CUSTOMER SERVICE

Simplifying Agent Availability

Making it easier to set status across channels

COMPANY

Freshworks

ROLE

Product designer

EXPERTISE

UX/UI Design

Timeline

2 months

The Problem

20% of routing failures were caused by complex agent status setup, forcing agents to clean up routing errors while customers were left waiting.

Freshdesk’s original availability system asked too much of agents and gave too little control to admins. Admins could not define how availability worked; instead, agents had to manually select their availability status for each channel they were active on.

This model made agents responsible for configuration. Each time they went available, they had to manually pick individual channels. A single missed toggle could lead to tickets being routed incorrectly—causing frustrated customers, misrouted conversations, and unnecessary operational work.

To make things easier, the system introduced automatic restoration of availability after breaks. But this often made matters worse. Agents would return to outdated or irrelevant channel selections, get flooded with unintended tickets, and spend time reconfiguring their setup or rerouting tickets manually.

The result? A clunky, error-prone system that created more manual work for agents and more frustration for customers.

Anticipated Outcome

Targeting 90% fewer routing errors, 66% faster setup, and precise unavailable reporting through unified agent statuses.

🔁 Reduce routing errors from 20% → 2%

⚡ Cut agent setup time from 15s (3 clicks) → 5s (1 click)

📊 Improve reporting accuracy with contextual unavailable statuses

The Strategy

From customer calls to ticket patterns, the message was clear: we weren’t solving a UI issue, we were solving a system flaw.

Findings that validated the problem

Putting agents back to their previous status after breaks backfired
Agents were automatically brought back to their previous channel after a break even if they didn’t intend to work there. This led to unintended ticket assignments and recovery effort.
Letting agents toggle their own status was error-prone and time-consuming
Agents had to set availability per channel. This not only slowed them down, but also increased the chance of missed responses and misconfigured routing.

Toggling off channels didn't provide clarity on why agents went unavailable
When agents toggle off all channels, they default to a generic "Unavailable" status, affecting reporting accuracy.

How did we uncover these findings?

These findings were shaped by what we heard and observed across real-world usage.

🌎 Global customer input
Talked to customers across regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and MEA

👥 Insights across roles
Gathered feedback from Admins, Supervisors, and Agents, reflecting challenges across every layer of support operations

🔍 Ticket audits and workflow analysis
Reviewed real-world tickets and routing patterns to trace the root causes of misassignments

🤝 Internal support alignment
Collaborated with Freshworks' own support teams, who echoed the same pain point

Competitive analysis revealed that leading platforms had already transitioned to a scalable, unified status model that eliminates agent-side complexity.

Insights that shaped our direction:

The Solution

We rebuilt the system around one simple shift: let admins define availability, not agents.

The core shift (existing vs proposed summary)

➤ Existing approach

➤ Proposed approach

Dissecting the problems one by one

⚠️ Problem 1: Limited Admin Control

The problem

Consequence for agents

How did we fix it?

What it will change for agents

• No more manual toggles, agents simply select a predefined status and go available across multiple channels with a single click.

• Faster onboarding, since the setup aligns with their mental model, agents can get started effortlessly.

• Reduced cognitive overload, with agents seeing only the statuses relevant to them.

• Saves time and lets agents focus on real work, not configuration.

⚠️ Problem 2: Reporting Inconsistencies

The problem

Consequence

How did we fix it?

The Conclusion

The shift from agent-managed toggles to admin-defined logic was not just to reduce clicks but to create a system that’s intuitive and scalable.

What this journey taught us:

What looks like a UI flaw is often a deeper workflow issue. Solving for the system, not just the screen, is key.
Giving the right people (admins) the right control simplifies life for everyone else (agents).

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Manage your bookings easily with built-in booking widget.
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Show the best parts of your locations with style.
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The Problem

The Problem

The Problem

20% of routing failures were caused by complex agent status setup, forcing agents to clean up routing errors while customers were left waiting.

20% of routing failures were caused by complex agent status setup, forcing agents to clean up routing errors while customers were left waiting.

20% of routing failures were caused by complex agent status setup, forcing agents to clean up routing errors while customers were left waiting.

Anticipated Outcome

Anticipated Outcome

Anticipated Outcome

Targeting 90% fewer routing errors, 66% faster setup, and precise unavailable reporting through unified agent statuses.

Targeting 90% fewer routing errors, 66% faster setup, and precise unavailable reporting through unified agent statuses.

Targeting 90% fewer routing errors, 66% faster setup, and precise unavailable reporting through unified agent statuses.

🔁 Reduce routing errors from 20% → 2%

⚡ Cut agent setup time from 15s (3 clicks) → 5s (1 click)

📊 Improve reporting accuracy with contextual unavailable statuses

The Strategy

The Strategy

The Strategy

From customer calls to ticket patterns, the message was clear: we weren’t solving a UI issue, we were solving a system flaw.

From customer calls to ticket patterns, the message was clear: we weren’t solving a UI issue, we were solving a system flaw.

From customer calls to ticket patterns, the message was clear: we weren’t solving a UI issue, we were solving a system flaw.

🌎 Global customer inputTalked to customers across regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and MEA

👥 Insights across rolesGathered feedback from Admins, Supervisors, and Agents, reflecting challenges across every layer of support operations

🔍 Ticket audits and workflow analysisReviewed real-world tickets and routing patterns to trace the root causes of misassignments

🤝 Internal support alignmentCollaborated with Freshworks' own support teams, who echoed the same pain point

Competitive analysis revealed that leading platforms had already transitioned to a scalable, unified status model that eliminates agent-side complexity.

The Solution

The Solution

The Solution

We rebuilt the system around one simple shift: let admins define availability, not agents.

We rebuilt the system around one simple shift: let admins define availability, not agents.

We rebuilt the system around one simple shift: let admins define availability, not agents.

The Conclusion

The Conclusion

The Conclusion

The shift from agent-managed toggles to admin-defined logic was not just to reduce clicks but to create a system that’s intuitive and scalable.

The shift from agent-managed toggles to admin-defined logic was not just to reduce clicks but to create a system that’s intuitive and scalable.

The shift from agent-managed toggles to admin-defined logic was not just to reduce clicks but to create a system that’s intuitive and scalable.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE

Sentiment Analysis

Prioritizing customer emotions to improve support

View Case Study

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CUSTOMER SERVICE

Optimizing Routing

Making it easier to set status across channels

View Case Study

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🌎 Global customer input
Talked to customers across regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and MEA

👥 Insights across roles
Gathered feedback from Admins, Supervisors, and Agents, reflecting challenges across every layer of support operations

🔍 Ticket audits and workflow analysis
Reviewed real-world tickets and routing patterns to trace the root causes of misassignments

🤝 Internal support alignment
Collaborated with Freshworks' own support teams, who echoed the same pain point