What is SMS scheduling?

SMS scheduling means sending employees their work schedule by text message instead of through a mobile app, email or a printout on the wall. The manager builds the schedule in a web app. When it's published, each employee gets a text with their shifts or a link to a page that shows them.

Why text?

Almost everyone on an hourly team already texts, and they don't need to install anything or remember a password to read one. That makes text a practical way to reach part-time staff who would never open a scheduling app.

Texting staff needs their permission

Work texts still need the employee's consent. A manager having someone's number isn't the same as that person agreeing to automated texts. In Convey, adding a phone number doesn't opt anyone in, and Convey sends them nothing at that point. Each employee opts in by texting START to the business's Convey number. They can reply STOP to stop or HELP for help, and the Spanish words ALTO and AYUDA work too.

Texting back

Staff can also text Convey to call out of a shift or say they can't work a day. Convey records it and shows it to the manager. On Pro, with automatic coverage turned on, Convey can offer the open shift to teammates with the same role who are free, under their weekly hours and opted in to texts. If nobody can take it, it's marked as needing the manager.

Limits worth knowing

A text being sent doesn't mean it was read. Convey shows managers who a message was sent to and who couldn't be texted, but not whether someone looked at it. Business texting also has carrier rules: senders have to register, handle opt-outs, and keep messages to what people signed up for.

Texts are also a poor fit for long announcements or ongoing chat. They work best for short signals: your schedule is out, your shift changed, a shift needs covering.

How Convey does it

When you publish, staff who opted in get a text with a link. The first time they open it on a phone, they confirm it's them with a 4-digit code, then see their week in English or Spanish. When you edit a published week, the changes stay pending until you send updates, and then only the people whose shifts changed get a text.

Related reading: What is shift scheduling? · No-app scheduling · For restaurants.