Assignment rules: distributing conversations and tasks
Automatically distribute incoming inbox conversations and tasks among your team: round robin, least load, record owner, a fixed person, and time rules such as unanswered for 15 minutes. Only administrators edit the rules; anyone can step in and out of the rotation.
Assignment rules decide who receives each inbox conversation and each task, with nobody having to distribute by hand. You describe when the rule applies, under which conditions and what it does, and the system applies it in the order you defined.
Where it lives and who can change it
- Open Settings → Support → Assignment rules (route /settings/roteamento).
- Only administrators create, edit, enable and remove rules.
- Anyone can step in and out of the rotation under "My availability", at the top of the page.
Conversations and tasks
There are two subjects. Conversations covers every message that reaches the inbox: email, WhatsApp, SMS, chat, social networks and tickets. Tasks covers the tasks created in the CRM. Each rule applies to one of the two.
When the rule fires
- A new conversation or task arrives.
- A message arrives in a conversation nobody owns.
- Unanswered for X minutes (conversations).
- Overdue for X minutes (tasks).
- The assignee is out of rotation or has been deactivated.
Conditions
- Channels: only email, only WhatsApp, and so on (empty = any).
- Queues: Sales or Support.
- Keywords: only when the text contains one of the given words.
- Business hours: any time, only inside or only outside the business hours already configured for support.
- Only items nobody owns.
What the rule does
- Assign in round robin: one for each person, with a pointer that continues where it left off. The pool can be everyone active or a team.
- Assign to whoever has the least open.
- Assign to the record owner: the owner of the contact or lead linked to the conversation.
- Assign to a specific person.
- Assign to the team leader.
- Hand to the next person: never gives it back to whoever already had it.
- Move to queue.
- Set priority.
- Notify: the team leaders and/or the current assignee.
Order and stopping
Rules run in the defined order. The first one that takes effect ends the chain, unless you uncheck "Stop after this rule takes effect". A rule that finds nobody eligible passes its turn to the next one.
People: rotation and cap
In the People tab you take someone out of the rotation (vacation, shift change) and set a cap of open conversations and tasks per person. Whoever hits the cap receives nothing new until they free up. What the person already has stays with them.
History and notifications
Every assignment made by a rule is recorded in the History tab: which rule acted, from whom to whom and why. Whoever receives it is notified in the bell.
Reaction time
Arrival rules act the moment the message or task comes in. Time rules (unanswered, overdue) are checked every minute. A time rule fires once per received message: a new message reopens the window.
Ready-made examples on the page
- Every new conversation goes round robin to the team.
- Unanswered for 15 min → hand to the next person.
- Contact already has an owner → assign to the owner.
- Assignee out of rotation → hand to the next person.
- Every new task goes round robin to the team.
- Task overdue for 60 min → hand to the next person.
Suggested best practice
- Order 0: record owner first. Whoever already serves the contact keeps serving them.
- Order 1: round robin for the rest.
- Unanswered for X minutes → hand to the next person.
- Notify the leader when it passes 2X minutes unanswered.