts_nonstandard_shifts.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Nonstandard shifts in Field Service are shifts not sought by mobile workers for various reasons, such as inconvenient hours or increased workload. Identifying and marking shifts as non-standard helps the shift planner assign shifts in a more equitable and balanced way, which can reduce dissatisfaction and attrition.") - [Guidelines for Creating Operating Hours for Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_oh_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Operating hours in Field Service can represent the availability of a mobile worker for scheduled work (defined on the Service Territory or Service Territory Member record), appointment booking arrival windows (defined as a default in Field Service Settings, or per Work Order, via Entitlements), and customer availability requirements (Visiting Hours on the Work Order). Learn how to set operating hours for each scenario.") - [Guidelines for Recordset Filter Criteria](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_rfc_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Field Service filter criteria let you match records in one object against records in another. For example, you can choose criteria to filter which service appointments can be scheduled during a shift.") - [Guidelines for Creating Service Territories for Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_territory_guidelines.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Learn how to use service territories to track where your field service team works and to organize your field workforce.") - [Reserve Time Slots for Designated Types of Work](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.pfs_designated_work.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Create specific time slots in Field Service dedicated to service appointments that meet your criteria.")