Stager offers two powerful ways to organize your staff: directly per event or via the overarching planning board. Whether you are scheduling a concert or a recurring maintenance shift, you can manage everything from a single interface.
Per event: Via Event - Crew schedule.
Via the planning board: A large day/week/month overview via Crew - Crew schedule. Here, you can also schedule shifts that are not event-related.
How to add a Crew member?
Before you can start planning you crew, you first need to have crew members in Stager. You can add a crew member at Crew - Crew members - + New crew member.
Add their first name, last name, and email address, and they will receive an invitation mail where they can activate their account.
After sending the invitation email, you can fill in further details about the crew member, including assigning skills and roles to the crew member.
When you want to assign teams and roles, you first have to create them in Settings - Crew, more about that you can read here.
How do I schedule crew members for a specific event?
Shifts can be added to each event with the yellow + New shift button in the top right-hand corner.
Adjust details: You can modify the role, start time, and end time.
Save: Click Save in the yellow bar below to finalize the shift.
Default times: The default start and end times are linked to the event's production times, but you can set custom default times for each role in Settings - Crew.
Bulk actions: Use the check boxes on the left-hand side to select multiple shifts. The yellow bar allows you to delete, duplicate, or send an email to the selected staff.
Pro tip: In Settings - Events - Event templates, you can compile standard schedules for recurring events. Prefill the schedule once, and it’s ready for every future production!
What are the different planning modes?
When you add a shift, you must set a Planning mode. This determines how crew members interact with the shift in the Stager app:
Direct: Crew members can claim these shifts immediately. Once claimed, the shift is theirs and no longer available to others.
Availability: Use this if you want staff to indicate when they can work. Shifts are offered via the app, and you make the final selection later.
None: Use this to directly allocate a shift to a specific person without prior consultation.
Note: Shifts are only visible to crew members in the app if the event status is 'Confirmed' or 'To be confirmed'.
How do I allocate shifts to my staff?
Once shifts are created, you can begin assigning people:
Role filtering: The Crew member drop-down menu only displays employees who are assigned to the specific role you selected for that shift.
Using Availability: If a shift is in 'Availability' mode, staff who marked themselves as available appear under 'Available - not scheduled'.
Preferences: A smiley emoticon (😄) appears next to names of people who indicated a specific preference for that shift in the app.
Automatic updates: When you schedule a staff member, the shift status automatically changes from 'Availability' to 'None'.
Double scheduling: Stager prevents double-booking. If someone is already scheduled elsewhere, a notification appears. Hover your cursor over the notification to see where the shifts overlap.
How do I use the Day/Week/Month planning board?
For a wider perspective, navigate to Crew - Crew schedule. This board allows you to fill gaps across your entire organization.
Visual cues: The color indicates which team a shift belongs to. If the color is lighter, the shift is still unfilled.
Navigation: All dates and events are clickable, taking you directly to the day planner or the specific event’s crew tab. Clicking an employee's name takes you to their profile.
Filtering: Filter by status, role, or team to see exactly what is still open.
How do notifications and status icons work?
Stager uses visual indicators to keep you informed:
Notified column: A checkmark or cross shows if a crew member has been informed. Use the Send email button to send or update shift details.
Overlap notification (!): An exclamation mark indicates the employee is scheduled for another shift at the same time.
Availability notification (*): An asterisk indicates that people have made themselves available for that specific shift.
Unfilled shifts: These appear in a lighter tone so you can spot gaps at a glance.
Can crew members unschedule themselves?
Once a shift has been officially assigned, it is not possible for a crew member to unschedule themselves directly. Whether a shift was assigned manually by a planner or confirmed through the app, the assignment is final. To be removed from a shift, the staff member must contact their planner, who can then delete the shift after approval. This process ensures that the planner stays informed and can maintain a reliable schedule.
However, the process is different for pending requests and general availability.
Crew members can mark themselves as available or unavailable for specific days, and they can use the "heart" icon in the app to request a specific shift. As long as these remain requests and have not yet been officially assigned by the planner, a crew member can still use the "cancel" option in the app to withdraw their request.
