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Volunteers are the core personnel records for each event. Every volunteer belongs to a single event, can be assigned to a group, and optionally carries a maximum-hours limit that the Auto-Assign engine respects.

Volunteer record fields

Each volunteer record stores the following fields:
FieldRequiredDescription
nameYesFull display name shown across the app and in the Kiosk.
groupNoGroup affiliation (e.g. Delegates, Adults, Medical). Controls which shifts this volunteer is eligible for.
max_hoursNoMaximum hours this volunteer may be scheduled. Leave blank for unlimited.
emailNoContact email address.
phoneNoContact phone number.
external_idNoOptional identifier for mapping volunteers imported from an external system.
external_id is stored in the database schema but is not exposed in the manual-add form. It is only populated via CSV import when your file contains a matching column.

Adding volunteers manually

1

Open the Volunteers page

Navigate to your event, then click Volunteers in the sidebar. The page shows the full personnel directory for that event.
2

Click Add Volunteer

Click the Add Volunteer button in the top-right toolbar. A form expands below the header.
3

Fill in the details

Enter at minimum a Full Name. Optionally select a Group Assignment from the dropdown, enter a Phone Number, an Email Address, and a Max Hours value.The Max Hours field accepts decimal steps of 0.5 — for example, 8.5 hours.
4

Confirm

Click Confirm Addition. The volunteer appears at the top of the list immediately.

Inline editing

You can update any volunteer’s details without leaving the list view.
1

Hover over the row

Hover over a volunteer row. The Edit (pencil) and Delete (trash) action buttons appear on the right.
2

Click Edit

Click the pencil icon. The row expands into an inline edit form with pre-filled fields for name, group, max hours, phone, and email.
3

Save changes

Modify any field, then click the green checkmark to save. Click the grey X to discard changes.
Use the search bar to filter volunteers by name or group before editing. This is faster than scrolling when managing large rosters.

Removing volunteers

To remove a single volunteer, hover over their row and click the trash icon. A confirmation dialog will appear before the record is deleted. To remove all volunteers at once, click the trash icon in the toolbar (top-left of the volunteer list). This action cannot be undone.
Deleting a volunteer also removes all of their assignments. Shifts they were filling will become unfilled.

Volunteer groups

Groups categorize volunteers by role (e.g. Medical, Security, Delegates). Groups are color-coded and appear as badges throughout the assignment interface. You manage groups from the Manage Groups page, accessible via the button at the top of the Volunteers page. From there you can create groups with custom colors and rename or delete existing groups.
A volunteer’s group must match the required_groups setting on a shift for Auto-Assign to place them there. See Groups for full details on how group requirements work.

Max hours and Auto-Assign

The Max Hours field caps the total hours a volunteer will be scheduled during Auto-Assign. When Auto-Assign runs, the Go Scheduler API receives each volunteer’s max_hours value. The engine will not assign a volunteer to a shift if doing so would push their cumulative scheduled hours above that limit. Volunteers with no max_hours set are treated as having a limit of 999 hours, effectively unlimited. If a volunteer cannot be placed because their max hours would be exceeded, the affected shift appears in the API’s conflicts response with a reason such as:
Volunteer vol_7 already reached max_hours (40.0)
These conflicts are surfaced in the Scheduling Insights panel on the Assignments page.

Conflict detection

The Assignments page performs real-time conflict checking on the existing schedule. A conflict is flagged when:
  • A volunteer is assigned to two shifts whose time windows overlap (StartA < EndB && StartB < EndA).
  • A volunteer’s total assigned hours exceed their max_hours limit.
Shifts with conflicts are sorted to the top of the Assignments list and highlighted in yellow. The exact conflict message — including the volunteer’s name, hours, and limit — is shown inline on each affected shift card.

Groups

Create and manage volunteer groups with color-coding.

Assignments

Assign volunteers to shifts manually or with Auto-Assign.

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