Op shop roster
An op shop roster that keeps the doors open
Set the counter, sorting and key-holder shifts once, mark who’s away on the big winter trip, and FairTurns fills the week around your regulars. Volunteers check one link instead of ringing the shop.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
The shop opens at 9:30, if somebody has the key
Hillcrest’s op shop runs on twenty-eight volunteers, most of them retired, a few of them students who come on Saturdays. Barbara has done Tuesday mornings for eleven years and would be hurt to lose them. Graham and Lorraine head north in their caravan from June to August. Only five people hold a key, and a shift without one means a queue of donors at a locked door.
The roster is a printed grid behind the counter, rewritten by hand each month. When someone rings in sick, the manager works down a list of landline numbers. New volunteers fill in the form at the counter and wait weeks for a first shift because nobody wants to redo the grid.
An op shop roster has to respect the regulars, cover the key, and cope with people being away for months at a time. FairTurns is set up for all three.
How FairTurns runs the op shop roster
Regulars keep their day
Put Barbara on Tuesday mornings by hand. Fill never moves anyone already on, so it fills the rest of the week around the regulars.
A key holder on every shift
Make a Key holder position needing 1 and limit it to the people who hold a key. Nobody else is put on it.
Winter trips handled
Volunteers going away mark Away for a stretch, up to 92 days at a time. Fill leaves them off those dates and can use them again once they’re home.
Volunteers without email
Add people by name only. You can set their away days for them and print the roster for the back room.
New volunteers get a turn
Fill gives each empty place to whoever has had the fewest turns, so a newcomer is on within the next fill rather than at the bottom of a list.
The shop and the sorting room
Make teams for Counter, Sorting room and Pricing, each in its own colour. Within the shop nobody is booked into two at the same hour.
Set it up
- 01
Create the shop
Create an organisation and teams for the counter and the sorting room.
- 02
Add the positions
Add Key holder (1) and Counter (2), and limit Key holder to the people with keys.
- 03
Add your volunteers
Paste the list from the folder by the till, adding emails where people have them.
- 04
Set the opening hours
Click each opening day, set the times and choose Every week.
- 05
Place regulars, then Fill
Put fixed regulars on by hand, press Fill for three months, and print a copy for the counter.
When you want it to run itself
Pro emails each volunteer who has accepted an invitation the week’s roster on the day you choose and a reminder before their shift. A volunteer who wakes up unwell can reply “I can’t make it” from the email, and FairTurns asks the next person in line, so the manager isn’t on the phone at 8 am.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- Three to four hours is a good shift length. Mornings fill easily; afternoons and Saturdays are usually where the gaps are.
- Volunteers don’t pick their own shifts. You place the regulars, Fill places the rest, and everyone can mark the days they’re away.
- There’s no record of hours, training or police checks. Keep those in the shop folder.
- Away days are whole days. A volunteer who can only do mornings is best limited to the morning position.
Questions
Can a volunteer always have the same day?
Yes. Put them on that day by hand. Fill works around anyone already placed, and Redistribute asks before it moves anyone you put on yourself.
How do we make sure a key holder is on every shift?
Create a Key holder position needing one person and limit it to the volunteers with keys. Fill only ever puts those people into it.
Several of our volunteers are away for winter. What happens?
They mark Away for a stretch, up to 92 days, or you mark it for them. Fill and Redistribute leave them off those dates, and they come back into the roster when they return.
Can the roster be printed for the back room?
Yes. Print the public roster in list view. Names and dates only appear, never phone numbers or email addresses.
We’re a small charity. What does it cost?
The roster is free for every organisation, with no limit on volunteers. Pro is A$1 a month for the whole shop, paid 1 to 5 years at a time, prices including GST.
Free templates and guides
Volunteer roster template
A volunteer schedule with shifts, roles, a contact column and a spot to tick in on the day.
Weekly roster template
Names down the side, Monday to Sunday across: the one-page weekly roster for a small team.
Positions and headcounts
Name the jobs on each date and how many people each needs. Nobody gets a job they’re not set up for.
Similar rosters
Volunteer roster
A free volunteer roster app: shifts shared out by turns, away days respected, one link for everyone.
Food bank and community meals
Pick-up drivers, packers and a kitchen lead for food relief, with the right people on each job.
Cafés, small shops and market stalls
Open, close and the Saturday market stall: a café roster the whole crew can check from the bus.