Helpdesk · Setup & configuration · 8 min read

Set up SLA policies and routing rules

Define response and resolution targets, and write the rules that decide the team, agent, priority and SLA of a new ticket.

Before you begin

Create your teams first (see Set up teams and members), because rules point at them.

Create an SLA policy

1. Open Helpdesk > Configuration > SLA Policies and press New.
2. Enter the Code, for example GOLD, and the Name, for example Gold (8x5).
3. Enter First response (hours) and Resolution (hours). Both must be above zero; decimals are allowed: 'This is a number of hours.'
4. Choose the Coverage: 8x5 (working hours on the company calendar) or 24x7.
5. Set the pause switches: Pause while waiting on the customer, Pause while waiting on a vendor, Pause while waiting on another internal team.
6. Leave Active on and press Save.

The starter set has Standard (4 h / 24 h, 8x5), Priority (2 h / 8 h, 8x5) and Critical (1 h / 4 h, 24x7). The system does not check that the first response is shorter than the resolution, so check it yourself. The resolution time also fixes the 80% point where a ticket enters the SLA Risk queue.

An inactive policy is not offered on tickets, but tickets that already use it keep it. See The SLA clock for how due times are worked out.

Create a routing rule

A rule reads: IF these conditions hold, THEN set a team, agent, priority and SLA.

1. Open Helpdesk > Configuration > Routing Rules and press New.
2. Enter the Name, for example Printers to IT. Save stays disabled while it is empty.
3. Enter the Sequence. Lower numbers run first; ties run by name.
4. Under IF conditions switch on the conditions: type, category, subcategory, priority, severity, source or requester type, and pick the value for each. All conditions must hold. With none, the rule matches every ticket.
5. Choose the Team.
6. Choose the Agent, or leave it blank so the team's method decides. The agent must belong to the rule's team, or new tickets that match will fail with 'That person is not a member of the team.'
7. Choose Set priority, or leave "Leave as raised".
8. Choose an SLA policy, or leave "The team's default".
9. Set Stop here when it matches. On by default.
10. Leave Active on and press Save.

How rules run

• Rules run only when the person raised the ticket without choosing a team.
• They run in sequence. When a rule matches and has Stop on, no later rule runs. With Stop off, later rules may still fill in what is not yet decided, and tags always add.
• The ticket's History says "Routed by: " followed by the rule names that applied.

Worked example

Rule 5 matches priority Critical, sends the ticket to Field Service and stops. Rule 10 matches every ticket and sends it to IT. A Critical ticket raised with no team goes to Field Service (only rule 5 is named). A Normal ticket goes to IT.

With rule 5 changed to add the tag VIP and priority High with Stop off, then rule 10 setting team IT, one ticket gets team IT, priority High and tag VIP, and "Routed by" lists both rules.

Priority order

A priority typed on the ticket beats a rule's priority. A rule's priority beats the team's default.

Good to know

• A rule cannot test other fields: "A rule cannot test 'subject'." The conditions available in the screen are the ones listed above.
• Making a rule inactive stops it applying at once.
• Rules can also hold tags and an escalation policy. These are not on the editor screen yet.
• Skill-based routing needs skills. See Set up chains, categories and skills.