How do I find cover when someone is out?
Last updated August 10, 2026
Press Find cover for Aug 6 on a time-off heads-up in Rebuild desk rotation. It opens that day on the schedule in a new tab with the person's shift already open, so covering the shift is just picking a different name.
- On the time-off heads-up, press Find cover for Aug 6. The schedule opens in a new tab on that day.
- If the person has exactly one shift that day, it is already open in the edit dialog. Pick the replacement in the Person dropdown, which lists everyone on the account. If you pick someone who's already scheduled or on approved time off that day, a warning appears below the field before you save.
- Press Save. The shift now belongs to the cover person. Just that day changes, not the repeating pattern.
Tip
Prefer dragging? Close the dialog, open Day view for that date, and drag the shift straight onto the cover person's row instead — same result, one motion instead of a dropdown.
The yellow banner keeps your place
The page you land on has a banner at the top, for example Finding cover: Nadia Osei — Thursday, Aug 6, 2026 · approved time off (PTO). It holds the who, the day, and the why, so you never have to remember them or flip back to the other tab. If you navigate to a different week while browsing for a name, the banner grows a one-click link back to the day you came for. The X dismisses it when you are done.
If they have no shift that day
Sometimes the person's shift is already off the schedule, or was never there. The banner then tells you what the day would normally hold, for example: They usually work 2 PM – 8 PM at Circulation Desk + Information Desk on Thursdays. Nothing is on the schedule for them this day, so there is no shift to reassign. Add a cover shift if the desk still needs someone.
The Add a cover shift button opens a new shift with the date and their usual first desk already filled in. Pick the cover person and adjust the times if the cover only takes part of the day.
If they have several shifts that day
The banner says how many shifts they have, and no dialog opens on its own. Click the shift you want to change, swap the person, and repeat if more than one needs cover.
Note
Approving time off does not remove anyone's shifts. What you see on the day is what is really scheduled. If the person's shift is still there during approved time off, it is yours to cover, clear, or leave. If it is already gone, add a cover shift only if the desk actually needs someone.
If only part of their day needs cover
Some shifts cover more than one desk — say Info Desk in the morning, then Shelving in the afternoon — and the time off only overlaps one of them. Reassigning the whole shift here would hand off the part that's not actually affected too. In that case, the better move is for the person themselves to offer up just the affected desk assignment for coverage instead of the whole shift, from their own My schedule. See how shift coverage works for how.
Note
Admins can post a whole shift for coverage on someone's behalf from Approvals (below), but posting just one desk assignment on someone's behalf isn't available yet — that offer has to come from the person's own schedule for now.
Tip
Not every time-off heads-up needs cover. If the desk can go unstaffed that day, press Got it on the heads-up and move on. Got it only hides the heads-up on your browser. It does not change the schedule.