Forms

Navigate to: Menu > Staff & Payroll > Forms

Overview

Forms let you collect information from your staff, casual workers, volunteers and job applicants without chasing paper forms or emails. For example, you can gather new starter details, emergency contacts and uniform sizes, collect availability for the next season, run induction checklists, take job applications, or have your duty managers and stage managers log incidents and show reports.

Forms can be used online, in the box office, or both. Forms are also available in Acts & Performers > Forms, where they are used for performers and promoters.

The Forms page

●      Add Form: Create a new form

●      Show Active: Show only active forms

●      Show Inactive: Show only inactive forms

●      Show Inactive & Active: Show all forms

●      Manage Boards: Go to your pipelines in Acts & Performers > Pipelines, for example your recruitment pipeline

●      Search, Column visibility and CSV: Find a form, choose which columns to show, or export the list to a spreadsheet

The list shows each form’s Name, Form Availability and whether it is Active. Beside each form are four buttons:

●      Submit Form: Fill in the form yourself, on someone’s behalf

●      View Answers: See the responses to the form

●      View Online Form: See the form as your staff or applicants see it online

●      Add Trigger: Link the form to an event or product

Ideas for staff forms

●      New Starter Details: Address, date of birth, emergency contact, bank details for payroll and uniform size

●      Right to Work: A file upload for passport or right to work documents, with a check box to confirm the details are correct

●      Seasonal Availability: A multi select question listing the performances or weeks of a run, so casual front of house staff can tick the ones they can work

●      Induction Checklist: Check boxes to confirm a new usher or box office assistant has completed their fire safety, evacuation, first aid and access awareness briefings

●      Job Application: Name, email, role applied for, experience and a CV upload, shared online for roles such as Usher, Bar Staff or Stage Technician

●      Incident Report: For duty managers to record accidents, first aid incidents and audience issues during a performance, with the date, location, for example Stalls, Circle or Balcony, and what happened

●      Show Report: For stage managers to record running times, cast and crew notes, technical issues and front of house notes after each performance

●      Exit Questionnaire: Feedback from staff leaving at the end of a season or contract

Add a form

●      Go to Staff & Payroll > Forms

●      Click Add Form

●      Enter the Form Name and Form Description, for example New Starter Details

●      Set Form Availability to Online, Back Office, or Online & Back Office. Online means staff and applicants can fill it in themselves using a link. Back Office means it can only be filled in by your team inside Backstage Manager, for example by a manager at the box office

●      Set the form to Active or Inactive

●      Add your questions (see Question types)

●      Click Save Form

Question types

Click Add Question and choose from:

●      Add Question With Text/Contact: The person answers in their own words, for example previous theatre experience or dietary requirements for a company meal. This can also be linked to a contact field (see Add contact fields)

●      Add Single Select Question: The person chooses one answer from a list, for example the role they are applying for or their uniform size

●      Add Multi Select Question: The person chooses one or more answers from a list, for example the performances they are available for or the departments they would like to work in

●      Add Check Box Question: The person ticks a box, for example to confirm they have read the staff handbook or completed their fire safety briefing

●      Add Date Field Question: The person picks a date, for example their start date or the date of an incident

●      Add Email Field Question: The person enters an email address

●      Add File Upload Field Question: The person uploads a file, such as a CV, a first aid certificate or right to work documents

●      Add Form Info: Adds information or instructions to the form, for example a note explaining how you will use their details. This is not a question and needs no answer

Each question shows a Question box for the wording and a Required dropdown. Set Required to Yes if the person must answer before they can submit. For single and multi select questions, click Add Option to add each answer choice.

Add contact fields

You can save answers straight to the person’s record in Contacts & Relationships by linking questions to contact fields. This is useful for job applicants, so their details are ready if you add them to your recruitment pipeline.

●      Click Add Question > Add Question With Text/Contact

●      Under Contact Fields, select the field you want the answer saved to: First Name, Last Name, Address, City or Post Code

Add an email field

●      Click Add Question > Add Email Field Question

●      Under Contact Fields, choose Email

When someone fills in the form, any details entered in contact fields are automatically saved to their contact record in Contacts & Relationships.

Add a trigger

Triggers link a form to an event or product, so the form is shown when that event or product is bought. For staff, this can be useful for things like a volunteer usher sign-up or a paid training session, where you want to collect details at the same time.

●      Open the form and click Add Trigger

●      Choose Trigger: Select whether the form is linked to an event or a product

●      Choose Value: Select the event or product to link the form to

●      Choose Form: Select the form to use

●      Click Add Trigger to confirm

Copy a form

Open the form and click Copy Form to duplicate it. You can then edit the copy, for example copying last season’s Seasonal Availability form and updating the performance dates.

Reorder questions

Save your form first. You can then drag and drop questions to change their order.

Submit a form in the box office

Open the form and click Submit Form to fill it in on someone’s behalf, for example when a duty manager records an incident report at the end of a performance, or when you take a new starter’s details in person on their first day.

View form responses

●      Go to Staff & Payroll > Forms

●      Click View Answers on the form

●      Detailed reports and charts will show, for example how many casual staff are available for each performance

To see the form as it appears online, click View Online Form. This is a good way to check a form before you send the link to new starters or post it with a job advert.

Tips

●      Keep forms Inactive while you are building them, and set them to Active once they are ready to use

●      Use Add Form Info at the top of forms that collect personal details to explain why you need them and who will see them

●      Only ask for the information you need, and store signed or confidential documents on the staff member’s profile in Staff & Payroll > HR

●      Use Copy Form to start each new season’s availability form from the last one