Best Practice for Managing External Service Desk when Office is Closed?

[AS]

Hello, I am looking for advice for the management of External Service Desks. 

- How do you manage federal holidays and service desk responses?

- How/Where do you manage auto-responses when the office is closed?

- Would this is automated? Or a manual process?

@Ashton Bloom 

[Seon Shakespeare · Accepted solution]

Hi AS,

Managing service desks during closures takes a mix of clear communication and smart automation. Here's how I'd handle it:

Before:

• Announcements: Use the service desk announcement banner to display closure dates. You'll find this in your service desk project settings.

During:

• Automated Responses (Jira Automation):

  • Auto-Acknowledge: Set up a rule to automatically acknowledge new requests received during the closure.
  • Set Expectations: Include a message in the auto-acknowledgment stating that the office is closed and when they can expect a response.
  • Categorisation/Prioritisation (Optional): You can even use automation to categorise or prioritise requests that come in during the closure, making it easier to tackle them when you're back.

  To set up these automations, go to "Project settings" -> "Automation" within your service desk project.

Manual Processes (If Needed):

• Limited Coverage: If you have a skeleton crew during the closure, adjust your auto-responses accordingly and set up a rotating schedule.
• Emergency Contact: For truly urgent issues, make sure your auto-response includes a clear escalation path or emergency contact method.

Basically, automate where possible, but keep a human touch for situations that need it.

Hope this helps!

[AS]

Thanks @Seon Shakespeare We are currently managing 14 external service desks, so it is a bit cumbersome to update announcements, but not impossible. This number will only grown based on our trajectory. Was hoping to set an SLA and based on the calendar create an auto response on the holidays, but that is not in the function.

Suggestions for the automation below?