What is a workflow Rule and why do we need it in Zoho Desk? 

1. Ticket assignment: Workflow rules can automatically assign incoming tickets to specific agents or teams based on various criteria, such as ticket type, customer priority, or expertise. This helps ensure that tickets are promptly routed to the most appropriate resource for timely resolution.
   
2. Priority and escalation: Based on predefined rules, workflows can automatically assign different levels of priority to tickets, escalate them based on response or resolution time thresholds, or trigger alerts to supervisors or higher-level support tiers. This helps prioritize critical issues and ensures timely resolution.
   
3. SLA Management: Service level agreements (SLAs) define response and resolution time commitments. Workflow rules can enforce SLAs by tracking ticket status, sending reminders for approaching or breached SLAs, and generating reports to monitor performance against SLA targets.
   
4. Email Notifications: Workflow s can trigger email notifications to customers, support agents, or supervisors at various stages of the ticket lifecycle. For example, notifications can be sent when a ticket is created, assigned, updated, or resolved, keeping stakeholders informed about the progress of their requests.
   
5. Knowledge Base Suggestions: When a support agent is working on a ticket, workflow rules can analyze the content of the ticket and suggest relevant knowledge base articles or solutions that may assist in resolving the issue. This helps agents provide accurate and efficient support by leveraging existing knowledge resources.
   
6. Ticket Categorization and Routing: Workflow rules can automatically categorize and tag incoming tickets based on keywords, customer details, or other criteria. This categorization enables effective ticket routing, grouping similar issues together, and improving reporting and analytics.
   
7. Automated Responses: Workflow rules can trigger automated responses to customers to acknowledge their support requests, provide status updates, or share relevant information. These responses can be customized based on ticket type, priority, or other attributes.
   
8. Ticket Closure and Follow-up: Workflow rules can initiate actions upon ticket closure, such as sending satisfaction surveys to gather feedback from customers or generating reports for performance analysis and improvement.
   

How do I create a workflow rule?

1. Log in to your Zoho Desk account with administrator privileges.
   

2. Go to Setup () in the top-right corner and select Workflows under Automation.
   
3. On the Workflow Rules page, Choose a department from the drop-down for which you want to create a workflow rule.
   
4. Click the Create Rule button.
   
5. Choose the module from the list and give your rule a name and description for reference.
   
6. Set the trigger conditions for the rule, which determine when the rule should execute. (e.g. create, edit, agent response, happiness ratings)
   
7. Choose the criteria to execute the workflow rule.
   
8. Add the actions you want the rule to perform when the trigger conditions are met.
   
9. Click Save.
   

What are the different types of actions I can set in a workflow rule?

1. Assigning the ticket to a specific agent or team
   
2. Sending an automated email response to customers
   
3. Updating ticket fields, like status, priority, or custom fields
   
4. Notifying agents, teams, or customers
   
5. Escalating or de-escalating ticket priorities
   
6. Adding tags to tickets
   
7. Adding or removing skill types
   
8. Closing or reopening tickets automatically
   
9. Running custom functions using Deluge script
   

Can I create a workflow rule to automatically assign tickets to specific agents based on certain criteria? 

The support admin sets up a workflow rule in Zoho Desk to automate the ticket assignment process for urgent tickets.

1. Navigate to Setup > Automations > Workflows > New Rule.
   
2. Name the rule "Automatic Assignment for Urgent Tickets."
   
3. Add a brief description to explain the purpose of the rule.

1. Set the rule to trigger when a ticket is created or updated.
   
2. Specify the trigger condition to check the ticket priority. For example, "Ticket Priority is high." 

1. Add the action to assign the ticket to the specific team of senior support agents. For example, "Assign Ticket to Team: Senior Support Team."
   

1. You can optionally add an action to notify the senior support team about the new ticket assignment. This can be done via an email notification or an in-app alert.

1. Once the trigger condition and actions have been defined, save the workflow rule.

Can I set up a workflow rule to send an automated response to customers when they submit a new ticket? 

1. Log in to your Zoho Desk account with administrator privileges.
   
2. Go to Setup () in the top-right corner and select Workflows under Automation.
   
3. On the Workflow Rules page, choose a department from the drop-down for which you want to create a workflow rule.
   
4. Click the Create Rule button.
   
5. Choose the Tickets module from the list and give your rule a name and description for reference.
   
6. Set the trigger conditions for the rule as Create. This will execute the rule whenever a ticket is created.
   
7. Select your Criteria, If any, from the drop-down to trigger the rule when those specific criteria matches.
   
8. Select Actions under Tasks and click Send Email Replies.
   
9. Choose your email templates or create a new email templates to be send.
   
10. Click Save.
    

See also>> Managing email templates

How do I update the status of a ticket automatically using a workflow rule? 

1. Log in to your Zoho Desk account with administrator privileges.
   
2. Go to Setup () in the top-right corner and select Workflows under Automation.
   

3. In the left sidebar, click on Create Rule.
   

4. On the New Workflow page, Name the rule appropriately, such as "Automatic Ticket Status Update" and Add a description to document the purpose of the rule, if required.

5. Define the trigger conditions:
   
1. Set the rule to trigger when a ticket is Created or Edited.
   
2. Specify the trigger condition to check the necessary criteria for updating the ticket status. For example, you may want to update the status when a specific custom field is changed, or a certain tag is added to the ticket.
   
6. Add the action to update the ticket status:
   
1. Select New Field Updates from the All Action drop-down.
   
2. On the New Field Updates page, add the Assignment Value Name. Add a description if required.
3. Choose the Status field to be updated. 
   For example, change it from Open to Escalated or any other appropriate status from the drop-down.
7. Save the workflow rule to apply the changes.

Can I create a workflow rule to notify specific team members when a ticket is assigned to them? 

1. Log in to your Zoho Desk account with administrator privileges.
   
2. Go to Setup () in the top-right corner and select Workflows under Automation.
   
3. On the Workflow Rules page, choose a department from the drop-down for which you want to create a workflow rule.
   
4. Click the Create Rule button.
   
5. Choose Tickets module from the list and give your rule a name and description for reference.
   
6. Set the trigger conditions for the rule as Create. This will execute the rule whenever a ticket is created.
   
7. Select your Criteria if any from the drop-down to trigger the rule when those specific criteria matches.
   
8. Select Alerts under Action and click on New.
   
9. On the Create Alert page:
   
1. Enter a name for the alert.
   
2. Under Email Template, select Notify team when a ticket is assigned.
   
3. Create a new email template if you want to configure it by clicking Create a Template.
   
4. Under Send Email Alert To, choose Agents. You can also choose the specific agents from the drop-down whom you want to send the alert.
   
5. In Also Notify, you can choose from Record Owner, Record Creator, etc to send the alerts.
   
10. Click Save to set the alert.
    
11. Now, Save the Workflow.
    

What conditions can I use to trigger a workflow rule in Zoho Desk? 

Can I perform field update on custom fields using a workflow rule?

Can I close tickets automatically when certain criteria are met? 

How can I send a survey automatically to the customers after their ticket has been resolved? 

How do I test and validate my workflow rule to ensure it works as intended? 

To test a workflow rule, create a test ticket that meet the rule's trigger conditions and verify if the actions are executed as expected. Make adjustments as needed and test again until the rule performs as desired.

We hope that this list of frequently asked questions about Workflow Rules is informative. If you still have questions that haven't been addressed, please let us know. We will be happy to discuss them with our subject matter experts and add them in the future. And please don't forget to share your rating below!