Skill-based ticket assignment in BoldDesk helps route tickets to the most suitable agent based on the skills required for the issue. Instead of assigning tickets only by rotation or workload, this method also considers the skills added to the ticket, the skills assigned to agents, agent proficiency, and current workload.

This helps ensure that tickets are handled by agents with the right expertise, which can improve assignment accuracy, reduce manual reassignment, and speed up resolution.

Use cases

Skill-based assignment is useful when your support team handles requests that require specialised knowledge, such as:

• Billing support
• Technical troubleshooting
• Product-specific requests
• Language-based support
• Department-specific requests

It is especially helpful when tickets must be routed to agents with specific expertise instead of being distributed only by general workload or round-robin rules.

Prerequisites

For skill-based assignment to work for a ticket, the following conditions must be met:

• The ticket must have at least one skill.
• A skill-based Auto Assignments rule must be configured, and the group selected in that rule must contain the agents who should be considered for assignment. BoldDesk evaluates only the agents in the selected group, so agents outside that group are not considered even if they have matching skills.

How skill-based assignment works

Skill-based ticket assignment works when a ticket matches an Auto Assignments rule configured with the Round Robin (Skill Based) assignment mode.

When the rule runs, BoldDesk evaluates the agents in the selected group and assigns the ticket to the most suitable available agent whose skills match the ticket.

The system evaluates:

1. Whether the agent has skills that match the ticket
2. The agent’s proficiency level for those skills
3. The agent’s current workload
4. When the agent was last assigned a ticket

If multiple agents qualify, BoldDesk assigns the ticket to the best available match within the selected group.

Set Up Skill-Based Ticket Assignment

To use skill-based ticket assignment, first create the required skill structure, assign those skills to qualified agents, and configure an Auto Assignments rule that uses Round Robin (Skill Based). After this setup is complete, skills can be added to tickets manually or through automation so BoldDesk can route each ticket to a matching agent in the selected group.

The following steps explain how to create skill types, add skills, assign skills to agents, prepare the agent group, configure the skill-based assignment rule, and add skills to tickets.

Step 1. Create and manage skill types in BoldDesk

Go to Admin > Agent Skills.

The Agent Skills page lets you create and manage skill types and the skills under them. Skill types help organise related skills into categories.

BoldDesk supports up to 10 skill types, and each skill type can contain up to 30 skills.

The page also shows the current usage count, such as:

• 10/10 Skill Types
• 5/30 Skills

If the maximum number of skill types has already been reached, the Add Skill Type button is disabled until an existing skill type is deleted.

How to create a skill type

To create a skill type:

1. Go to Admin > Agent Skills.

2. Click Add Skill Type in the upper-right area of the page.

   

3. In the Add Skill Type dialog, enter the skill type name in the Type Name field.

4. Click Add.

   

After the skill type is created, it appears in the skill type list.

For each skill type, BoldDesk shows:

• the skill type name
• the current number of skills under that type, for example 5/30 Skills
• an Edit icon
• a Delete icon
• an Add Skill option

You can also expand or collapse a skill type to view or hide the skills under it.

Step 2. Add skills under a skill type

To add skills under a skill type:

1. Go to Admin > Agent Skills.

   

2. Locate the required skill type.

3. Click Add Skill on that skill type.

   

4. In the Add Skill dialog, enter the skill name in the Skill Name field.

5. Select the required Business Priority.

6. Click Add.

   

After a skill is added, it appears under the selected skill type in a table with the following columns:

• Skills – shows the skill name
• Business Priority – shows the configured business priority
• Agents – shows the number of agents currently assigned to the skill
• Action – provides options to add agents, edit, or delete the skill

You can also use the Search field on the Agent Skills page to find a skill type more quickly.

After the skills are created, you can assign them to agents.

Step 3. Assign skills to agents

After creating skills, assign them to the agents who are qualified to handle those ticket types.

To assign skills to agents:

1. Go to Admin > Agent Skills.

   

2. Expand the relevant skill type.

3. Locate the skill that you want to assign.

4. In the Action column, click the Add Agent icon for that skill.

   

5. In the Add Agent dialog, use the Select Agent dropdown to search for and select one or more agents.

6. Click Add next to the dropdown to move the selected agents to the Selected Agents list.

   

7. Review the agents listed under Selected Agents. If needed, remove an agent using the Remove icon in the Actions column.

8. Click Add at the bottom of the dialog to save the selected agents for that skill.

   

The Agents column shows how many agents are currently assigned to each skill.

Step 4. Create the agent group used for skill-based auto assignment

Before skill-based auto assignment can work, make sure the agents assigned to the required skills belong to the group that will be selected in the skill-based Auto Assignments rule. During skill-based assignment, BoldDesk evaluates only the agents in the selected group and then checks which of those agents have matching skills. Agents outside that group are not considered, even if they have the required skills.

If you have not created the required group yet, explore How to Create and Manage Agent Group or Team in BoldDesk to create the group and add the agents required for skill-based auto assignment.

Step 5. Configure Auto Assignments for skill-based routing

After creating skills and assigning those skills to agents, configure a skill-based Auto Assignments rule before adding skills to tickets.

This configuration ensures that when a skill is later added to a ticket, BoldDesk can evaluate the rule and assign the ticket automatically to a matching agent.

Before you begin, make sure the group selected in the auto-assignment rule includes the agents who were assigned the relevant skills. During skill-based assignment, BoldDesk evaluates only the agents in the selected group.

