Many support scenarios are similar to a game of tennis.  Helpdesk tennis.

When it comes to who has the next action on a ticket, it's either in your court, or it's in theirs.   The next move often oscillates between the team providing the support, and the customer/client responding to that support.

 

And similar to a point in tennis, this cycle continues as long as the helpdesk ticket / incident / task is active.  When it's resolved and closed, the point is over.

 

With this in mind, here are a few configuration ideas that may assist using the Job State field.

 

Use the "Set as awaiting client response" checkbox

 

This checkbox on the Action screen marks the update as expecting a client response.  Use this for when you have provided some information, a work-around, asked a question, or some other input where you are expecting a response from the customer.  The ball is in their court so to speak.

 

 

Checking this box triggers a number of things.

 

Firstly, it changes the job state to indicate that a client response is expected.  This field is searchable and is displayed in various part of HelpMaster, for example the Explorer.

 

 

 The job state is also presented on the web portal, where the converse also applies.  If a customer/client updates their job, the state will now swing the other way.  The ball is now in the technician's court.

 

 

Here's some uses of the job state field:

 

#1 - Create Saved Searches for better queue management

 

 

Use saved searches that target the job state field, and work from these.  This way you could split you time between "receiving" and "serving"… to extend the tennis metaphor a bit further.

 

#2 - Create automation profiles that will prompt/remind clients and staff of an overdue expected response

 

Use the Priority Manager, or Triggered Events automation to create automations that will send email, escalate jobs, or re-assign (or something else) based on the job state.  Combine other factors about the job to really target specific clients, sites, issues, priorities etc.

 

Once a job has the "Awaiting client response" option, you could configure different Priority Manager profiles that will send a reminder email based at different time intervals based on the priority of the job.  There are lots of options here.

 

 

# 3 - Run reports that target this field

 

Use the Saved Searches in #2 above as the report filter, and then run any of the job-based reports.