Agent Availability Status
The Agent Availability Status feature allows agents to communicate their current availability throughout the workday. It helps team leads and Helpdesk understand who is currently available to receive new tickets and ensures work is routed to the most appropriate agent.
Each agent has a live availability status that is displayed throughout the agent portal using a colored presence indicator. Status changes are reflected immediately, helping teams coordinate work more efficiently.
Tip
Agent availability affects both manual and automatic ticket assignment. Keeping your status up to date helps ensure tickets are assigned to agents who are currently available.
Availability Statuses
Every agent can have one of the following availability categories:
- Active — Available to receive and work on new tickets.
- Away — Temporarily unavailable but may return shortly.
- Unavailable — Currently not available to receive work.
Organizations can create additional custom statuses such as On Lunch, In a Meeting, or Focusing. Every custom status belongs to one of the three availability categories above.
Changing Your Availability
- Click the profile dropdown in the upper-left corner of the sidebar.
- Select Settings.
- Under the Profile section, locate the Agent Availability dropdown.
- Select your desired status.
Once the status is changed:
- Your avatar’s presence indicator is updated immediately.
- A confirmation message is displayed.
- The selected status is saved in the HD Agent document.
- The time of the status change is recorded for tracking purposes.
How Availability Affects Ticket Assignment
Agent availability directly influences both automatic and manual ticket assignment.
Automatic Assignment
When automatic assignment is enabled through Assignment Rules, Helpdesk prioritizes agents based on their availability category.
- Active agents are selected first.
- If no Active agents are available, Away agents are considered.
- Unavailable agents are used only as a final fallback so that tickets are never left unassigned.
This ensures tickets are routed to agents who are most likely to respond quickly while still guaranteeing every ticket receives an owner.
Example
Assume there are three agents: Bob, Sam, and Alice.
- If Bob is Active while Sam and Alice are Away, the ticket is assigned to Bob.
- If Bob and Sam are Away while Alice is Unavailable, the assignment rule chooses between Bob and Sam.
- If every agent is Unavailable, Helpdesk follows the configured assignment rule without considering availability.
Note
Assignment Rules using the Based on Field strategy are not affected by agent availability.
Manual Assignment
Manual assignment is never restricted by availability status.
When assigning a ticket manually:
- Agents display a colored availability indicator.
- A tooltip shows the current status and how long the agent has been in that status.
- If an agent is Away or Unavailable, Helpdesk displays a warning before completing the assignment.
HD Agent Status
The available statuses are managed through the HD Agent Status DocType. Administrators can create, enable, disable, and customize statuses according to their organization’s workflow.
Navigate to HD Agent Status
- Go to Desk.
- Search for HD Agent Status.
- Open the first search result.
Alternatively, open:
<site_name>/desk/hd-agent-status
Key Properties
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Agent Status | Unique name of the status shown to agents. |
| Enable | Determines whether the status is available for selection. |
| Status Order | Controls the display order in the availability picker. |
| Category | Determines whether the status behaves as Active, Away, or Unavailable during assignment. |
| Color | Defines the color of the presence indicator shown throughout Helpdesk. |
Availability Categories
| Category | Meaning | Assignment Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Agent is available. | Preferred for automatic assignment. |
| Away | Agent is temporarily unavailable. | Used only when no Active agents are available. |
| Unavailable | Agent is currently offline or unavailable. | Used only as a final fallback. |
Behavior Rules
- Every status must belong to one availability category.
- At least one enabled status must belong to the Active category.
- Status names must be unique.
- Only enabled statuses appear in the availability selector.
Related Features
- Assignment Rules
- HD Agent
- HD Agent Status
- Ticket Assignment
- Teams
Best Practices
- Update your availability whenever you leave or return to work.
- Create meaningful custom statuses that accurately reflect agent availability.
- Keep at least one Active status enabled at all times.
- Use Away instead of Unavailable for short breaks so tickets can still be assigned if necessary.
- Review Assignment Rules regularly to ensure they work as expected with availability statuses.
