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[EMEA] Define the Role and Responsibilities of Engineers in Ticket Routing, Ticket Management and First Response

Ticket Routing and Triaging with Senior Engineer Assistance

This issue outlines the process for ticket routing and triaging with the involvement of senior engineers. Senior engineers will triage tickets to prevent SLA breaches, provide internal notes, and assign tickets to intermediate engineers while marking themselves as secondary assignees. They will assist with technical queries, document pairing sessions, and participate in escalations and customer calls if necessary. This process ensures efficient ticket handling, knowledge transfer, and timely resolution.

Main Goals

  • Enhance Customer Experience: Ensure prompt and high-quality ticket responses within the region to improve key metrics like first response time (FRT), next response time (NRT), and customer satisfaction (CSAT/SSAT/CES).
  • Optimise Support Operations: Streamline ticket management processes to boost efficiency and collaboration within the support team, reducing queue management stress.
  • Empower Support Engineers: Define clear roles and expectations and foster professional growth through mentorship and skill development.

Enhanced First Response Time (FRT) Flow

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  • Initial Ticket Reception:
    • The ticket was received and logged into the system.
  • Elapsed Time Check:
    • Determine if the ticket’s elapsed time is less than 50% of its SLA.
    • If yes, any engineer can take the assignment.
    • If no, proceed to senior engineer triage.
  • Any Engineer Assignment:
    • Engineers monitor the queue and can take tickets within 50% of their SLA.
    • The assigned engineer provides the first response.
  • Senior Engineer Triage:
    • If the ticket has surpassed 50% of its SLA, a senior engineer triages the ticket.
    • The senior engineer adds necessary internal notes and next steps and adds themselves as CC (and marks themselves as the ticket “secondary”)
  • Identity Assignee:
    • The senior engineer communicates with engineers on shift to identify an appropriate assignee based on workload and skill set.
      • Consider assigning tickets to intermediate engineers who wish to train on specific subjects to promote their skill development.
    • If an engineer is available, assign the ticket to them and CC yourself to the ticket.
    • If no engineer is available, the senior engineer takes the assignment themselves.
  • Providing the First Response:
    • The assigned engineer or senior engineer sends the first response to acknowledge the issue and provide an initial assessment or request additional information.
Click here to view the flow chart 
graph TD
    A[Ticket Comes In]
    B{Is Ticket Elapsed Time < 50% SLA?}
    C[Any Engineer can take assignment]
    D[Senior Engineer Triage Ticket and Add Next Steps]
    E[Communicate with Engineers on Shift to Identify Assignee]
    F{Is an Engineer Available?}
    G1[Assign to any Engineer and CC Yourself to Ticket]
    G2[Assign to Yourself]
    H[Provide First Response]
    I[End]

    A --> B
    B -->|Yes| C
    C --> H
    B -->|No| D
    D --> E
    E --> F
    F -->|Yes| G1
    F -->|No| G2
    G1 --> H
    G2 --> H
    H --> I

Senior Engineer Involvement in Ticket Triaging and Meeting SLAs

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  • First Response Triaging:
    • Accountable for ensuring high-quality first-response interactions within SLA.
    • Route tickets with internal notes, ensuring smooth routing.
  • Ticket Triage and Routing:
    • Triage tickets, add notes, and determine next steps.
    • Assign tickets to intermediate engineers or take the assignment if needed.
  • Monitoring, Oversight, and Dynamic Assignment:
    • Monitor ticket queues to ensure a balanced workload and SLA compliance.
    • Dynamically assign tickets based on workload and expertise.
    • Use tools to track ticket assignments and workloads, ensuring fair distribution to avoid overload.
  • Mentorship and Training:
    • Mentor intermediate engineers and provide detailed internal notes.
    • Support on-the-job training and skill development.

Senior Engineer Responsibility During The Ticket Life Cycle

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  • Secondary Assignee
    • Any ticket assigned by a senior engineer will mark the senior engineer as a “secondary” assignee to the ticket.
  • Technical Assistance
    • If the intermediate engineer requires technical assistance, they should:
      • Contact the senior engineer, marked as the secondary, and request to pair on the ticket.
      • The senior engineer provides guidance, additional steps, or technical insights to resolve the issue.
      • Document the results of the pairing session in an internal note in the ticket.
  • Escalation Process
    • If the ticket is escalated, the secondary should be involved in the escalation process.
  • Additional Responsibilities
    • The secondary might be required to:
      • Join customer calls.
      • Reassign the ticket to themselves if the need arises.

How To Properly Add Internal Notes

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  • Purpose of Internal Notes
    • Document actions and next steps for smooth handovers, efficient ticket resolution, on-the-job training, and continued mentorship.
  • Steps to Add Internal Notes
    • Identify the Problem: Outline the issue with relevant details.
    • Document Actions Taken: Summarize initial steps, diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
    • Suggest Next Steps: Recommend further actions and highlight areas needing expertise.
    • Include Relevant Information: Reference similar cases or useful resources.
  • Ensuring Clarity and Collaboration
    • Use clear, concise language; explain technical terms.
    • Document outcomes of pairing sessions for assistance.
  • Continuous Improvement
    • Use feedback to enhance practices and update guidelines regularly.

Handover Responsibilities

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  • Assign Handover Responsibility:
    • Each shift should designate who will handle the handovers.
  • Shift Transition:
    • Ensure smooth transition of tickets and responsibilities.
    • Communicate ongoing ticket statuses and critical updates to the incoming shift.
  • Handover Documentation:
    • Provide detailed notes for tickets in progress or requiring further attention.
    • Include ticket history, current status, next steps, and relevant customer interactions.
  • High-Priority and Breaching Tickets:
    • Prioritize high-priority or breaching tickets.
    • Clearly communicate urgent actions required to the incoming team.
  • Cross-Regional Coordination:
    • Collaborate with other regions to ensure effective handovers, especially for global customers.
    • Maintain alignment on ticket statuses to prevent neglect.
  • Handover Meetings:
    • Conduct brief meetings or calls to discuss key tickets and urgent issues.
    • Clarify doubts and ensure all team members are aligned on ticket statuses and priorities.
  • Handover Tools:
    • Use shared issues/boards, Slack channels, or ZenDesk features for clear and efficient handovers.

L&R Ticket Workflow

  • Any L&R engineer can take assignment of an L&R ticket. However, the L&R Support Engineer on shift will have the same responsibility for processing incoming tickets, regardless of role, as the senior engineers when the ticket has breached 50% of its SLA, as documented in the above flowchart.
  • The L&R Ticket View will continue to exist for processing incoming L&R tickets.
  • All L&R tickets should have an assignee prior to providing a first response.

How to determine who to assign a ticket

  • TBD most is already mentioned above - we should still provide further guidance

Additional considerations

  • Senior engineers are responsible for preventing breaches and should prioritise tickets with less than 50% of their SLA remaining to avoid breaching. However, all engineers should intervene and take action if they notice any ticket is at risk of breaching.
  • Work will be managed from a single ZenDesk queue.
  • ICs will be divided into two three shifts to meet peak ticket volumes for morning and afternoon.
  • First response must be provided on all region tickets within the shift.
    • Out-of-region tickets should be handed over at the end of the shift.
    • Shift hours will be determined under Issue #6152 (closed)
Edited by Katrin Leinweber