Overview
When I Work schedules, positions, and job sites are powerful tools that make scheduling fast and easy. Using these tools to their full potential is key to getting the most out of When I Work for your business.
In the following sections, we’ll go through our recommendations for a small store, large store, and multi-store chain.
Terms to know
Schedules
A feature that allows you to group users into separate schedules. You might want to set up multiple schedules if your business operates out of different physical locations/regions or you want to build separate schedules for different teams/departments. If you use multiple schedules, supervisors can build their schedules independently (managers have access to view and edit all schedules).
Positions
A position identifies a particular job, duty, or skill that is performed at your workplace. For example, a store might have sales associate, cashier, and manager positions. Use positions to make sure you’ve scheduled the right people for the right shifts. You can also allow users to swap/drop shifts based on their qualified positions.
Job sites
A job site identifies a location where shifts take place. You can use job sites for shifts that take place off-site from your normal place of business, or to designate specific locations inside your place of business. For example, you might add a job site for an off-site location where users get training or run promotional events. Job sites are optional; shifts without job sites take place at the normal schedule location.
Small store
In this example, we’ll explain how to set up When I Work for a small retail store that has 19 team members.
The following table summarizes some key details about the store and our recommendations for When I Work.
| Key Items | Physical locations |
| Details | One Store |
| Recommendations | Use the default schedule (a) for the store. Multiple schedules are not needed for a small number of users. |
| Key Items | Skills/jobs |
| Details | Sales Associate, Cashier, manager, Key Holder |
| Recommendations | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
| Key Items | Details | Recommendations |
| Physical locations | One Store | Use the default schedule (a) for the store. Multiple schedules are not needed for a small number of users. |
| Skills/jobs | Sales Associate, Cashier, manager, Key Holder | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
Large store
In this example, we’ll explain how to set up When I Work for a large retail store that has 62 team members.
The following table summarizes some key details about the store and our recommendations for When I Work.
| Key Items | Physical locations |
| Details | One Store |
| Recommendations | Because the store has a large number of users, we recommend setting up separate schedules (a) for each team. |
| Key Items | Departments |
| Details | Men’s Clothing, Women’s Clothing, Cosmetics, Customer Service, Warehouse |
| Recommendations | Set up a separate schedules (a) for each department to keep each schedule easier to manage and let supervisors build their own schedules. |
| Key Items | Skills/jobs |
| Details | Sales Associate, Cashier, Customer Service Rep, Shipping-Receiving, Store manager, Key Holder |
| Recommendations | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
| Key Items | Details | Recommendations |
| Physical locations | One Store | Because the store has a large number of users, we recommend setting up separate schedules (a) for each team. |
| Departments | Men’s Clothing, Women’s Clothing, Cosmetics, Customer Service, Warehouse | Set up a separate schedules (a) for each department to keep each schedule easier to manage and let supervisors build their own schedules. |
| Skills/jobs | Sales Associate, Cashier, Customer Service Rep, Shipping-Receiving, Store manager, Key Holder | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
Multi-store chain
In this example, we’ll explain how to set up When I Work for a retail chain that has 134 team members across 4 stores.
The following table summarizes some key details about the retail chain and our recommendations for When I Work.
| Key Items | Physical locations |
| Details | Uptown, Downtown, Northeast, Lowertown |
| Recommendations | Set up a separate schedule (a) for each store so that the local managers can handle scheduling individually and keep their users separate. You can share users between schedules if they work at multiple stores. |
| Key Items | Departments |
| Details | Sales, Cashiers |
| Recommendations | Combine departments on a shared schedule (a) for each store. If each store has a large number of users, you could consider making 8 schedules—one for each department/store combination. |
| Key Items | Skills/jobs |
| Details | Sales Associate, Cashier, Store manager, Key Holder |
| Recommendations | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
| Key Items | Off-site training |
| Details | Corporate Office, The Learning Center |
| Recommendations | Add a job site (c) for each off-site location where users receive training. A shift with a job site lets the user know where to go. |
| Key Items | Details | Recommendations |
| Physical locations | Uptown, Downtown, Northeast, Lowertown | Set up a separate schedule (a) for each store so that the local managers can handle scheduling individually and keep their users separate. You can share users between schedules if they work at multiple stores. |
| Departments | Sales, Cashiers | Combine departments on a shared schedule (a) for each store. If each store has a large number of users, you could consider making 8 schedules—one for each department/store combination. |
| Skills/jobs | Sales Associate, Cashier, Store manager, Key Holder | Create a position (b) for each job to make sure that you’re scheduling qualified users for the right shifts. |
| Off-site training | Corporate Office, The Learning Center | Add a job site (c) for each off-site location where users receive training. A shift with a job site lets the user know where to go. |
Still have questions?
Contact us if you still have questions about how to use When I Work at your retail store.