Competencies in TimeWellScheduled help ensure that only properly trained or qualified employees can take or swap shifts. While competencies are not assigned directly to individual shifts, they still play a key role in scheduling and shift swapping.
This article explains how competencies are applied, how they affect shift offers, and how to use them effectively.

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Understanding How Competencies Are Applied

Competencies are tied to employees, not to shifts.
When a shift is created, it does not store a specific competency (unlike tasks). Instead, the system checks the competencies of the employee assigned to the shift.
This approach allows you to manage qualifications centrally—without needing to configure every shift individually.

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Example Scenario

• Joe is assigned to a shift
• Joe has WHMIS training listed as a competency
• Joe offers the shift to others

If COMPTENCIES MUST MATCH is enabled:

➡️ Only employees who also have WHMIS training will be able to take that shift

Employees without that competency will not see the shift as available.

This ensures compliance and safety without manual oversight.

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Enabling Competency Enforcement for Shift Swapping

To make sure competencies are enforced during shift swaps:

1. Go to MANAGE MY BUSINESS
2. Go to MANAGE SCHEDULE AND TIME CARD SETTINGS
3. Go to the SHIFT SWAPPING tab
4. Enable Competencies Must Match
   

Once enabled:

• The system automatically checks competencies during shift offers
• No additional setup is required on individual shifts

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Why Competencies Aren’t Assigned Per Shift

Competencies are designed to be:

• Employee-based, not shift-based
• Reusable across all schedules
• Automatically enforced during shift offers and swaps

This means:

• You don’t need to assign competencies shift by shift
• Updates to an employee’s training immediately apply everywhere
• Scheduling stays faster and easier to manage

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Competencies vs Tasks – What’s the Difference?

Feature	Tasks	Competencies
Assigned directly to shifts	✅ Yes	❌ No
Visible on the schedule	✅ Yes	❌ No
Controls who can take a shift	❌ No	✅ Yes
Based on employee qualifications	❌ No	✅ Yes

Tasks describe what needs to be done.
Competencies ensure who is qualified to do it.

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Best Practices

• Assign competencies to employees as part of onboarding
• Keep competencies up to date as training changes
• Enable Competencies Must Match to enforce compliance automatically
• Use tasks if you need shift-specific instructions or visibility