ROSTER MANAGEMENT · AUTOMATION
Setting Up Rotation Patterns
Create repeating weekly or bi-weekly rotation schedules so you don't rebuild the same roster from scratch every cycle.
FORMAT · How-to guideDURATION · ~5 min readAUDIENCE · Roster admins
What you'll learn
How to define, save, and apply rotation patterns to employees across multiple weeks.
Time saved
A well-configured rotation pattern reduces monthly scheduling from hours to minutes.
What is a rotation pattern?
A rotation pattern is a sequence of shifts that repeats on a cycle. For example, a 2-week rotating pattern might assign Morning shift in Week 1 and Evening shift in Week 2 for a given employee or group. Once defined, you apply the pattern to employees and Workwisely fills in the grid automatically.
Creating a rotation pattern
- Go to Roster Management → Rotation Patterns.
- Click + New Pattern.
- Enter a Pattern Name (e.g. "2-Week AM/PM Rotation").
- Set the Cycle Length: 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks.
- For each day in the cycle, assign the appropriate shift template from the dropdown — or leave it blank for a rest day.
- Click Save Pattern.
💡 Pro Tip
Include rest days explicitly in the pattern (leave them blank or assign an 'Off' placeholder). This ensures the rotation accounts for weekends correctly.
Applying a pattern to employees
- Open the roster grid and select the employees you want to schedule (click row headers with Ctrl for multi-select).
- Click Apply Pattern in the toolbar.
- Select the pattern from the list.
- Set the pattern start date — this determines which week of the cycle each employee starts on.
- Set the end date or number of cycles to apply.
- Click Apply.
The grid fills instantly. Review for any conflicts (red borders) before publishing.
Offsetting employees in the same pattern
For teams where different employees are on different weeks of the same rotation, use the Cycle Offset option when applying the pattern. An offset of 1 starts that employee one week into the cycle.
| Employee group | Offset | Effect |
|---|
| Group A | 0 | Starts at Week 1 of the pattern |
| Group B | 1 | Starts at Week 2 of the pattern |
| Group C | 2 | Starts at Week 3 (for a 3-week cycle) |
Editing or deleting a pattern
Changes to a pattern don't affect rosters already generated from it. To update live rosters, you'll need to re-apply the pattern or use manual overrides.
Frequently asked questions
Can employees have different patterns applied simultaneously?
Each employee can only have one active pattern per roster. If you need complex schedules, create a longer cycle (e.g. 4 weeks) that encodes all the variation.
Does applying a pattern overwrite manually assigned cells?
Yes — the pattern replaces whatever is in those cells. Apply patterns first, then make manual adjustments on top.
How does a pattern interact with public holidays?
Patterns don't automatically detect holidays. After applying, manually clear or reassign cells on declared holiday dates.
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