Shifts

Shifts are the time slots you sign up for to contribute at an event. Each shift has a type, a location, a start and end time, and a capacity. Once you are signed up, the shift appears in your personal dashboard.

Browsing the shift plan

HoMeeSuite shows the same shifts on two different surfaces:

• Public shift plan — at /events/[slug]/plan, publicly accessible so anyone can browse without logging in. It's read-only: it lets people discover what shifts exist before deciding to sign up.
• In-app "Shift Plan" tab — at /events/[slug]/shifts, the authenticated shift browser inside the app. This is where enrolled volunteers actually sign up once logged in.

To sign up you must be enrolled in the event and logged in — use the in-app "Shift Plan" tab, not the public plan.

Each shift card shows:

• Shift name and type (e.g. "Security – Evening")
• Start and end time
• Location
• Current sign-up count and total capacity

Fully booked shifts are shown but marked as unavailable.

Filtering shifts

The filter bar above the schedule lets you narrow down shifts:

• Date and time range — set a day range and start / end times to focus on a specific part of the event; the day range covers the event's full buildup-to-teardown window when those dates are configured, not just the event start/end days
• Location — pick one or more locations from the dropdown
• Volunteer type — show only shifts for specific roles
• Urgent only — shows shifts that are below their minimum staffing level and urgently need more helpers
• Low fill only — shows shifts filled below 50% of total capacity; independent of Urgent only, so you can combine both filters
• Hide full — hides shifts that have reached capacity

Active filters appear as chips below the filter bar. Click × on a chip to remove one filter, or Clear filters to reset all at once.

The filter state is saved in the URL — you can bookmark or share a filtered view (for example, all urgent Saturday morning shifts).

By default the plan shows the full day, starting at 00:00, so early-morning and overnight shifts are visible without adjusting the From time. The time filter is a daily time-of-day window: a shift is shown when its hours overlap that window on any day it runs, so shifts that cross midnight are included or excluded the same way as any other shift instead of always being shown. If your active filters hide some shifts while others remain visible, a small notice appears above the schedule telling you how many are hidden, with a one-click reset.

Urgent shifts

A shift marked Urgent is below its minimum required staffing level and still has open spots. These are the shifts that need your help most. Use the Urgent only filter to focus on them.

Understanding the colour legend

The shift plan uses colour-coded blocks to show which volunteer types are needed for each shift. A small legend above the grid maps each colour to its volunteer type name. If an event has only one volunteer type, the legend is hidden.

In compact view (very short time slots), each block shows the shift title and a filled / capacity count (for example 2 / 5) so you can quickly spot under-staffed shifts without having to open them.

Signing up

Click a shift to open its detail view. Read the description and any requirements, then click Sign up.

Compliance items: if the shift type has acknowledgements attached (e.g. a safety briefing confirmation or age requirement), you must check off each one before the sign-up is accepted.

You will receive an in-app notification and, if you have email notifications enabled, a confirmation email. The shift appears immediately in your dashboard at /events/[slug]/dashboard.

If you visit the public shift plan without an account, you'll be prompted to sign in or create an account before you can join a role or sign up for a shift.

Seeing who else is on your shift

Once you're signed up for a shift, its detail view shows an "Others on this shift" list — the display names of everyone else already signed up for that same shift, so you can spot friends and coordinate ahead of time. This list only shows display names (never full name, email, or phone number), and it's only visible to you once you're signed up for that specific shift — you can't see who's on a shift you haven't joined.

Cancelling a registration

Open the shift detail page or your dashboard and click Cancel registration.

Cancellation is blocked once the event's cancellation cutoff has passed. For example, if the cutoff is 4 hours, you cannot cancel within 4 hours of the shift start. After the cutoff, contact a coordinator to cancel for you.

Volunteer types

Some events ask you to declare your skills or interests via volunteer types — categories like "Security", "Technical Crew", or "Stage". Go to My Volunteer Types within the event to select which types apply to you.

Only types that are open to volunteers are listed here. Some events have internal staff roles that are not visible to general volunteers — this is intentional and not a bug.

Coordinators use this information when manually filling shifts that need specific skills. Keeping your types up to date helps you get assigned to shifts that suit you.

If you no longer want to be part of a volunteer type, open My Volunteer Types and click Leave on that type. Leaving is blocked while you still have upcoming shift signups for that type — cancel those shifts first, then leave the type.

Exporting your shifts to a calendar

Open the My Shifts tab inside an event and click Export to Calendar. Your browser downloads a .ics file containing all the shifts you are signed up for.

• iPhone / macOS: Tap the file — it opens in Calendar automatically.
• Android / Google Calendar: Open the .ics file with Google Calendar or import it via calendar.google.com → Settings → Import.
• Other apps: Any app that supports iCalendar (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) can import the file.

The file is a one-time snapshot. If you sign up for more shifts later, download it again to get the updated list.

Tracked hours and goodies

After a shift ends, a coordinator marks it as completed. Completed shifts contribute to your tracked hours, which appear in your dashboard.

If the event uses goodies, your tracked hours determine your tier eligibility. Shifts with a goodie multiplier credit more hours per real-time hour worked — a 2-hour shift with a 1.5× multiplier credits 3 goodie hours.

When you reach a tier's threshold, a coordinator will physically hand over the goodie and record the sign-off. You can see which tiers have been signed off in your dashboard.