Change to availability wording

We’ve heard a few cries of confusion between time off and availability in the last few months. Today, we’ve made a change to address these concerns.

Availability in 7shifts was always intended to be a preference. Meaning, if an employee prefers not to work Wednesdays since they have classes, they communicate that to their manager by submitting their availability and leaving a comment. If they absolutely need a day off, they submit this request via ‘Time Off’ in 7shifts and wait for the manager’s approval.

The problem, however, is that employees had no way of knowing that the availability they submitted was a preference. As a result, some employees began using availability as if it were a time-off request. Since availability doesn’t require a manager approval, employees just assumed they got that day off.

It is our job to ensure the app improves communication. Since employees had no indication that availability is simply a preference, we have changed the wording.

Instead of “Available from” and “Not available from”, we’ve changed the wording to say “Prefer to work from” and “Prefer NOT to work from”. This will clearly indicate to an employee that they are communicating a preference, not a day off.

Sometimes, the solution to a problem is not a new feature, but rather improved communication. We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback on this wording change.