In customer support, maintaining timely responses is essential to delivering a great customer experience. Agent shifts help streamline this by defining when support team members are available to handle tickets and chats.

By aligning agent availability with scheduled work hours, BoldDesk automatically adjusts agent status and ensures that tickets are routed only to those who are actively on shift. This leads to a more efficient auto-assignment process and improved service delivery.

Some benefits of the agent-shift system include:

• Streamlined operations: The system automatically updates agent availability, eliminating the need for manual checks and streamlining the support process.
• Improved response times: By allocating tickets to agents currently on shift, the system greatly enhances the speed of response.
• Effective resolution: Tickets are handled by actively working agents, leading to faster and more efficient responses.

Check out this video tutorial for more details.

How Agent Shifts Manage Availability for Tickets and Chats in BoldDesk

In BoldDesk, a single Agent Shift defines when agents are available to handle both tickets and chats. Agent Shifts are designed to align agent availability with scheduled work hours so that routing and assignment use only agents who are actively on shift.

When an agent is assigned to a shift, BoldDesk automatically updates the agent’s availability based on the shift schedule:

• The agent’s availability switches to Online at the start of the shift.
• The agent’s availability switches to Offline at the end of the shift.

This automated availability update is used to keep ticket routing and assignment aligned with who is actually working. If no agents are on shift (and therefore not available), tickets created during that period may be assigned to the support group instead of an individual agent, depending on your auto-assignment setup.

How to Create an Agent Shift in BoldDesk

To define when your agents are available to handle tickets and chats, you can create a custom agent shift. Follow the steps below to set up a new shift:

1. Navigate to the Admin module.
2. Click on Work Schedules.
3. From the dropdown, select Agent Shifts.
4. You’ll see a list of existing shifts displayed on the screen.
5. Click Add Shift to create a new one.
6. In the form that appears, enter the Shift Name and an optional Description.
7. Choose the appropriate Time Zone for the shift.
8. Under Operation Hours, select either:
   • Calendar Hours (24/7) – for continuous support coverage.
   • Business Hours – allows you to define multiple time slots per day.

9. Click Add to save the shift.
10. Go to the Agents tab to assign team members to the shift.
11. Select the agents you want to assign, click Add, then click Save.

The newly created shift will now appear in the list of configured shifts.

To manage existing shifts:

• Click the Edit icon to modify a shift.
• Click the Delete icon to remove a shift.

How Timezones Affect Agent Availability

In BoldDesk, an agent’s availability is determined by the timezone of the shift they are assigned to—not their personal timezone.

This means that even if an agent is located in a different region, their availability status will follow the shift’s configured timezone. This ensures consistent scheduling and accurate auto-assignment across distributed teams.

For example, if a shift is configured in GMT+1 and an agent is located in GMT+3, the agent’s availability will still be evaluated based on GMT+1 timings.

This design helps organizations manage global support teams effectively, ensuring agents are marked Online or Offline according to the shift schedule, regardless of their local time.

How agent shift schedule impacts ticket auto-assignment

• The agent’s status will automatically change to Online at the beginning of their shift.
• The agent’s status will automatically switch to Offline at the conclusion of their shift.
• Tickets will only be automatically routed to agents if their status is Online within the ticket auto-assignment process.
• The implementation of agent shifts removes the need for manually updating the agent’s availability status.
• Tickets are directed to agents who are available, resulting in quicker and more effective responses.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What are the time slot limits for Business Hours?
A. Up to 5 time slots per day, with a minimum of 30 minutes per slot and at least 30 minutes between slots.

Q2. Who receives new tickets/chats in the configured shift?
A. Only agents whose status is Online are eligible for auto-assignment and routing.

Q3. Can I assign multiple agents to a shift at once?
A. Yes. From the Agents tab of the shift, select the agents you need and add them in one go, then save.

Q4. What if an agent manually sets themselves Offline during a shift?
A. They won’t receive new auto-assignments while Offline. Their existing assigned tickets remain with them unless you manually reassign.

Q5. Do I need separate shifts for chats and tickets?
No. A single Agent Shift defines when an agent is available to handle both tickets and chats.

Q6. Is “Chat Status” the same as agent availability?
No. Chat Status (Open/Snoozed/Closed) is the state of the chat conversation, while agent availability (Online/Away/Offline) indicates whether the agent is available for work.