Assigning services to the right people keeps quality consistent, keeps pets and staff safe, and means each team member is only booked for work they are qualified and comfortable doing. Match services to skills, certifications and experience, then review the list as each person grows.
Choose the services a team member performs
Use this when someone joins, finishes training for a service, or should stop doing one.
- Open Team Members and select Manage on the team member.
- Choose Services.
- Select Manage. With nothing assigned yet, the button reads Assign Services.
- In Manage Services, add the services this team member is qualified to perform, and remove the ones they are not.
- Select Save Changes.
The change saves straight away, without Publish Changes. Services They Perform then lists the assigned services by category, with each service's Self-Service and Restrictions, and a count at the foot. Select a service to open it.
A session with its own list under Services in this session only takes bookings for the services on that list. When the team member has sessions like that, Manage Services says how many. If you assign a service that none of their sessions take, a ticked box under the list offers to add it to their sessions too. Leave it ticked and Save Changes adds the service to every session that has its own list, including special date periods. Untick it and the service is assigned but cannot be booked with this team member until you add it to a session.
How an assignment decides who can be booked
Each service holds the list of team members who perform it, and a service's Team & Resources tab on Services sets how that list is used, under How should team members work for this service?
| Setting | What the product says | What it means for booking |
|---|---|---|
| Required | A team member must be assigned to every booking for this service | Petboost offers only the team members assigned to the service, and only in their working hours |
| Optional | The appointment form does not ask for a team member | The appointment form does not show Team Member. Team members do not limit when the service can be booked |
| Not used | This service doesn't involve team members | No team member is assigned |
A Required service that lists nobody is not closed. Petboost treats every team member as able to perform it, both on your booking page and in the booking form. So the list only restricts a service once somebody is on it: assign one team member to a service and a new team member is no longer offered for it until you add them too. A service assigned to one person only is bookable only in that person's hours.
Two kinds of service never appear on a team member's Services section:
- Stay services, which are booked into resources such as rooms rather than team members. Their Team & Resources tab reads Team Members Not Applicable
- Course lessons. A course's instructors are set on its course template, and the team member's Courses section lists the templates they teach
Decide who is ready for a service
Assess each person before you assign a service:
- Technical skills: service-specific knowledge, equipment operation and maintenance, and safety procedures
- Soft skills: customer communication, problem-solving and decision-making, and time management
- Certifications and training: any certification a service requires, with ongoing training and continuing education
- Service experience: previous experience with similar services, comfort with the service's complexity, and performance history and feedback
- Pet handling: experience with different pet types, sizes and temperaments, and safety awareness
Start new team members on simpler, lower-risk services, then add more complex ones with training and supervision. Services generally fall into three levels:
- Basic: bathing, basic grooming, simple care
- Intermediate: full grooming, basic training, routine care
- Advanced: complex grooming, behavioural training, specialised care
The skills, training and experience each kind of service usually calls for:
| Service | Examples | Skills required | Training | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic grooming | Bathing, nail trimming, basic brushing | Basic pet handling, grooming techniques | Basic grooming training, safety protocols | Entry-level to intermediate |
| Advanced grooming | Full grooming, styling, specialised cuts | Advanced grooming techniques, breed knowledge | Advanced grooming training, breed-specific knowledge | Intermediate to advanced |
| Specialised grooming | Show grooming, medical grooming, difficult pets | Specialised techniques, medical knowledge | Specialised training, medical protocols | Advanced, specialised training |
| Basic training | Basic obedience, house training, simple commands | Basic training techniques, patience | Basic training methods, behaviour understanding | Entry-level to intermediate |
| Advanced training | Advanced obedience, behaviour modification, complex commands | Advanced training techniques, behaviour analysis | Advanced training methods, behaviour modification | Intermediate to advanced |
| Specialised training | Behavioural therapy, aggression management, specialised programmes | Specialised techniques, psychological understanding | Specialised training, behavioural therapy | Advanced, specialised certification |
| Basic care | Feeding, basic exercise, routine care | Basic pet care knowledge, safety awareness | Basic care protocols, safety procedures | Entry-level |
| Specialised care | Medical care, senior care, special needs | Medical knowledge, specialised care techniques | Medical protocols, specialised care training | Intermediate to advanced, medical training |
Set which team member fills first
When a stay or a staff booking does not name a team member, Petboost tries team members in their fill order.
- Go to Team Members.
- Open the settings menu and select Fill order.
- Drag each team member into the order you want them filled.
Changes save as soon as you drop a team member. Online bookings for Anyone still share times across your team.
Keep assignments up to date
Review each person's services regularly, for example monthly, and plan new assignments, training and service coverage each quarter.
- Watch service quality: customer satisfaction, completion rates, quality assessments, and errors or complaints
- Watch each person's performance: delivery efficiency, customer interaction and safety record
- Before you remove a service, look at why: a performance or quality concern, a safety or compliance problem, or a team member who is uncomfortable with it. Offer extra training or another service where that helps, and make sure somebody else is assigned before you remove the last qualified person, because a Required service with nobody on it is offered with every team member
- Keep certifications current, plan renewals, and keep records of compliance with local regulations and industry standards
- Cross-train team members on more than one service, and support coaching, mentoring and continuing education
Common problems and fixes:
- Skill gaps: targeted training, simpler services first, or external training and certification
- Too many services on one person: focus on the core services they do well, and give them training and support
- Team members not fully used: find other services they can perform, and cross-train them
- Quality below standard: review their services and skills, add training, or reassign them to services that suit them
Related articles
- Getting Started with Team Members: basic team member setup
- Capacity & Workload Management: managing team member capacity
- Working Hours & Leave Management: managing schedules and time off
- Team Member FAQ: common service assignment questions
Need help? Contact support or select Get Help in your dashboard to chat with our team.