Shift scheduling for warehouses

Three shifts built around the dock

Most sites run three 8-hour shifts and a general shift for the office. The shift catalogue in ZeniaHR already has Morning 6 to 2, Evening 2 to 10 and Night 10 to 6, which you can rename and adjust. Some warehouses start loaders 30 minutes before pickers so that the morning's inbound stock is on the shelves by the time picking begins.

• Inbound: 6 am to 2 pm, unloading, putaway and GRN posting
• Outbound: 2 pm to 10 pm, picking, packing and cut-off dispatch
• Night: 10 pm to 6 am, loading line-haul and returns processing
• Office: 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, admin, billing and inventory control

A 21-day rotation with staggered weekly offs

Here is a rotation many dock teams find fair. Each person works six mornings, takes a weekly off, works six evenings, takes a weekly off, then works six nights and takes a weekly off. The cycle is 21 days long with 18 working days. Put 21 loaders on the template and stagger each one by a day, and every single day has six loaders on each shift and three on their weekly off, including Sundays.

ZeniaHR's rotation templates take cycles of up to 62 days and stagger them per person, so this pattern is built once and applied to the whole team. Where someone needs a fixed day off, for example a loader who attends a weekly class, set a personal weekly off instead of breaking the template.

Staffing the festive peak

Temporary pickers usually join the outbound and night shifts, where volumes rise fastest. Bulk assignment covers up to 92 days at a time, enough for 1 September to 30 November (91 days) in one go. Check the day grid weekly during the peak: it shows how many people are on each shift each day, so the site manager can see a thin Saturday night before it happens rather than after the trucks are late.

Swaps and night duty rules

Let staff swap shifts with a colleague instead of calling in sick. In ZeniaHR the colleague accepts first, then the shift in-charge and HR approve, and the roster changes only on the final approval, so the day grid always shows who is really coming. Women may work night shifts with their consent and under the safety conditions the government sets, so record consent before placing anyone on the night team and follow your state's notified conditions.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. In Shifts & Roster, edit the Morning, Evening and Night shifts to your dock timings, and add a General shift for the office team.
2. Mark the night shift with the night shift flag, and set its break, full-day hours and grace minutes.
3. Build a 21-day rotation template of six mornings, six evenings and six nights with a weekly off after each block, staggered per person.
4. Bulk assign the template to each team for up to 92 days, and add personal weekly offs for anyone who needs a fixed day.
5. Allow shift swaps so pickers can trade shifts with a colleague, with approval by the shift in-charge and then HR.
6. Review the day grid every week during peak season to catch thin shifts before trucks are scheduled.

Read more about shifts and rosters in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions