--- title: Creating and publishing a shift template description: Create a repeating shift template, empty, as a copy or generated automatically, and publish it so employees can see it. --- [Skip to content](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/creating-and-publishing-a-shift-template#main-content) - [English](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/creating-and-publishing-a-shift-template) - [Nederlands](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/nl/een-basisrooster-maken-en-publiceren) English Show submenu for translations ![Teamlead](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/hs-fs/hubfs/main-logo-horizontal-png-dark.png?width=176&height=32&name=main-logo-horizontal-png-dark.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - - [English](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/creating-and-publishing-a-shift-template) - [Nederlands](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/nl/een-basisrooster-maken-en-publiceren) English Show submenu for translations - [Tickets](https://servicedesk.teamlead.nl/tickets) [Tickets](https://servicedesk.teamlead.nl/tickets?hsLang=en) Hi. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Teamlead Knowledge Base](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en?hsLang=en) 2. [For planners and team leads](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en) 3. [Shift templates and automatic scheduling](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#shift-templates-and-automatic-scheduling) # Creating and publishing a shift template ## Create a repeating shift template, empty, as a copy or generated automatically, and publish it so employees can see it. A shift template is the fixed pattern your schedule runs on, week after week. You use it if your location works with shift templates (see [How does scheduling work in Teamlead? Shift template and continuous schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/how-does-scheduling-work-in-teamlead-shift-template-and-continuous-schedule?hsLang=en)). ### Before you start - There must be at least one staffing template for your location (see [Setting up staffing templates](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/setting-up-staffing-templates?hsLang=en)). - Employees have working times and skills on their profile (see [Setting up the employee profile](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/setting-up-the-employee-profile?hsLang=en)). ### Creating a shift template 1. Go to **Shift templates** and click **New shift template**. 2. Fill in a **Name**. 3. In **Active**, fill in from when the shift template applies. Preferably leave the end date empty. Otherwise, employees who leave before that end date do not appear in the shift template. 4. Choose the **Staffing template**. 5. In **Shift template mode**, choose **Repeating template**. You cannot change this later. 6. Choose the **Week cycle**: 1 if every week is the same, 2 for a pattern with even and odd weeks. 7. In **Starting point**, choose how you start: - **Empty**: you fill in everything yourself; - **Copy other shift template**: in **Copy shift template**, choose which shift template to copy; - **Generate automatically**: Teamlead fills the shift template. In **Generate for employees** and **Generate skills**, choose for whom and with which skills. 8. Click **Create**. With automatic generation, you then see the progress. ### Filling and editing the shift template You edit a shift template just like the schedule (see [Editing the schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/editing-the-schedule?hsLang=en)). You choose a day from the pattern instead of a date. In the actions menu you find, among other things, **Copy day**, **Bulk change**, **Generate breaks** and **Automatically fill**. Click **Save** when you are done. ### Publishing 1. As long as the shift template has not been published, a message about this is shown above it. 2. Save all your changes first. The **Publish** button is greyed out as long as anything is unsaved. 3. Click **Publish**. You see **Published successfully**. From then on, employees see the schedule on the schedule page and on their dashboard, within the period in **Active**. ### Good to know - You cannot undo publishing. - Employees do not get an email when you publish or edit the shift template. Let them know yourself. - Changes in a shift template do not appear under **Schedule changes**. - With a week cycle of 2, week 1 belongs to the odd week numbers and week 2 to the even week numbers. - Statistics only use published schedules. ### Not working? - Message **You need at least one staffing template for this location before you can create a shift template.** Create a staffing template first (see [Setting up staffing templates](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/setting-up-staffing-templates?hsLang=en)). - Are week 1 and week 2 the wrong way round? You cannot swap them in one go. Create a new shift template (see [Edit the shift template or create a new one?](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/edit-the-shift-template-or-create-a-new-one?hsLang=en)). Or use the pencil next to the name to temporarily set the **Week cycle** to 3, swap the weeks with **Copy day** via week 3, save and set the week cycle back to 2. ### See also - [How does scheduling work in Teamlead? Shift template and continuous schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/how-does-scheduling-work-in-teamlead-shift-template-and-continuous-schedule?hsLang=en) - [Edit the shift template or create a new one?](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/edit-the-shift-template-or-create-a-new-one?hsLang=en) - [Automatically fill](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/automatically-fill?hsLang=en) - [Setting up staffing templates](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/setting-up-staffing-templates?hsLang=en) - [Get started](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/get-started?hsLang=en) - [For employees](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-employees?hsLang=en) - [For planners and team leads](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Schedule](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#schedule) - [Shift templates and automatic scheduling](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#shift-templates-and-automatic-scheduling) - [Leave](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#leave) - [Staffing and forecast](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#staffing-and-forecast) - [Adherence and statistics](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-planners-and-team-leads?hsLang=en#adherence-and-statistics) - [For administrators](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/for-administrators?hsLang=en) - [Connections](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/connections?hsLang=en) - [Frequently asked questions](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/en/frequently-asked-questions?hsLang=en) [![](https://kennisbank.teamlead.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Teamlead-logo.png?width=500&height=105&name=Teamlead-logo.png)](http://teamlead.io) [Website](https://teamlead.io)[Create a ticket](https://servicedesk.teamlead.nl/tickets?hsLang=en)© 2026 Teamlead