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This feature is available as an Early Access Program (EAP) for Pro and Enterprise Omnichannel customers only. Refer to this post for more details.

Note: 

Enabling this feature will consolidate auto-assignment control to the anchor Freshdesk instance UI alone.


With Custom agent status, admins/supervisors can get complete visibility into how agents are spending their time when they’re unavailable to assist customers. An agent’s status determines if they are available for Automatic Ticket Assignment. Only an agent who is ‘Active’ will be assigned issues. 


In addition to the default agent statuses available, you will be able to add custom statuses and enable them for the agents in your account.


Note: 

  • Only admins and account admins can set up and enable new custom statuses
  • You will not be able to rename a custom agent status once created and saved 


To add a new custom status:

  1. Log in to your Freshdesk Omnichannel account.

  2. Go to Admin Settings > Agent Statuses. Here you can see the list of default and custom statuses available.

  3. Click on New Agent Status.

  4. Enter the status name and select a matching emoji.

  5. Click Add agent status.


The new custom status added will now be visible for your agents in their accounts.


Types of custom statuses:


When you create a custom agent status, you can mark it as either ‘Away’ or ‘Busy’ to denote if the agent is available to address customer issues. For example, when you create a custom status ‘Break’, you can mark it as Busy to denote that the agent is logged in, but is not actively available to assist customers.


  • Away - Agent is logged in, but unavailable to address issues due to non-work-related activities. Eg: Lunch, Coffee break, etc.
  • Busy - Agent is logged in, but unavailable to address customer issues due to work-related tasks. Eg: Meeting, Workshop, etc. 

You can also get a detailed breakdown of the time each agent spends in Away and Busy status types to understand gaps and help agents manage their time effectively.

 

Setting your availability status as an agent:


As an agent, when you log into your account, you can see a small computer icon in the top right corner. You will be able to view all default and custom agents by clicking on them and can choose a relevant status based on the activity that you’re doing. This will set your availability status across all channels - tickets, chat, and calls.


You can also set your availability for one particular channel by clicking the computer icon. You can see three icons denoting ticket, chat, and calls. For example, if you want to be available only for calls, you can simply click on the ticket and chat icon to make yourself unavailable for automatic assignment in those channels. 

 

How to control agent availability as an admin:

You may sometimes need to have more agents on hand to address an influx of issues, or to address any urgent needs. In such a scenario, you can change the availability status of an agent to meet your needs. You can do so by:


  • Navigate to the Dashboard

  • Click on View details against ‘Available agents’

  • You can see a list of agents available across all channels

  • The status availability toggle will be on/off based on what the agent has set

  • You can click on the toggle to make an agent available/unavailable in any channel


Who can access/change agent availability statuses?


Only those agents that are part of a group with ‘Admin’ or ‘Account Admin’ access can create new agent statuses. Learn more about groups here.