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Get Your Team Going


From our experience, there are times when managers want to start scheduling shifts with Otipo, but are not sure how to communicate it to the team. So we've collected a few tips to help you getting started.

Introduce Otipo to the team in your next team meeting

  • Login to Otipo. You can create a dummy user and show the team how it will look like when they login.
  • Show how to submit availabilities
  • Show the team how to view their schedule
  • Don't forget to mention that the team members have to submit availabilities before the defined deadline
  • Tell them that they can use the Contacts page to call their colleagues, for swapping shifts or to coordinate a carpool
  • Let them know that they can see each other's availability (if you allow them to, through the General Settings page)
Don't forget to mention all the benefits of Otipo - see a few of them in the list below.

Or... Send an e-mail to introduce Otipo to the team

If you are not planning to have a team meeting soon, you can simply send the team an e-mail. We've created an example you can use. Feel free to copy and modify it:

Subject:Let me introduce you to Otipo
Body:
Hi Team,

Starting next week, we will be using Otipo for scheduling our shifts. Otipo is an easy-to-use web-based scheduling solution, that will enable you to submit your availabilities from everywhere, at any time. Read this short Getting Started Guide to see how it looks like.

In the next few hours I will send you personal invitations via e-mail. The invitation will include your username (it is the same as your e-mail address), and your initial password which you can change later. It will also include a short explanation on how to get started. Once you receive the invitation, please click on the link you will have there, to verify that you can login to Otipo. Should there be any issue, you can reach out to Otipo Support via chat or mail on the Otipo web-site at http://otipo.com, or simply contact me.

Cheers,
<your name here>

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will I be able to login to Otipo from home?
A: Sure, you can login to Otipo from any computer connected to the Internet, be it at your home, college, coffee shop or anywhere else.

Q: Can I tell you which shifts I want to work next week using Otipo?
A: Yes. You will be reminded every week to submit your availability for the coming week, and the schedule will be created according to your availability.

Q: Will I still be able to swap shifts with my friends after the schedule has been created?
A: Yes. We will continue to swap shifts in the way we used to before. Using Otipo you will be able to see your colleagues availability, and find their phone number and email address in the contacts page, so you can easily find a replacement

Q: Can I see how it looks like before I start?
A: Yes. Take a look at the Getting Started Guide to see screenshots and read how it works.

Tell the team why they'll love using Otipo

  • Enter availabilities from anywhere, at any time
  • View your schedule from anywhere, at any time
  • Receive reminders via e-mail and SMS, so you won't forget to send your availabilities
  • The schedule is created by Otipo, in such a way which ensures that everyone gets a fair share of the shifts
  • Otipo schedules the the less-wanted shifts in rotations, across weeks, so everyone shares the burden
  • Get reminders before shifts via SMS, so you won't miss a shift... (optional)
  • Quick and Easy to use, makes it fun to schedule with Otipo
  • If you are using Otipo from the same computer every time, check the 'Remember Me' checkbox at your next login, and you won't need to enter your user name and password again

Back to 'Introduce Otipo to the team in your next team meeting' ↑


Conducting a Pilot Week


Some teams are a little worried about moving everything to Otipo right away, and this is pretty understandable as people usually resist changes. To ease the move, you can say that the first week is a Pilot week, in which employees should submit their availabilities using the way they are used to, and using Otipo. This way, if they do not understand how to do it using Otipo, you still get their notes / e-mail with their availabilities for next week. As a manager, you can always update their availabilities from the schedule board, by simply clicking on an employee's name at the side bar, and selecting 'Update Availabilities'.

We hope that those tips will be helpful in getting you up and running easily. If you have any other tips you want to share with other teams, please let us know.