Available from 3rd of September 2026
Got a week with gaps in it? Fill empty shifts assigns people to any shift that doesn't have anyone on it yet, based on who's available and the rostering settings you've set for your company.
Running it
Filling empty shifts happens in the Roster view. When the week you're viewing has empty shifts on it, you'll see Fill "X" gaps next to the search bar. You'll also find Fill Empty Shifts… in the options menu.
Droppah confirms how many empty shifts it's found and which week it's filling. Click Fill shifts.
What Droppah takes into account
Droppah won't roster someone who:
Isn't available, whether that's their weekly availability or booked time off
Would end up on two shifts at once
Isn't in the work group the shift needs, or isn't on the team
Beyond that, Droppah works through your preferences in order:
Highest priority: filling as many shifts as possible, and staying within each person's maximum hours per week
High priority: your optimisation category, if you've set one
Medium priority: spreading shifts evenly across the team
Low priority: maximum stint duration and minimum stint break
Filling the roster comes first. Droppah would rather cover a shift than keep every preference happy, so you may see warnings on shifts it filled.
Steering how it fills
If you want some say in who gets picked, set an optimisation category under Settings > Calendar. You don't need one, Fill works either way. It just gives Droppah some direction when more than one person could work a shift.
Cost leans towards your lower-cost staff
Experience leans towards people with more hours under their belt
Rating leans towards your higher-rated staff
Each one relies on that information being on your people's records. See Calendar Settings.
Reviewing the result
Droppah shows how many shifts it filled, along with any roster warnings the new assignments raised, usually someone going over their maximum hours or a stint sitting too close to another.
Warnings aren't errors. They're a flag that something's worth a look before you publish. See Roster Warnings.
If Droppah couldn't fill everything, the rest stay empty. Assign them yourself, or leave them. See Empty Shifts.
Clearing empty shifts
Decided you don't need those gaps after all? Clear Empty Shifts… in the options menu removes every unassigned shift on the week in one go.
It's handy if you've pasted a plan and decided you're running lighter this week, or if a copy brought across shifts you don't need.
If you want to start the week over completely, Clear Roster… removes everything, assigned shifts included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I control who Droppah picks?
Can I control who Droppah picks?
If you need a specific person on a specific shift, assign them yourself before you run Fill, and it'll work around them. Set an optimisation category under Settings > Calendar to steer it towards cost, experience or rating.
Can I run it more than once?
Can I run it more than once?
Yes. It only looks at what's empty right now, so running it again picks up anything you've added since.
Why is a shift still empty?
Why is a shift still empty?
Usually nobody was available who could work it. Check whether the people in that work group have time off booked, are already rostered at that time, or would go over their maximum hours. You can always assign someone yourself.
Will my staff see empty shifts that didn't get filled?
Will my staff see empty shifts that didn't get filled?
No. Empty shifts aren't visible to employees and can't be published. The rest of the roster publishes as normal. See Empty Shifts.
What happened to Smart Roster?
What happened to Smart Roster?
Smart Roster did two jobs at once: it built the week from a roster plan, then assigned people to it. Those are now separate. Paste plan puts a roster plan onto the week, and Fill empty shifts assigns people to anything still empty. See Roster Plans.
Can I use this with a roster plan?
Can I use this with a roster plan?
Yes. Fill works the same way regardless of how the empty shifts got onto the roster. See Roster Plans.
I can't see the Fill button
I can't see the Fill button
Check you're in the Roster view. Empty shifts and the actions that work on them are only available there, not in the Resources view. They're also not available on the mobile app, which shows the Resources view only.