Help Desk Daily Workflow

1. Morning Setup (Before 10:00 AM)

Focus: Set clear ownership, balance workload, and align the team on priorities for the day.

1.1 Assign New Tickets To Rostered CS Team Members

Focus: Ensure every rostered CS Team member starts with a clear, fair queue of work.

Steps:
1. Confirm who is rostered for the day and who is off-queue (training, meetings).
2. In Help Desk, go to the Hello Email pipeline and filter to New tickets.
3. Assign up to 60 New tickets per rostered agent:
  - Work from oldest to newest.
  - Balance volume evenly across agents.
  - Only assign fewer than 60 if there are not enough New tickets available.
4. Spot-check a few agents:
  - Confirm they have the expected number of New tickets.
  - Confirm their In Progress queue is not severely overloaded before assigning more.
CS Team accountability:
- Move tickets from New → In Progress as soon as they start working them.
- Work oldest assigned tickets first (no cherry-picking).
- Keep their queues healthy (no large pile of assigned-but-untouched New tickets).

Outcome: All rostered agents have a clear, balanced set of New tickets to work, with oldest tickets assigned first.

1.2 Clear the Spam Folder

Focus: Prevent legitimate customer emails from being lost in spam.

Steps:
1. Go to the Spam folder in the shared inbox / Help Desk.
2. For each email:
  - If it is real spam: Delete it from the folder.
  - If it is a legitimate customer email:
    - Mark it as Not spam (or equivalent in the tool).
    - Confirm it appears as a ticket in the correct pipeline.
3. Repeat until the Spam folder is empty.
CS Team accountability:
- Work tickets that surface from spam as they would any other ticket.
- Flag patterns where legitimate emails frequently land in spam.

Outcome: The Spam folder is empty; all valid customer emails appear as tickets in Help Desk.

1.3 Post the Daily Roster & Assignments (Slack)

Focus: Make it obvious who is on, who is Shift Lead, and what each person is working on.

Steps:
1. Confirm the day’s roster and assignments.
2. In the relevant Slack channel (e.g. #cs-helpdesk), post a Morning Roster message.
Suggested template:

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Morning team! 🌤️
[Day], [Date]

Shift Lead: @[Shift Lead Name]

10:00am – @[Name] – In Progress > General
10:00am – @[Name] – In Progress > General
10:00am – @[Name] – #CS_ESCALATE, Triage
12:00pm – @[Name] – In Progress > General
12:00pm – @[Name] – In Progress > General

If you need support on any ticket, please reach out to the Shift Lead.
CS Team accountability:
- Know and work their assigned queue.
- Escalate blockers to the named Shift Lead.

Outcome: Slack clearly shows who is on shift, who is leading, and each person’s primary assignment.

1.4 Post Morning Metrics & Focus

Focus: Align the team on backlog, coverage, and what to prioritise today.

Steps:
1. Pull current Help Desk stats for the team and pipeline (e.g. Hello Email):
  - New
  - In Progress
  - Total Open
  - Oldest Ticket
2. Confirm coverage (how many agents are on, plus any in training).
3. Identify today’s key focus (e.g. In Progress → Closed, or New response time).
4. Post a Morning Metrics update in Slack.
Template:

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MORNING METRICS | [time]
[Team] | [Pipeline]

BACKLOG BASELINE
• New: <#>
• In Progress: <#>
• Total Open: <#>
• Oldest Ticket: <date/time> (~)

TODAY’S FOCUS
• Priority Themes: <e.g., Card/Wallet setup, Refunds>
• Coverage: <# agents> (+ <# in training>)
• Notes/Risks: <e.g., System lag, #CS_ESCALATE higher than normal>
CS Team accountability:
- Orient their work to the stated TODAY’S FOCUS.
- Be aware of backlog pressure and adjust behaviour (e.g. prioritise In Progress when called out).

Outcome: The team understands the current backlog and what matters most for the shift.

2. Mid-Shift Management (Around 3:00 PM)

Focus: Rebalance assignment, drive discipline on In Progress and escalations, and communicate progress.

2.1 Post the Mid-Shift Update (3:00 PM)

Focus: Show what changed since morning and call out any discipline or blocker issues.

Steps:
1. Pull latest metrics:
  - New tickets received since morning.
  - Tickets closed since morning.
  - Current backlog.
2. Check how many tickets are Assigned but still New.
3. Identify any current blockers (tools, dependencies, policy questions).
4. Post a Mid-Shift Update in Slack.
Template:

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MID-SHIFT UPDATE | [time]
[Team] | [Pipeline]

PROGRESS CHECK
• New Tickets In: <#>
• Tickets Closed: <#>
• Net Backlog Change: +/- <#>

BLOCKERS / DISCIPLINE
• Assigned but still ‘New’: <#> (Action taken: <e.g., reminded team to move to In Progress>)
• Current Blockers: <e.g., waiting on Tech for X>
CS Team accountability:
- Clear out any assigned-but-still-New tickets.
- Surface blockers early to the Shift Lead.
- Respond to guidance in the update (e.g. “focus on In Progress for the next hour”).

Outcome: Everyone can see progress, discipline gaps, and what needs tightening for the rest of the shift.

2.2 Reassign Tickets (If Morning Volume Was Low)

Focus: Ensure agents have enough work and backlog is covered efficiently.

