How to enable and use Microsoft Teams Shifts
Microsoft Teams has become the go-to app for online meetings and remote work for good reason. It supports apps that can help manage a large variety of tasks that go into managing a work-force e.g., an attendance bot.
Microsoft Teams Shifts
Another exceptionally useful app that you can add to Microsoft Teams for your organization is called Shifts. Shifts allows users i.e., team members to create work schedules. The app is great but it’s only available for users who have a licensed i.e., Enterprise version of Microsoft Teams.
To get Microsoft Teams Shifts up and running for your organization, follow the steps below.
Enable Shifts for Teams
Shifts is available by default but available isn’t the same as it being enabled. You will have to go through a few different steps to add it to Microsoft Teams.
- Visit the Microsoft Teams admin center.
- In the column on the left, expand Teams apps.
- Select Manage Apps.
- Look for Shifts and select it.
- Click the Allow button.
Pin Shifts in Microsoft Teams
You now need to add Shifts to Microsoft Teams. For some reason, it doesn’t appear in the app catalog you can access from within Microsoft Teams.
- Visit the Microsoft Teams admin center.
- In the column on the left and expand Teams apps.
- Select Setup policies.
- Click Global (Org-wide).
- Under Pinned apps, click the Add apps button.
- In the panel on the left, open the ‘Search based on this app permission policy’ dropdown.
- Select Global.
- Use the search bar to look for Shifts.
- Select it and click Add.
- Restart Microsoft Teams.
Assign policy
This may be optional (depending on your policy settings) but if you don’t see Shifts in Microsoft Teams, try this first.
- Visit the Microsoft Teams admin center.
- Go to Users in the column on the left.
- Select a user and click Policies.
- Click the Edit button next to Package policies.
- In the panel on the right, look for Frontline Worker.
- Click Apply.
Access Shifts in Microsoft Teams
To access Shifts in Microsoft Teams, follow the steps below.
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Look for Shifts in the column on the left.
- Click Create next to the team you want to create a schedule for.
- Confirm the timezone the schedule is for.
- Click Add People at the top right.
- Select a person and create a schedule for them.
Conclusion
Microsoft Teams Shifts is great for scheduling. Invest some time and go through its features to set up a better schedule for your team. Schedules can be imported and exported as well as recalled.
