Intelligent RosterIntelligent Roster®

First-Time Setup: Admin Checklist

This checklist walks you through setting up Intelligent Roster for the first time. Expect 2–4 hours depending on your organization size.

Pre-Setup: Gather Information

Before you start, collect:

  • ✅ Departments/Streams: List all departments and their shift times (e.g., "ED - 7am–3pm")
  • ✅ Craft groups: All craft groups you employ (e.g., RN, EN, Doctor, Physio)
  • ✅ Staff list: CSV with name, email, craft group, department, start date
  • ✅ Compliance rules: Rest hours, max consecutive shifts, safety rules
  • ✅ Org timezone: Your timezone (e.g., AEST for Australian Eastern)

Phase 1: Organization Setup (30 mins)

1. Create Organization

  1. Log in as Organization Admin
  2. Click Organization Settings
  3. Enter:
    • Organization Name (e.g., "City Hospital ED")
    • Timezone (e.g., "Australia/Sydney")
    • Roster Cycle (e.g., 4 weeks, starts Monday)
    • Contracted Days Per Week (e.g., 5 for Mon-Fri; used for leave deduction and payroll)
    • Operating Days Per Week (e.g., 7 if open 7 days; used for coverage analytics)
    • Safety Standards (rest hours, consecutive shift limits)
  4. Click Save

✅ Checkpoint: Organization created and settings saved

2. Add Logo (Optional)

  1. Click Organization Settings → Branding
  2. Upload your hospital/clinic logo
  3. Click Save

✅ Checkpoint: Logo uploaded (not critical, skip if needed)

Phase 2: Define Your Roster Structure (1–2 hours)

This is the foundation—take your time here.

3. Create Streams (Level 1)

What: Departments + shift times

  1. Go to Organization Settings → Streams
  2. For each department + shift combination, click Add Stream:
    • Name: e.g., "ED - Morning", "Ward 3A - Evening"
    • Shift Pattern: Start time, end time (e.g., 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
  3. Click Save

Time estimate: 10–15 mins

✅ Checkpoint: All streams created

Example for small ED:

  • ED - Day (7am–3pm)
  • ED - Evening (3pm–11pm)
  • ED - Night (11pm–7am)

4. Create Craft Groups (Level 2 - Part 1)

What: Craft groups

  1. Go to Organization Settings → Craft Groups
  2. Click Add Craft Group for each craft group:
    • RN (Registered Nurse)
    • EN (Enrolled Nurse)
    • Doctor
    • Etc.
  3. Click Save

Time estimate: 5 mins

✅ Checkpoint: All craft groups created

5. Create Scopes of Practice (Optional, Level 2 - Part 2)

What: Specializations (e.g., Trauma, ALS)

  1. Go to Organization Settings → Scopes of Practice
  2. Click Add Scope for each credential:
    • Trauma
    • Advanced Life Support (ALS)
    • Pediatrics
    • Etc.
  3. Click Save

Time estimate: 5 mins (skip if no specializations)

✅ Checkpoint: Scopes added (optional)

6. Define Safety Rules

  1. Go to Organization Settings → Safety Standards
  2. Set:
    • Min rest between shifts: e.g., 8 hours
    • Max consecutive days: e.g., 7 days
    • Max consecutive nights: e.g., 5 nights
    • Min days between night sequences: e.g., 2 days
  3. Click Save

✅ Checkpoint: Safety standards configured

Phase 3: Add Staff (1–2 hours)

7. Add Clinician Staff

Option A: Manual (small teams <20)

  1. Go to Staff Management
  2. Click Add Staff
  3. For each person:
    • Name, Email, Phone (optional)
    • Craft Group (required)
    • Streams (assign 1+ streams they work in)
    • Scopes (optional)
  4. Click Save

Time estimate: ~2 mins per person

Option B: Bulk Import (larger teams 20+)

  1. Prepare CSV: name, email, craft_group, streams, scopes
  2. Go to Staff Management → Import
  3. Upload CSV
  4. Review mapping
  5. Click Import

Time estimate: ~15 mins prep + 2 mins import

✅ Checkpoint: All staff added and assigned to craft groups

Phase 4: Create Master Rosters (1–2 hours)

8. Create Level 3 Master Roster (Per Stream)

For each stream, create a repeating 4-week template:

  1. Click Level 3: Master Roster
  2. Select stream (e.g., "ED - Day")
  3. Use Excel-style bulk assign or manual entry to assign staff to shifts
  4. For each day:
    • Add shifts based on vacancies (Level 2)
    • Assign staff using rotation patterns
  5. Click Fairness Check
  6. Review fairness; adjust if needed
  7. Click Save Master Roster

Example for ED - Day (5 RNs/day, 7 days/week):

  • Week 1: Nurses A, B, C, D, E
  • Week 2: Nurses C, D, E, F, G
  • Week 3: Nurses E, F, G, H, I
  • Week 4: Nurses G, H, I, A, B

Time estimate: 30–60 mins per stream (faster after first one)

✅ Checkpoint: Master rosters created and fairness checked for all streams

Phase 5: Publish First Roster (30 mins)

9. Create First Living Roster (Level 5)

  1. Click Level 5: The Living Roster
  2. Select stream (start with one)
  3. Select pay period dates
  4. Click Generate with IRIS (or manual assign)
  5. Review Fairness and Compliance
  6. Fix any violations
  7. Click Publish

✅ Checkpoint: First roster published to staff

Note on moving staff: If you need to relocate a staff member to another shift after creation, use Move Assignment (right-click on a shift, select "Move Assignment"). This is faster than manually deleting and recreating assignments.

10. Notify Staff

Send email to staff:

  • "Your first roster is live!"
  • Link to their roster view
  • How to set availability for next period
  • Contact info for issues

✅ Checkpoint: Staff notified and can see roster

Phase 6: First Real Roster Cycle (Ongoing)

11. Manage Level 4: Staff Availability

  1. Notify staff to set availability
  2. Review and approve leave requests
  3. Once all confirmed, lock availability

✅ Checkpoint: Level 4 locked

12. Generate and Publish Next Roster (Level 5)

  1. Use IRIS AI or your master template
  2. Audit fairness + compliance
  3. Publish

✅ Checkpoint: Second roster published

Success Checklist

After setup, verify:

  • ✅ All streams created (departments × shifts)
  • ✅ All staff added and assigned to streams + craft groups
  • ✅ Safety standards configured
  • ✅ Master rosters created and tested
  • ✅ First roster published to staff
  • ✅ Staff can log in and see roster
  • ✅ Admin can generate rosters (manual or IRIS)
  • ✅ Fairness audits reviewed
  • ✅ Compliance warnings understood

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

❌ Creating too many streams: Start with what you have now (can add later)
❌ Forgetting craft group assignment: Staff can't be rostered without one
❌ Skipping fairness audit: Publish unfair rosters = unhappy staff
❌ No communication: Staff confused if they don't know what's coming
❌ Too complex safety rules: Start simple; add rules as you learn

Next Steps

  1. ✅ Review Level 1–5 Admin Guides for detailed workflow
  2. ✅ Train roster builders on Level 5 management
  3. ✅ Monitor fairness audits for first 3 rosters
  4. ✅ Gather staff feedback (use Feedback feature)
  5. ✅ Refine setup based on lessons learned

Still Stuck?

  • 📖 Read detailed guides: Level 1–5 Admin Guides in the /Learn section
  • 💬 Submit Support Ticket or contact our support team
  • 🎥 Watch onboarding videos (if available in your org)

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