Set Up Rotating Buddies

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At a glance

Rotating Buddies is the tool for tracking team members who rotate between two or more positions during a shift, like drive-thru pulls rotating with order takers, or Drinks 1 and Drinks 2 swapping every thirty minutes. The system tracks how long the current rotation has been running and counts the total number of rotations, so leaders know at a glance when to swap again.

Before you start

1. You need a role with the Edit shift assignments permission (the same permission that controls regular drag-and-drop on the Shifts screen). No extra permission is required for Rotating Buddies specifically.
2. Identify the two or more team members who should rotate, and the two or more positions they should rotate between. Rotating Buddies works with any number of team members and positions greater than or equal to two each, but most practical setups use two and two.
3. Have the team members assigned to those positions on today's layout before you build the Buddies set. If they are not assigned yet, assign them first using drag and drop.
4. Estimated time: thirty seconds to build a set; ongoing use during the shift.

Steps

1. On the Shifts screen, confirm the team members you want to rotate are already assigned to their positions on today's layout. If not, drag them onto their positions first.
2. Look at the Assigned Team Members list in the lineup on the right side of the screen.
3. Drag two or more team members from the Assigned Team Members list into the Rotating Buddies Sets area. This builds the set and locks those team members to each other for rotation tracking.
4. To start tracking a rotation, press the arrows below the set. A count-up timer begins, showing how long this rotation has been running.
5. When it is time for the team members to swap positions, press the arrows again. The count-up timer resets, and the total rotations counter increments by one.
6. Continue pressing the arrows each time the team swaps. The set tracks every rotation for the duration of the shift.
7. You should now see the rotation timer and rotation count updating in real time as you press the arrows, giving the shift leader a clear view of rotation cadence and total rotations.

Video

Video coming soon.

Common gotchas

The team members I want to rotate are not in the Assigned Team Members list.

The Assigned Team Members list only contains people already placed on a position in today's layout. If someone is on the roster but not assigned to a position, drag them onto a position first. Rotating Buddies is built from assigned team members, not from the full roster.

I built a Rotating Buddies set but the timer is not running.

Building a set and starting a rotation are two separate actions. After you drag team members into the Rotating Buddies Sets area, press the arrows below the set to begin the count-up timer. Without pressing the arrows, the set exists but is not actively tracking time.

My set says the rotation has been running for three hours.

The count-up timer runs until a leader presses the arrows again to mark a new rotation. If the timer has been running for three hours, the rotation has not been marked. Either a leader forgot to press the arrows at the swap, or the team has not actually rotated. Press the arrows now to start a fresh count, and build a habit of pressing at every swap.

I want to rotate three team members between two positions.

Rotating Buddies supports more than two team members in a set. Drag all three team members into the set, and each press of the arrows advances the rotation cycle. The specific rotation order is determined by the order you dragged them in or by the product's rotation logic.

One team member in the set went on break and I cannot pause the rotation.

I want to dissolve a Rotating Buddies set without deleting anyone from the layout.

Removing team members from the Rotating Buddies Sets area should leave them in their current position assignments.

I am running a shift with eight team members who all rotate through six positions.

Rotating Buddies works for any size set, but very large sets get harder to manage visually. Consider whether multiple smaller sets (for example, a set for front drinks rotation, another for drive-thru rotation) would be clearer than one large set covering everyone.

Related articles

1. Understand the Shifts Screen (Reference, Core slot 19). Covers the Assigned Team Members list and the layout area.
2. Create and Edit a Shift (How-To, Core slot 20)
3. Use Auto-Scheduler (How-To, bonus)
4. Assign a Checklist to a Position (How-To, Phase 1 bonus). Uses the same drag-and-drop grid.

Still stuck

If Rotating Buddies sets are not persisting, the timer is not starting, or the rotation counter is not incrementing, submit a support ticket and include:

1. Your store number.
2. The team members and positions involved in the set.
3. A screenshot of the Rotating Buddies Sets area showing the issue.
4. What you expected versus what happened.

Support typically responds within one business day.