Zoho Ticket Allocation – New Process Guide

Purpose

This guide explains how tickets will be allocated and managed in Zoho under the new automated allocation process. The intent is to ensure fair distribution, timely action, and clear accountability for both MSOs and supervisors.

1. How Tickets Are Allocated

Allocation Method

• Tickets are allocated automatically using a round-robin model.
• Allocation order will follow an alphabetical sequence (unless changed by system configuration).

Eligibility for Allocation

Tickets will only be allocated to MSOs who are:

• Logged into Zoho, and
• Marked as “online” at the time the ticket is received.

If you are not online, you will be skipped in the allocation cycle.

Allocation Notification

• When a ticket is allocated, the assigned MSO will receive an email notification.
• This notification is an alert only and does not replace the requirement to actively monitor Zoho.

Important: MSOs must work from Zoho directly and must not rely solely on email notifications to identify new work.

2. What “Online” Means (Updated – Mandatory)

A system limitation was identified where MSOs were being automatically set to offline despite Zoho being open in their browser. This was caused by overlapping time-out settings in Zoho and Microsoft Edge.

Following advice from IT, the Zoho time-out setting has been disabled. This resolves the issue and allows tickets to be allocated automatically overnight, helping to prevent backlogs.

Key Change – Manual Online/Offline Management

As a result of this change, MSOs are required to manually manage their online status.

• MSOs must manually set themselves to offline before:
  • ADOs
  • Planned leave
• Supervisors will manually deactivate MSO accounts during periods of unplanned leave (UPL).
• When returning from leave or an ADO, MSOs must manually toggle themselves back to online.

How to Set Yourself Online or Offline

1. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of Zoho.
2. Click the toggle under My Availability to switch between online and offline.

Ongoing Expectations

• MSOs must be online from the time they start work.
• Online status directly affects ticket allocation.
• Failure to correctly manage online/offline status may result in:
  • Missed ticket allocations
  • Uneven workload distribution
  • Supervisor intervention

3. Working Your Tickets (MSO Responsibilities)

Primary Working View

• MSOs must favourite the “My Open Tickets” view (click the ⭐ star icon).
• This view is the single source of truth for daily ticket work.

Same-Day Action Standard

• Tickets allocated to you must be actioned by COB on the day of allocation.

“Actioned” means:

• The issue is resolved, or
• Meaningful progress is made and recorded, or
• The ticket is escalated or referred appropriately.

4. If a Ticket Is Not Completed by COB

If a ticket remains open at COB:

If You Are Working the Next Day

• The ticket remains allocated to you.
• You are expected to prioritise it the following day.

If You Are Not Working the Next Day

• You must email your supervisor.
• The supervisor will arrange re-allocation the next working day.

Do not leave tickets unaddressed due to leave, ADOs, or rostered days off without notifying your supervisor.

5. Multiple Tickets From the Same Member

• There is currently no reliable system indicator to identify multiple tickets from the same member.
• Zoho is working on a solution to address this limitation.

Current expectation:

• MSOs should remain alert to possible duplicate or related tickets.
• Any concerns should be raised with a supervisor.

6. Supervisor Responsibilities

• Allocating tickets received outside business hours.
• Re-allocating tickets when MSOs are:
  • On leave
  • On ADOs
  • Unexpectedly unavailable
• Monitoring:
  • Ticket volumes
  • Allocation fairness
  • Timeliness of action

Re-allocation Principles

• Re-allocation decisions will be based on:
  • The number of tickets allocated to each MSO
  • Activity over the previous 7-day period

7. Monitoring and Oversight

• Supervisors and the MSD Manager will monitor:
  • Allocation patterns
  • Ticket ageing
  • Re-allocation needs
• This monitoring supports:
  • Fair distribution of work
  • Prevention of overload
  • Consistent member service standards

Key Takeaways for MSOs

• Be online from the start of your shift.
• Manually manage your online/offline status.
• Keep Zoho open throughout the day.
• Work exclusively from My Open Tickets.
• Action tickets on the day they are allocated.
• Email your supervisor if tickets need re-allocation due to leave or ADOs.