Activating shift trades for agents

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Add-on | Workforce Management (WFM) or Workforce Engagement Management (WEM)

In Zendesk Workforce management (WFM), shift trades provide an efficient way for agents to trade their shifts and manage their time. Giving agents the freedom to quickly and efficiently swap shifts ensures adequate coverage and frees up managers' time.

This article contains the following sections:

Turning on shift trades

Understanding shift trades

Turning on shift trades

Shift trades must be activated in Zendesk WFM before agents can request them.

To turn on shift trades

Hover over the schedule icon, then click Shift trades management.

Click Turn on shift trades.

A manager's approval is required by default. Click Save.

Understanding shift trades

The following examples describe scenarios for how shift trades might work.

Shift Trade for the same day

In this case, agents will trade their shifts in a 1:1 trade - both of their shifts on the same day will be replaced with traded ones and will appear on their agent schedules as soon as a manager approves the trade. For example:

Agent A has a shift on the 25th of the month and Agent B has a shift on the same day.

Agent A wants to trade their shift on the 25th. Agent B offers to take the trade if Agent A works their shift on the same day.

Shift trades are submitted by both agents and approved by their manager

Shifts are then official and visible in the agents' schedules.

Shift Trade for different days

This scenario involves agents trading their shifts on different days, and how this interacts with their schedules for the days affected. For example:

Agent A has a shift on the 25th of the month. Agent B has a shift on the 31st.

Agent A wants to trade their shift on the 25th.

Agent B offers to work the shift on the 25th if Agent A works their shift on the 31st.

The agents submit shift trade requests and their manager approves.

Now Agent A doesn't have a shift on the 25th because that’s when Agent B has agreed to work.

Agent B doesn’t have a shift on the 31st because that’s when Agent A agreed to work.

Note: These shifts are removed because the platform doesn't assume work planned for those agents. Managers are offered the freedom to adjust the agents' shifts accordingly.