Overview
Shift Hours allow you to automatically enable or disable Pull Distribution Strategies based on a predefined schedule. This ensures leads are only available to your sales team during designated operating hours, helping to manage workload and maintain compliance with time-based calling regulations.
Key Functionalities
Automated Scheduling: Distribution strategies automatically turn on and off according to your configured shift times.
Time Zone Management: Set the schedule based on a specific time zone to align with your team's location.
Flexible Shift Creation: Create multiple shifts for different days of the week to match complex work schedules.
Template Reuse: Copy shift configurations from existing strategies to save setup time.
How to Configure Shift Hours
Step 1: Access Shift Settings
Navigate to the specific Pull Distribution Strategy you wish to configure within the Lead Distribution settings.
Locate the Shifts or Shift Hours section within the strategy configuration.
Step 2: Set the Time Zone
Select the appropriate Time Zone for the shift schedule. This should be the time zone where your sales team is located.
Step 3: Create Shifts
Click the Add button to create a new shift block.
Configure the shift details:
Name: Give the shift a descriptive name (e.g., "Weekday Day Shift").
Days of the Week: Select the specific days this shift applies to (e.g., Monday-Friday).
Open Hours: Set the start time when the distribution should become active.
Close Hours: Set the end time when the distribution should deactivate.
Repeat the process to add multiple shifts as needed (e.g., separate shifts for weekdays and weekends).
Step 4: Copy Shifts
If you have an existing strategy with shifts you want to replicate, use the Copy From option to import those settings, then adjust as necessary.
Step 5: Save
Save the distribution strategy to activate the shift hours.
Best Practices
Align with Calling Laws: Ensure your shift hours comply with state and federal regulations regarding permissible calling times.
Mirror Business Hours: Set shifts to match your team's actual availability to prevent leads from being distributed when no one is available to contact them.
Create Clear Naming Conventions: Name shifts intuitively (e.g., "Weekend Graveyard Shift") so their purpose is immediately clear to other administrators.
Account for Time Zones: If your team is spread across multiple time zones, consider creating separate distribution strategies for each region with localized shift times.
Test the Schedule: After configuration, monitor the strategy to confirm it activates and deactivates at the expected times.
Troubleshooting
The distribution strategy is not active during scheduled shift hours.
Double-check the configured time zone and ensure the current time falls within the "Open" and "Close" hours for the current day of the week. Also, verify that the strategy itself is enabled.A shift is not applying to the correct days.
Review the "Days of the week" selection for the specific shift to ensure the correct boxes are checked.Changes to shift hours are not taking effect.
Remember to save the distribution strategy after making any changes to the shift configuration.