Playlist is the easiest way to set up round robin (automatic assignment) for Zendesk. Follow the steps below to set up round robin in just a few steps.
1. Authorize
Once you have installed the app, go to Playlist Setup and click on Authorize. This will grant Playlist with API access to your account.
2. Enable Round Robin
Playlist Setup > Round Robin > Settings. Click on Enabled.
Once enabled, a few settings will open up.
Batch Size
The max number of tickets that should be assigned to an agent per batch job.
Batch size only applies to the Round Robin routing model. It does not apply to Least Active or Skills-Based routing models.
Inbox limit
Inbox limit is the number of concurrent open tickets (status = Open) an agent can have before round robin stops assigning tickets to them. The agent will be eligible to receive more tickets after responding to tickets and dropping below the limit. It's very similar to Chat limit in Zendesk Chat.
Daily limit
Specify the max number of tickets, overall, an agent can receive per day. See Daily limits for Round Robin to learn more.
Automatic idle
Tickets are only assigned to agents when they are Online. Enable Automatic idle if you'd like to set an agent to Away after a period of inactivity. This will ensure that agents only receive tickets when they are actively working in Zendesk. See Automatic idle to learn more about how it works.
3. Create your first queue
Playlist Setup > Round Robin > Queues > Add queue.
Type
Choose the Scheduled option (default). For most use cases, Scheduled works best as it provides more flexibility. If you need to assign tickets immediately, please see real-time routing for social messaging.
View
Select a view that should serve as your queue.
Use SLA
By default, round robin prioritizes by created date (first in, first out). If you've implemented SLA policies in Zendesk, you can enable "Use SLA" to prioritize by Next SLA breach (tickets closest to breaching SLA will be assigned first) instead.
Routing model
Choose a routing model (distribution type):
| Routing model | Description |
|---|---|
| Round Robin | Default. Equally distribute tickets to agents in a circular fashion. |
| Least Active | Route to the agent with the least amount of open tickets (i.e. the most available agent) first. |
Limit per agent
Optionally, set a limit for the queue. Specify the max number of tickets that can be assigned from the queue per agent per batch job. When using Limit per agent, Batch size and Inbox limit are still respected.
Daily limit per agent
Optionally, set a daily limit for the queue. Daily limits control how many tickets an agent can receive per day from the queue. See Daily limits for Round Robin to learn more.
Frequency
Control how often you want to assign tickets from the queue by adjusting the range slider. Possible values are: 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour. Round robin will only assign tickets to agents that are online.
Schedule
Select a schedule to control the queue's hours for automatic assignment. Schedules are only available in Zendesk Professional and Enterprise plans. If you'd like to set schedules per agent, please see Assign tickets based on schedules (working hours).
Rotate between
Choose to rotate between agents or group members:
| Rotate between | Description |
|---|---|
| Agents | Manually select specific agents that should receive tickets from the queue. |
| Group members | Members of selected groups will receive tickets from the queue. See also rotating between group members. |
Then, click on Create queue.
Once the queue has been created, select agents or groups that should receive tickets from the queue and save.
4. Managing agent status
Playlist Setup > Round Robin > Team
As an admin or supervisor, you can manage the status of other agents through the Team dashboard.
In the Status column, click on the agent's status to change their status (a dropdown will appear). You can also bulk update the status of multiple agents at once.
Agents can also update their own status from the agent status dropdown directly above the setup menu (on the left).
That's it! There are more advanced settings that you can play around with, but this is all you need to get started.
5. Additional workflows
Playlist is more than just a round robin app. It also includes other workflows to help you improve the customer experience: