Fourth Insight - The power of Multi-Layouts

Fourth Insight - The power of Multi-Layouts

The Wheels of Ticketing - Desk Stories

The power of Multi-Layouts




QuoteIn the previous insights, we have established that layouts are the foundation for a ticketing system, and fields are the building blocks for the same system.


Fundamentals of layouts

Fields play a crucial role in helping customers and agents collect valuable end-user information to understand their concerns better. Organizations must prioritise collecting accurate data in the right format to ensure efficiency. It's essential to avoid overwhelming end users with unnecessary or confusing fields; clarity is key. Additionally, the layout of these fields should be thoughtfully classified based on the data collected from end users to provide a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.

Understanding multi-layouts

Using multiple layouts in a help desk environment can significantly enhance the customer experience and streamline support processes. 

For instance, let’s take a telecommunication service provider that offers both postpaid and prepaid options. These two services cater to distinct user needs and provide varied features. Imagine an end-user needing to raise a support ticket specifically for a postpaid service. Instead of relying on a single generic form encompassing both service types, the organization can enhance user experience by developing two tailored layouts: one dedicated to postpaid and another to prepaid services. 

This approach involves choosing the right fields to align with each service and streamlining the ticket submission process. Doing so significantly reduces data clutter, allowing the end-user to navigate the forms easily and provide the necessary information to receive adequate and timely support for their queries.

Multi-layout best practices


For a ticketing help desk system to support multiple layouts effectively, consider the following:

  • Modular design: Streamline your ticket submission process into multiple services according to your business. Each service can be created as a layout. If there are common details between services, build this interface with reusable fields.
  • Role-based preset: To simplify onboarding, pre-configure layouts connected to agent roles according to the solutions they provide to customers.
  • Customisation engine: To ensure accurate information and help agents with all required information, include widgets using extensions and proper recommendations using tooltips.
  • Responsive data integration: To avoid ticket creation latency, ensure only the required fields are added to the layout. Using layout rules, you can also make the design responsive based on the input.
  • Performance optimisation: Validate the data given in the layout fields using validation rules to minimise the agent's load time on incorrect data.
  • Accessibility: Design layouts with keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and high-contrast options to accommodate all users.
These best practices can help your organization apply multiple layouts in your ticketing help desk system to accommodate diverse agent workflows, improve efficiency, and raise customer satisfaction levels.

A story for better understanding

Streamlining Support with Multiple Layouts

This narrative illustrates how multi-layouts improve efficiency, adaptability, and the overall experience for agents managing customer support tickets.


At Help Point Innovations, a rapidly growing SaaS company, the customer support team faced challenges managing an overwhelming influx of tickets. While their help desk system was operational, it lacked flexibility and only provided a uniform ticket view, frustrating agents. Simple inquiries were often lost amid more complex technical problems, causing agents to spend unnecessary time navigating multiple tabs to locate information. This led to declining morale and increasing response times.


Enter Chandler, the new support operations manager, tasked with turning things around. He collaborated with the operations team to implement a new ticketing help desk system that supported multiple layouts tailored to different agent needs. 

The Standard Layout – The All-Purpose Form 

On his first day, Chandler shadowed Mike, a level 1 support agent handling general inquiries. Mike used the standard layout, a clean, streamlined form designed for quick ticket triage:

 

  • Ticket list pane: A sortable list of open tickets with columns for ticket ID, customer name, priority, and subject. Filters let Mike focus on "New" or "High Priority" tickets.
  • Ticket details pane: Clicking a ticket displayed the customer's message, purchase history, and a chat-like thread for internal notes and replies.
  • Quick actions bar: Buttons for everyday actions like "Assign to Self," "Reply with Template," or "Escalate" were front and center.

 

Mike valued how the Standard Layout let him process simple tickets, like password resets or billing questions, in under a minute. For example, when a customer asked about a subscription refund, Mike pulled up the ticket, checked the purchase history in the details pane, and sent a pre-approved refund response using a template without leaving the screen.

 

The standard layout empowered level 1 agents to efficiently handle high-volume, straightforward tickets, reducing average response time by 30%.

The Tech Layout – In-depth Troubleshooting 

Next, Chandler observed Lila, a Level 2 technical support specialist who tackled complex issues like API errors and software bugs. Lila switched to the technical layout, and when queries came in, she automated the tickets to move them to this layout so that they could help with in-depth analysis:

 

  • Expanded ticket details: The layout prioritized technical data, showing error logs, system diagnostics, and API call history alongside the ticket thread.
  • Integrated tools pane: A sidebar linked to debugging tools, a knowledge base, and a code snippet library for quick reference.
  • Collaboration panel: A dedicated space for real-time collaboration with developers via internal chat, with options to attach screenshots or screen recordings.


When a customer reported an API timeout issue, Lila used the technical layout to view the error log, cross-reference it with the knowledge base, and ping the dev team in the collaboration panel. She identified a rate-limiting issue, shared a workaround with the customer, and flagged the ticket for a permanent fix within 15 minutes.

 

The technical layout reduced resolution time for complex tickets by 40%, as agents had critical tools and data at their fingertips.

The Custom Layout – Personalized Productivity

Finally, Chandler met Riya, a senior agent who handled level 1 and 2 tickets. Riya had created a Custom layout to suit her unique workflow:

 

  • Hybrid ticket view: Riya combined elements of the standard and technical layouts, with a compact ticket list and a detailed technical pane for quick switches between complex and straightforward tickets.
  • Pinned widgets: She added widgets for her most-used tools, like a live chat monitor and a shortcut to her favorite response templates.
  • Colour-coded priority: Riya customized the ticket list to highlight VIP customers in red and urgent tickets in yellow.

 

When a VIP client reported a critical issue, Riya's custom layout let her spot the ticket instantly, access diagnostic data, and respond with a personalized message in record time. Thanks to her tailored setup, she could easily pivot to handling a batch of routine tickets without missing a beat.



Custom layouts boosted agent satisfaction and productivity, as veterans like Riya could work in a way that matched their expertise and preferences.

The Transformation

In just weeks, introducing the new help desk system with multiple layouts transformed Help Point's support operations. Agents became more efficient and effective, customers enjoyed prompt solutions, and the team's morale soared. One of Chandler's highlights was when he caught Mike and Lila discussing which layout was most suitable for specific scenarios, indicating that the operations team had developed multiple tailored views. These custom views enabled agents to focus on the particular requirements of each ticket, boosting productivity by reducing unnecessary clutter.

Wrapping up

The key to success? Flexibility. By offering multiple layouts, standard for speed, technical for depth, and custom for personalization, he help desk system met the diverse needs of the support team and turned disorder into a well-oiled machine.



Please stay tuned for more Desk Module stories.

 

Cheers,

 

Kavya Rao

The Zoho Desk Team


    • Recent Topics

    • Deprecation of the Zoho OAuth connector

      Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously evaluate our integrations to ensure they meet the highest standards of security, reliability, and compliance. As part of these ongoing efforts, we've made the decision to deprecate the Zoho OAuth default connector

    • Alphabetically

      How can i arrange alphabetically - (Manage Manufacturer) Field in Item Master 

    • Spotlight series #6: The Show app for Android TV has a new look!

      Hello everyone! We are delighted to introduce our revamped and redesigned Show app for Android TV.  Smart TVs are exploding in popularity. Android TV alone has over 110 million active monthly devices. Zoho Show, as part of a constant effort to improve

    • Can i set a default value for country and state in address field in zoho creator?

      Can i set a default value for country and state in address field in zoho creator?

    • Convert HTML to PDF & Send as Email Attachments in Zoho Creator (Deluge)

      This approach is useful for sending welcome letters, instructions, or promotional offers after order creation. // 1. Define the variables using the submitted input customerName = input.Customer_Name1; orderID = input.ID; customerEmail = input.Email_Address; //

    • Redirect after submission is not working after a few submission

      I have setup redirect url correctly and everything works as expected. However, it seems that there's a limit to the number of submissions before the redirect stops working. After the "limit" is reached, the page redirects to a seemingly zoho hosted page,

    • Enhancement Request for Multi-Asset Work Order Feature

      Hello Latha, Thank you for your continued support. The multi-asset Work Order feature is extremely helpful. I did some testing based on our requirements, and during the process, I noticed a few areas where we need your team’s support to improve the feature

    • Marketing Tip #8: Run limited-time offers

      Exclusive offers that don't last long make shoppers purchase right away instead of waiting. Run a flash sale or limited-time discount to convert interest into sales. Try this today: Set up a "Buy X Get Y" coupon in Zoho Commerce valid for a limited time

    • Add Option to Mass Dispatch by User

      Hello! We are using the dispatch console to dispatch service appointments to our service ressources. Right now, the process is our dispatcher verifies each ressource's route for the day and dispatches it after validation. Sadly, there doesn't seem to

    • Free webinar: Zoho Sign unwrapped – 2025 in review

      Hey there! 2025 is coming to an end, and this year has been all about AI. Join our exclusive year-end webinar, where we'll walk you through the features that went live in 2025, provide answers to your questions, and give you a sneak peek on what to expect

    • Zoho Projects - Email notification relabelling of modules not present on default templates

      Hi Projects Team, I noticed that in the default email template notification, the word "bug" was not renamed to the lable I am using in my system. As many users may used the Bugs modules for various purposes including Changes, Revisions, Issues, etc...

    • Publish to LinkedIn via API

      Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks Adrian

    • Is there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?

      Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This would

    • Include the "Added Email ID" to the Filters of a Report

      Hi, With a Report and lots of entries, a normal thing is to filter entries by the submitter, but that is not included in the Auto Filter of Reports and you can't add a custom filter to a Report without specifying the actual value. I would like to be able

    • Loops in Deluge

      Hi, Can someone tell me how I do a simple loop in deluge? For example, if i have a variable "X" containing a number of loops to perform, i would like to perform an action X amount of times. X = 10; do while (Y < X){       // ... do something } to further explain, the equivalent in PHP of what i am trying to acheive would be: $X = 20; for($Y = 1; $Y < $X; $Y++ ){       // ... do something } Thanks

    • I am facing a problem with an if-else condition

      If I use if, else if, and else conditions in Deluge with the same variable name, sometimes the variable causes an error because the same variable name is present in every block

    • Zoho Projects - Reply by email to @ mentions posted on the Feed.

      When mentioning someone on the Feed (Status), it would be great if that mentioned person could reply to the email notification to update the Feed thread.

    • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

      HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on

    • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

      Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we

    • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | October 2025

      Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this October. Zoho Mail Create Signature from Compose window You can now effortlessly create a Signature using the Create

    • Subform data to Sheets

      I have been trying to setup a Zoho Flow automation to bring any Subform input to a Zoho Sheets but it seems impossible to post the subform entries to a Zoho Sheet. Is there any way to do it via Zoho Sheet API? https://www.zoho.com/sheet/help/api/v2/#CONTENT-Insert-row-with-JSON-data

    • Edit Contact Roles in the Potentials Mod

      New to ZOHO so I need some help. I work the same people on different projects concurrency. Their contact info remains the same but their role changes from project to project. In the Potential Mod you can pick contacts and assign a Role to them. I know

    • Is there a way to disable the Activity Reminders Pop-Up Window every time I log in?

      Just wondering if there is a setting to disable the window from opening every time I open my CRM? Thanks Chris

    • Auto-sync field of lookup value

      This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.

    • Hide fields only for creation

      Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know

    • Rich-text fields in Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone, We're thrilled to announce an important enhancement that will significantly enhance the readability and formatting capabilities of your information: rich text options for multi-line fields. With this update, you can now enjoy a more versatile

    • Font Size 11 - Zoho CRM Email Templates

      Our company communicates with our vendors exclusively using Calibri Font Size 11, as this is the standard formatting for professional emails. Since the CRM only allows for the selection of font sizes 10 & 12, we have been unable to utilize the CRM email

    • Error 400 Booking

      Added a custom domain to Booking. Am Getting a SSL Error that has some other domain on the SSL and giving a 400 error. Followed instructions and it stated it verified our domain.. However it is not working. Please Help!

    • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

      Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

    • How do I change a form's name? Why isn't this more intuitive?

      Can someone please let me know how to change a form's name?

    • Link Purchase Order to Deal

      Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices

    • Zoho Projects - Email Notifications for Feed Updates

      Hi Projects Team, I'm working with a client who wants a simple way to communicate with their customers on projects. Getting the customer to add comments to Tasks or Bug records is not ideal, as we need a way which is easy with minimal training, and has

    • Zoho Analytics Export API

      Hi Team, I’m working on some integration tasks and wanted to confirm if it’s possible to retrieve a Zoho Analytics table as JSON data using a Deluge script. I’ve already stored my custom data from multiple sources and combined it into a single source.

    • Loading Project Balances in ZOHO Books for each project

      Hello, What is the best method for loading project balances actual and budget into ZOHO books to provide tracking to our project managers. We have projects and federal awards (also treated as projects) which span multiple years. We are converting from

    • Weekly Tips : Make collaboration effortless with Whiteboard in Zoho Mail

      Working with your team often means switching between emails, notes, and other applications just to explain an idea. Maybe you are trying to sketch a layout, plan a workflow, or quickly brainstorm ideas—with text alone, things can get confusing. So how

    • Zoho Sites "pages" management page

      I have 80 plus pages on zoho sites. When I go to the "pages" link to view and edit pages, They are not in any kind of order, so I spend lots of time searching for pages when I need to edit or create new. How can I change the view order of all my pages

    • Introducing the all-new email parser!

      Greetings, We are pleased to introduce to you, a brand-new, upgraded version of the Zoho CRM Email Parser, which is packed with fresh features and has been completely redesigned to meet latest customers needs and their business requirements. On that note,

    • Zoho Projects - Refine Access to Collaboration Menu

      Hi Projects Team, I noticed that Calendar, Chat and Meeting menu options in the Collaboration section are visible to client users, even when they don't have access to the features. This could be confusing and frustrating, because if it's there you expect

    • Zoho Projects - Add Feed to Project Tabs

      Hi Projects Team, I'm working on a lightweight communications requirement for one of my customers in relation to communicating with their client users via Zoho Projects. I noticed that the Feed is only available in the Collaboration section, but you can

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    • Next Page