Unlocking the Power of Zendesk Automations
In the ticketing industry, Zendesk stands out for its powerful automations, designed to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency. In this blog post, we’ll delve into Zendesk automations and how to use them properly.
Automations vs Triggers:
Zendesk automations share similarities with triggers, but they are time-based actions, whereas triggers are event-based. Both define conditions and actions to modify ticket properties, but automations are executed when a time event occurs rather than immediately after ticket creation or update (triggers).
Important notes on Automations:
- Automations run once every hour at the top of the hour, firing when conditions are met.
- They are time-based, firing actions when specific time-events occur. (E.g., 8 business hours after the customer replies, send the assignee a notification.)
- Automations must contain conditions that are true only once. (E.g., Time since SLA breach is 1 hour.)
- A maximum of 500 automations is allowed.
- To prevent unnecessary activity, automations do not run on accounts that haven’t had anyone sign in within the last 14 days.
About Automations:
Automations are invaluable tools for workflow management. They ensure actions are taken on tickets without the need for an Agent to manually do anything. Practical examples of automations include notifying agents of unresolved tickets, escalating tickets, and even sending SMS notifications for urgent unattended tickets.
A default automation, created when you install your Zendesk instance, automatically closes tickets 96 hours after they have been solved.
Ensuring Your Automation Only Runs Once:
A crucial rule: Automations must contain an action that cancels a condition, preventing endless loops.
Automations check conditions every hour, requiring either actions that nullify conditions or a condition that can be true only once. Examples include nullifying a “ticket tag” condition or having a condition like “hours since open is” that is true only once.
An effective strategy for canceling conditions involves the use of tags. By checking for the presence of a tag, automations can ensure that actions are performed only when necessary.
Understanding When Automations Run on Tickets:
Automations run every hour on tickets, typically at the top of the hour, but the time for each automation will vary. The processing time depends on the number of automations and tickets to process. Automations can act on a maximum of 1,000 tickets each hour, with larger jobs potentially taking multiple hours to complete.
Understanding what causes Automations to Fire:
Unlike triggers, automations don’t execute immediately after conditions are met. They run in order every hour at or near the top of the hour, and the actions of one automation can influence another within the same hour. This requires careful attention to detail when setting up automations.
If you have additional questions about Zendesk Automations, we can help!