Articles on: haddock HR

How to plan hour fractions with AI

Planning in fractions (such as 30-minute or 1-hour blocks) gives you more precise control over shifts and helps you adapt better to changing operational needs. Below we explain how to set everything up correctly so you can get the most out of this feature.



1. Create the base hourly shifts


First, create shifts for each time slot you want to use. For example, if your operation runs from 9:00 to 20:00:


  • Go to the left sidebar > Shifts
  • Click the "+" Create shift button
  • Create one shift for each hour: for example one for 9:00, another for 10:00, another from 11:00 to 12:00, and so on
  • Save them all




2. Create staffing needs


Then:


  • In the left menu, go to Staffing needs, located under Groups
  • Create a new need
  • Add the roles you need to cover (for example: kitchen, reception...)
  • Add all the previously created shifts you want to include in the planning (for example, from 9:00 to 17:00)





  • Go to Groups > Create group
  • Inside the group, open the Operational needs tab
  • Click the "+" button and add the staffing need you just configured




4. Create availability shifts


Now define employee availability:


  • Go to Shifts > Create shift
  • Give it a name (for example: “Morning availability”)
  • In shift type, select Availability
  • Define the time range (for example: 9:00 to 20:00)
  • Save it




5. Create a shift rota


  • Go to Shifts > Shift rotas
  • Click "+" to create a new one
  • Add the availability shift (for example, “Morning availability”)
  • Select the days of the week (for example, 1 to 5 for Monday to Friday)
  • Right-click one of the selected days and click Paste
  • Save the rota




6. Assign the rota to the employee


  • Go to Employees
  • Select an employee
  • Open the Shift rotas tab
  • Click "+" and select the created rota
  • Set the start date (for example: June 1)
  • Check which day of the week it is (Monday = 1, Tuesday = 2... Sunday = 7)
  • Enter the corresponding index and save



7. Plan time fractions


Now that everything is ready, go to Planning:


  • Open the group you want to plan (for example, the first week of June)
  • Make sure the operational needs appear at the bottom of the plan
  • Click the Plan button (this assigns availability shifts to all employees with shift rotas)
  • Then click Plan with AI



Before starting the planning:


  • In the top menu, change the detail level to 30-minute fractions
  • In the tab that appears called "30-minute fractions":


  • In maximum number of work blocks, set 1 if you want continuous shifts without breaks
  • In minimum block duration, set for example 4 so the blocks have a minimum duration of 4 hours.
  • Make sure you have created a default shift (for example, called “TA - Automatic Shift”), with any schedule and marked as a normal type. Remember that you can create shifts from the main Shifts menu.




8. Search for the best plan


  • Click the Search for the best plan button
  • You will see a second counter in the upper right while it is being generated, inside the "Plan with AI" button. When the plan finishes being generated, you will receive a notification so you can view the result.

Updated on: 23/04/2026

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