Shift Types help you define how shifts should be treated—so recommendations reflect what’s actually happening.
They determine whether a shift:
- Is accounted for when recommendations are generated
- Contributes to expected volume or coverage
- Is excluded from the coverage plan
Using Shift Types correctly ensures the platform is working with the right inputs, leading to more reliable recommendations.
How Shift Types Work
Shift Type controls one key thing:
Whether the platform should account for a shift when generating recommendations
TeamBuilder:
- Predicts volume based on provider schedules
- Applies staff coverage to that volume
- Generates recommendations based on both
There are two types of shifts:
- Provider shifts → signal whether the platform should account for that provider’s volume on that day
- Staff shifts → signal whether the platform should apply that shift as part of the coverage plan for that day
By default:
- Provider shifts are Open
- Staff shifts are Included
Provider Shift Types
Provider Shift Types signal whether the platform should account for that provider’s volume on that day.
- Open → Volume is accounted for
- On-Hold → Volume is accounted for, but may change (requires a reason)
- Blocked → Volume is not accounted for (requires a reason)
Staff Shift Types
Staff Shift Types signal whether a shift should be applied as part of the coverage plan.
- Included → Applied toward the coverage plan
- Excluded → Not applied toward the coverage plan (requires a reason)
Example
A provider is covering the hospital, and the manager plans for a staff person to use that time for training.
- Provider Shift Type: Blocked - Hospital → the provider’s volume is not accounted for
- Staff Shift Type: Excluded - Training → the staff shift is not applied toward coverage
The full picture is still reflected, but since there’s no clinic volume that day, excluding the staff shift keeps the schedule balanced rather than overstaffed.
Key Takeaway
Shift Type doesn’t change the schedule—it ensures the platform is accounting for the right volume and coverage when generating recommendations.