Use Shiftly in Claude and ChatGPT
At the end of this guide Claude or ChatGPT can answer questions about your business in Shiftly and prepare drafts for you, and you know what it can't do.
What it is
Claude and ChatGPT are AI assistants. Once you connect Shiftly, you can ask the assistant about your rosters, timesheets and leave in your own words, and it can prepare work for you to check, such as draft shifts.
It's for business owners, and for managers who can manage team access. The assistant works with one business and acts as you, so it can do no more than you can do in Shiftly.
Connect Shiftly
- In Claude or ChatGPT, add Shiftly from the assistant's directory. Shiftly will be listed in the Claude and ChatGPT connector directories (coming soon).
- Sign in to Shiftly when the assistant asks you to.
- Read the notice. What the assistant reads from Shiftly, including staff names and notes, goes to the company that runs it, and their terms with you decide what they keep.
- Choose the business to connect, then select Allow access.
Each connection belongs to one person and covers one business. Another manager at the same business connects their own. If you look after more than one business, connect again for each one.
What it can do
| Area | Ask about | It can add |
|---|---|---|
| Rosters and shifts | Who's working, open shifts and staff availability | Draft shifts. Staff don't see them until a manager publishes the roster in Shiftly. |
| Timesheets | Hours worked, who's on now and timesheets waiting for approval | Pending timesheets, for a manager to approve in Shiftly |
| Leave | Leave requests, balances and who's away | Pending leave requests, for a manager to approve or decline in Shiftly |
| Labour cost | Hours and cost by location, week or project. Cost and pay show only if you can view pay in Shiftly. | Nothing |
| Projects | Projects and the work recorded against them | Projects |
It can also change or delete shifts that haven't started, change or delete timesheets that are still pending, change or archive projects, and cancel pending leave requests it submitted for you. Before it changes or removes anything, the assistant shows you a preview of the change and waits for you to confirm. If you don't confirm within 10 minutes, nothing changes.
Changing a published shift returns that week to draft, so staff don't see the change until a manager publishes the roster again. Anything the assistant adds or changes shows in Shiftly with your name and the assistant's, for example Created by Sam Lee via Claude.
What it won't do
- Publish a roster.
- Approve a timesheet.
- Approve or decline leave.
- Change pay rates, awards or anyone's pay.
- Add, remove or change staff or their details.
- See tax file numbers, bank accounts or super details.
Some personal details stay in Shiftly and are never shared with the assistant: staff dates of birth, home addresses, emergency contacts, and notes on sick or carer's leave. Other notes staff write, such as timesheet notes and availability comments, are shared.
Use it safely
- Use Shiftly on its own. Don't connect other apps or connectors in the same chat, because text from one can try to steer what the assistant does with another.
- Keep automatic tool running off. Leave the assistant set to ask you before it uses Shiftly, and read each request before you allow it.
- Staff-written notes are marked as untrusted. The assistant is told to treat them as information only and never to follow instructions in them. Read any change it suggests after reading a note.
- Check the assistant's data settings before you connect. What it reads from Shiftly is handled under the terms you have with the company that runs it.
Example prompts
- Who's rostered at Main St this Saturday, and which shifts are still open?
- Which of last week's timesheets are still waiting for approval, and which ones run longer than the rostered shift?
- Who has leave booked in the next three weeks, and does anyone on leave still have shifts?
- Draft next Friday's bar shifts at Main St to match this Friday's, with one more bar attendant from 6pm to 11pm.
- What did labour cost at each location last week, and how does that compare with the week before?
Disconnect it
In Shiftly, open Integrations. Assistants are listed under Apps connected to Shiftly with the name of the person who connected them. Open one and select Disconnect. Anything it added stays in Shiftly.
An owner can disconnect anyone's assistant. A manager can disconnect only their own.
A connection also stops on its own when the person who made it no longer manages the business, or when it hasn't been used for 60 days. To use it again, connect again from inside the assistant.