Steps to configure skill-based Auto Assignments

1. Go to Admin > Auto Assignments.

2. Click Add Rule to create a new rule, or edit an existing rule.

   

3. In the Choose Condition tab, enter the Rule Name.

4. Add the condition or conditions that determine when the rule should apply.
   If the routing should depend on ticket skills, add a condition for the Skill field and select the required skill values.

5. Click Next.

   

6. In the Associate Agent tab, go to the Human Agent section.

7. Under Assignment Mode, select Round Robin (Skill Based).

8. In Choose a group that is eligible for auto-assignment, select the group that contains the agents assigned to the selected skills.

9. Click Add.

   

This setup must be completed before skills are added to tickets if you want BoldDesk to assign those tickets automatically based on skills.

Step 6. Add skills to tickets

After configuring the skill-based Auto Assignments rule, skills can be added to tickets in the following ways:

• Automatically through automation
• Manually from the ticket

Option 1. Add skills automatically through automation

You can configure ticket automation rules to add skills automatically when a ticket is created or updated.

This is useful when a field value indicates the issue type, the ticket category determines the required skill, or routing should happen based on predefined conditions.

To configure skill-based auto assignment, do the following:

1. Go to Admin > Ticket Automation.

2. Select either Create Ticket Trigger or Update Ticket Trigger.

3. Create a new automation rule or edit an existing one.

4. In the Choose Condition tab, enter the Rule Name.

5. Select the required Business Hours.

6. Add the condition or conditions that determine when the skill should be applied.

7. Click Next.

   
   
   

8. In the Set Action tab, select Add Skill.

9. Choose the skill or skills that should be added to matching tickets.

10. Click Update.

    
    
    

Option 2. Add skills manually to a ticket

You can also manually assign one or more skills to a ticket from the Skills field in the Ticket Properties section.

Use this option when the required expertise is already known, the ticket needs manual review before routing, or an agent wants to improve assignment accuracy.

To add skills manually:

1. Open the ticket.

2. In the Ticket Properties section, locate the Skills field.

3. Select the required skill or multiple skills from the dropdown.

4. Save or update the ticket.

   
   
   

Once added, the selected skills help ensure that the ticket can be routed to agents with the appropriate expertise when the auto-assignment rule runs.

How BoldDesk Selects the Best Agent

When a ticket is evaluated for skill-based assignment, BoldDesk checks the agents in the selected auto-assignment group and assigns the ticket to the most suitable available agent.

BoldDesk uses the following factors during evaluation:

1. Matching Skills

The agent must have at least one skill that matches the skill added to the ticket.

If an agent does not have any matching skill, that agent is excluded from selection.

2. Ticket Skill Priority

If multiple skills are added to a ticket, the order of those skills affects assignment ranking.

The first skill on the ticket has the highest priority during evaluation. This means BoldDesk gives more importance to the first skill when determining the best matching agent.

3. Business Priority

When you add a skill under a skill type, you must select a Business Priority for that skill. Business Priority helps BoldDesk decide which waiting skill-based tickets should be assigned first when multiple tickets are eligible for assignment.

For example, assume the following:

• A skill type called Technical Support has two skills:
  • Critical System Issue with business priority P1
  • General Troubleshooting with business priority P2
• All qualified agents for these skills are currently assigned to tickets.
• One qualified agent completes their current ticket and becomes available.
• Multiple unassigned tickets are waiting, and each ticket has a skill.

In this case, BoldDesk gives higher assignment preference to the ticket with the higher business priority skill. A ticket with a P1 skill is prioritized before a ticket with a P2 skill when a matching agent becomes available.

Ticket A → Skill: Critical System Issue → Business Priority: P1
Ticket B → Skill: General Troubleshooting → Business Priority: P2

When a qualified agent becomes available, Ticket A is prioritized before Ticket B.

4. Agent Workload

If multiple agents qualify for the ticket, BoldDesk considers their current workload.

When agents are equally qualified, BoldDesk prefers the agent with the lighter workload.

5. Fair Assignment

If agents are still tied after skill match, business priority, and workload are evaluated, BoldDesk assigns the ticket to the agent who was assigned a ticket least recently.

This helps keep ticket distribution fair across qualified agents.

Agent eligibility rules

An agent is considered for skill-based assignment only if the agent:

• Belongs to the group selected in the Auto Assignments rule
• Has at least one skill that matches the ticket
• Has access to the required brand
• Is available to receive assignments
• Has not exceeded assignment capacity

Agents who do not meet these requirements are excluded from selection.

Permissions

For an agent to configure Skill-Based Ticket Assignment in BoldDesk, the agent’s role must include the Manage agent skills permission. To enable this permission, go to Admin > Roles and Permissions > select the required role > Permissions tab > enable Admin module access > select Manage agent skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I add skills to tickets automatically?
   Yes. You can use ticket automation rules to add skills when a ticket is created or updated.

2. Does adding a skill to a ticket automatically assign the ticket to an agent?
   No. Adding skills to a ticket only makes the ticket eligible for skill-based routing. To assign the ticket automatically, you must also configure an Auto Assignments rule that uses Round Robin (Skill Based).

3. Can an agent be selected if the agent matches only one of the ticket’s skills?
   Yes. An agent must have at least one matching skill to be eligible. However, agents with stronger overall skill alignment and higher proficiency are prioritised.

4. Does workload affect skill-based assignment?
   Yes. If multiple agents are equally qualified, BoldDesk uses workload as a tiebreaker.

5. How many skills can I add to a ticket?
   A ticket can have a maximum of 5 skills. Additional skills are ignored.