Time zones in Shift Billboard
Shift Billboard supports multiple time zone configurations to ensure accurate shift posting, claiming, and visibility across different user environments. You must use the correct configuration to avoid expired postings, misaligned bidding windows, and confusion in places with different timezones.
You can use the employee time zone in Shift Billboard for most processes. If an employee time zone is not configured, the server time zone is used by default.
The server time zone is used in these processes:
- Manager actions: Managers cannot post unassigned shifts to the billboard if the shift start time has passed in the server time zone. The availability of the Send to Billboard action is controlled by the employee time zone. If the employee time zone is not configured, the server time zone is used. When using the Send to Billboard field, validations consider both the browser and employee time zones. If the manager’s time zone is not set, the server default time zone is used instead.
- Job Scheduler tasks: Tasks, such as Reject Expired Posting and Billboard Clean Up Task, use the server time zone to determine if a shift post has expired
The employee time zone is used in these processes:
- Bidding End and Review End: When sending a shift to the Shift Billboard for bidding, the bidding end and review end times are entered in the employee’s time zone. The bidding end time and review end time for a shift posting are stored and processed in the server time zone.
- Open Shift Manager: The dates, times, and loading shifts displayed in the Open Shift Manager are converted from the server time zone to the employee’s configured time zone for accurate display and filtering.
- Published Shifts: When shifts are published to the Shift Billboard using the publishing task, the relevant times are based on the publishing employee’s time zone.
Note: To view the correct shifts, ensure that the browser and employee time zones are the same.
All bidding and review window end times, including the ones entered in an employee’s time zone, are converted into server time and stored in the SCHBID_BIDDING_SUMMARY table
You can configure how employee time zones affect posting and claiming in the Shift Billboard:
- ETM_CLOCK_FACTOR_TIME_ZONE = false: Use the server time zone to calculate if shifts posted by employees are within the posting window. Additionally, shifts are not available to claim if the shift start time has passed in the server time zone.
- ETM_CLOCK_FACTOR_TIME_ZONE = employee_udf: Use the posting employee's time zone to determine if shifts are within the posting window. Additionally, shifts are not available to claim if the shift start time has passed in the claiming employee's time zone. This configuration affects users who use the Shift Billboard using ETM, mobility, and Self Service Portal.
- ETM_CLOCK_FACTOR_TIME_ZONE = client_browser: Use the browser time zone to calculate posting and claiming windows.
Shift Billboard time zone scenarios
| Scenario | Browser time zone | Employee time zone | Server time zone | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All time zones match | Same as employee time zone | Configured | Any | Shifts are displayed and posted correctly. The bidding and claiming windows are the same. |
| Browser time zone differs from employee time zone | Different from employee time zone | Configured | Any | Bidding shifts are displayed, but for a shorter period than expected, or not at all if the time zone difference is too large. Immediate claim shifts are less affected. |
| Employee time zone is not configured with browser time zone matching server time zone | Same as server time zone | Not configured | Server time zone is used | Shifts are displayed correctly because the browser and server time zones match. |
| Employee time zone is not configured with browser time zone differing from server time zone | Different from server time | Not configured | Server time zone is used | Server time zone is applied to all actions, but employees may see postings shifted by the browser’s local time. High risk of different visibility. |
| Multiple time zones with browser time zone matching employee time zone | Same as employee time zone | Different across employees | Server time zone is used | Each employee sees postings in their configured time zone. Works correctly, but schedulers must follow consistent posting rules across time zones to avoid confusion. |
| Multiple time zones with browser time zone differing from employee time zone | Different from employee time zone | Different across employees | Server time zone is used | Employees with different browser and employee time zones setups may see inconsistent shift times. |
Note: Always configure employee time zones and ensure that browser time zones are the same as employee time zones. Most time zone issues occur with bidding shifts, as bidding end times are time zone–sensitive.
For immediate claim shifts posted by a manager, only the employee or server time zone is used to reduce mismatches.