When to do this:
- Morning assignment did not reach ~60 New tickets per agent.
- Some agents have cleared their queues early while New backlog has grown.
Steps:
1. Review:
  - New queue volume.
  - Each agent’s current New and In Progress load.
2. Reassign New tickets:
  - Top up under-loaded agents.
  - Avoid assigning more to agents with very large In Progress queues.
3. Add a short note into the mid-shift update or a follow-up message indicating reassignment has been done.
CS Team accountability:
- Accept and work reassignments without cherry-picking.
- Keep their queues under control (work In Progress before requesting more New).

Outcome: Workload remains balanced and backlog is consistently moving.

2.3 Protect and Clear the Escalation Folder

Focus: Keep #CS_ESCALATE and other escalation views flowing so they do not stall overall resolution.

Steps:
1. Open the #CS_ESCALATE view (or equivalent escalation view).
2. Capture key metrics to sanity-check:
  - Number of escalated tickets.
  - Oldest escalation age.
3. For each ticket:
  - Confirm a clear Ticket Owner.
  - Check that escalation notes have all required context (issue, investigation, action taken, blocker, required decision).
4. Clear what you can:
  - Close escalations that now have answers or approvals.
  - Push blockers to the right team (Tech, Ops) with explicit asks and deadlines.
  - Nudge owners for updates on older escalations.
CS Team accountability:
- Escalate only after doing the basic investigation.
- Add full context when escalating (no “please help” without detail).
- Keep escalated tickets updated when new information arrives.

Outcome: The escalation folder is regularly cleared; escalation backlog does not inflate In Progress and delay resolutions.

2.4 Enforce “In Progress Before New”

Focus: Stop backlog from simply shifting labels from New to In Progress without resolution.

Steps:
1. Review each agent’s In Progress queue:
  - Identify very old In Progress tickets with no recent activity.
2. Use the mid-shift update or a dedicated message to set focus, e.g.:
  
  “TODAY’S FOCUS: IN PROGRESS → CLOSED
  Please focus on clearing your In Progress tickets before picking up more New. If you need support on anything, reach out to the Shift Lead.”
3. Where needed, DM agents with specific coaching or requests to clear old tickets.
CS Team accountability:
- Proactively work down In Progress tickets.
- Avoid stacking many tickets in In Progress without action.
- Ask for help when blocked instead of leaving tickets to age.

Outcome: In Progress tickets are consistently triaged and progressed to closure, not left to age indefinitely.

3. End-of-Shift / Handover (Recommended)

Focus: Close the loop on the current shift and set the next Shift Lead and team up for success.

Steps:
1. Pull end-of-shift metrics:
  - Total tickets closed this shift.
  - Remaining backlog.
  - Reopens handled (if tracked).
2. Identify 1–2 key insights:
  - What went well.
  - What the next shift should focus on.
  - Any important handover items (e.g. big escalations, system issues).
3. Post an End-of-Shift / Handover message in Slack.
Template:

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END OF SHIFT / HANDOVER | [time]
[Team] | [Pipeline]

FINAL TALLY
• Total Closed this Shift: <#>
• Remaining Backlog: <#>
• Reopens Handled: <#>

INSIGHTS & HANDOVER
• What went well: <1 sentence>
• To focus on next shift: <1 sentence>
• Handover Notes: <@mention next Shift Lead> – <Key items, e.g., big escalations, system issues, VIP cases>
CS Team accountability:
- Wrap up tickets where possible before end of shift.
- Add clear internal notes on tickets that will carry over, so the next agent has context.

Outcome: Clear handover to the next Shift Lead, with continuity on open tickets and escalations.

4. What CS Team Leads Own vs. What CS Team Members Are Accountable For

CS Team Leads own:

Assigning New tickets (~60 per agent where volume allows).
Keeping the Spam folder clear of legitimate customer emails.
Posting:
- Morning roster and assignments.
- Morning metrics and focus.
- Mid-shift updates (and noting any reassignments).
- End-of-shift / handover updates.
Monitoring and driving:
- Escalation backlog health.
- In Progress discipline.
- Balance of work across agents.
Coaching ticket handling, escalation quality, and queue hygiene.

CS Team members are accountable for:

Working assigned tickets end-to-end:
- New → In Progress → Closed.
Ticket discipline:
- No cherry-picking.
- No large volume of assigned-but-untouched New tickets.
- Regularly clearing old In Progress tickets.
Escalation quality:
- Investigating before escalating.
- Providing full context and clear asks when escalating.
Communication:
- Flagging blockers early to the Shift Lead.
- Following daily focus and guidance from roster and metrics posts.

Key Principles / Things to Note

Oldest First, Always: Leads assign and agents work from the oldest tickets first to protect customer wait times.
In Progress Before New: Agents clear and progress In Progress tickets before heavily working new ones.
Escalations Are Visible Work: The #CS_ESCALATE folder must be actively managed; stale escalations signal a risk to resolution times.
Slack Is the Source of Truth for the Day: Roster, metrics, and focus posts in Slack define expectations for each shift.
No Silent Backlogs: Assigned-but-still-New and very old In Progress tickets are surfaced and acted on in every mid-shift check.

Help Desk Daily Workflow | CS Team Leads

Goal: Provide a clear, repeatable daily workflow for CS Team Leads so you know exactly what to action in Help Desk, and what behaviours and outcomes the CS Team is accountable for.