Coordination Request Guide

Introduction to the Coordination Request Feature

Welcome to the User Guide for our new Coordination Request feature within the Client Portal. This innovative feature has been designed to streamline and enhance the way you interact with our Coordination team, giving you the tools to create and manage coordination requests efficiently and independently.

The Coordination Request feature empowers you to self-serve your coordination needs, offering a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of submitting requests for our team’s services.

This guide will walk you through the steps to use the Coordination Request feature effectively, ensuring that your requests are submitted accurately and reach our team promptly, furthermore, elaborate on how you can view and access all coordination requests past, present and future within the system. We are committed to supporting your needs with this powerful tool, designed to improve both the speed and clarity of your coordination requests.

Let’s get started with a detailed overview of the Coordination Request feature and how it can best serve your needs.

Navigation

To streamline your experience within the client portal, the navigation menu now includes a dedicated dropdown for quick access to the Coordination section. This menu provides easy access to key functions with the following quick action buttons:

Create Job: Quickly initiate a new coordination request or job, streamlining the process of getting tasks underway.

ALL: Access a comprehensive list of all shifts, allowing you to manage and review every coordination request, regardless of status.

Live: View all active shifts currently in progress, with coordinators actively managing operations on the ground. This section provides real-time updates on ongoing coordination activities.

Cancelled: Review all shifts that have been cancelled, offering a clear overview of any changes or disruptions to scheduled coordination activities.

This enhanced navigation structure is designed to make it easier and faster for you to manage coordination tasks within the portal.

Job / Shift Creation

Create Job – This feature provides the ability to initiate and submit new job requests directly to our Coordination Team. Once a job is created and submitted, it enters the workflow where our team will diligently review the details and work on assigning the appropriate shifts to coordinators. This streamlined process ensures that the right resources are allocated efficiently, allowing for smooth and effective coordination of the job at hand.

The Job Creation step consists of four key fields that are integral to the process:

Requester – This field is automatically pre-populated with the name of the currently logged-in user, ensuring that the system accurately records who is initiating the job request. This field is locked and cannot be edited, providing consistency and traceability.

Email – Similarly, the email field is pre-populated with the current user's email address. This ensures that all communications and confirmations related to the job creation process are directed to the correct individual. Like the Requester field, this is also locked and uneditable to maintain accuracy.

Order Number – This is an field where the user will input a specific order number. This allows for easy reference and tracking of the job request within the larger framework of project management or client orders, adding an extra layer of organisation.

Notifications – This field offers the flexibility to set additional recipients for the confirmation email that is automatically generated upon job creation. Users can specify who else within the organisation should be informed of the job’s creation, ensuring that all relevant parties are kept in the loop from the outset.

These fields work together to create a seamless and efficient job creation process, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring that the right information reaches the right people at the right time.

To add a shift, click on the "Add Shift" button. This action will open a modal window where you will be required to fill out several mandatory fields.

Shift Location – This field utilises FTS-defined addresses. You can search for a location using a shortcode (e.g., "MAN" for Manchester stations) or by typing the location's name (e.g., "Manchester"). Please note that the location lookup may occasionally require further assistance from our team, particularly if the exact address isn’t immediately found. We recognise that there may be a brief period of trial and error as you familiarise yourself with this process. However, clear communication with our support team can help to alleviate any challenges during this phase.

Shift Type – Here, you can select the type of shift you are creating. The available options are "Coordination Shift" or "Customer Service Shift," depending on your specific requirements.

Shift Timing – In this section, you must input the start and end dates as well as the start and end times for the shift. To ensure efficient recruitment and planning, the system is designed to lock the start date to a minimum of 5 working days from the creation date. This timeframe allows our team ample opportunity to recruit and allocate coordinators to the shift. Additionally, shifts longer than 12 hours cannot be created to maintain compliance with operational guidelines.

This process is designed to streamline the creation of shifts while maintaining flexibility and accuracy, and our team is ready to assist if any issues arise during the entry of these details.

Once a shift is successfully created and appears in the shift list, you have three key actions available to manage it efficiently:

Edit: By clicking the purple "Edit" button, you can reopen the shift creation modal to make any necessary adjustments. This feature allows you to modify details such as timing, location, or shift type without having to start from scratch.

Copy: The blue "Copy" button is designed to streamline the process of creating multiple shifts. By selecting this option, you can duplicate an existing shift, which is particularly useful for setting up similar or identical shifts quickly, saving both time and effort.

Delete: If a shift needs to be removed, the red "Delete" button allows you to completely erase the shift from the system. This option is available at this stage to ensure that only accurate and necessary shifts remain on the schedule, maintaining a clean and organized shift list.

These tools are designed to enhance flexibility and efficiency in managing shifts, ensuring that any changes or additions can be handled with ease and precision.

After you have completed the process of creating, editing, and managing your shifts, you can proceed by clicking the "Next" button to move on to the confirmation page. This page provides a comprehensive overview of all the shifts you have set up, allowing you to review the details one last time to ensure accuracy.

Once you are satisfied with the overview, selecting "Complete" will finalize the process. At this point, the shifts will be officially created in our FTS system. Simultaneously, all related emails will be dispatched—notifications will be sent to the requester, the FTS coordination team, and any additional recipients specified in the notifications field.

These shifts will now be accessible in the "All Shifts" screen, where they can be viewed and managed further as needed. This final step ensures that everything is properly recorded and communicated, streamlining the shift creation process and maintaining clear lines of communication across all involved parties.