Freshservice Tips, Tricks, and Best Practice

Creating a Signature in Freshservice

Signatures are important because Freshservice doesn't tell the user who is the responding to the ticket, all they see is an email from one of the three service desk emails (ie. RIT_Helpdesk@colostate.edu)
To create a signature:
- In the top right corner, click your profile pic, then click profile settings
- Right next to "Additional Information" click edit
- Now you can create your signature in the box in the middle, don't forget to click update when you are done
- Here is the template I use for the Desktop Team:
- <Your Name>
  <Your Area ie, Web Apps, Endpoint, etc>
  
  Research Endpoint Manager | Research IT
  
  ________________________________________
  
  For Support:
  
  Use the Support Portal
  
  Or Email RIT_HelpDesk@colostate.edu

Filling out the properties of a ticket

Be sure to fill out as much of the properties portion of a ticket as possible. The most crucial being the Group, Agent, Department, Category, and Sub Category (if applicable).
Here is an example
Notice that the Status is set to Appointment Scheduled. All statuses except Open will stop the Service Level Agreement (SLA) timer. When the status is set to Resolved it will notify the user that the ticket has been marked resolved, then in 48 hours the ticket will be closed. If the user responds to the ticket at any point it will get re-opened and set to you as the agent.

The Ticket Lifecycle

Thoroughly Read the Ticket: Understand the issue reported, its impact on the user, and any specific details provided.
Prioritize Tickets: Sort tickets based on urgency and impact. Use a ticketing system with priority levels.
Use Clear Language: Avoid jargon when communicating with users. Explain technical details in a way they can understand.
Ask for Clarification: If details are unclear, request more information to avoid misunderstandings.
Regular Status Updates: Keep the user informed of the progress. Even if there's no resolution yet, an update reassures them you're working on it.
Document Progress: Update the ticket with each step taken, including troubleshooting methods and outcomes.
Involve Relevant Teams: If an issue requires input or action from other departments or teams, collaborate with them effectively.
Internal Communication: Use internal channels to seek help or share knowledge if needed.
Feedback Loop: Encourage users to provide feedback on the resolution process for continuous improvement.
Confirm Resolution: When the issue is resolved, notify the user and ask for confirmation that everything is working as expected then set the status of the ticket to resolved.

DOs

Forward any help requests that come to your Outlook to your helpdesk email (ie RIT_Helpdesk@colostate.edu, RC2-Request@colostate.edu, etc.) Once it has been forwarded, fill out the ticket properties and respond from Freshservice.
If a help request comes via Teams, create a ticket within Freshservice and set the requester as the user.
Set statuses accordingly to prevent Service Level Agreements (SLAs) from going overdue
Respond in a timely manner and keep the user informed on the status of the ticket
Assign tickets to other groups or agents if it is outside of your purview, you are going on AL, etc.

DON'Ts

Don't CC your helpdesk email this will create unnecessary tickets every time some responds.
Don't leave a ticket open and unassigned if you have already read through it and started work on it. Others in your group may not know that you are working on it, and the SLA timer will be running if it is set as open.
Don't resolve a ticket without any response. Notify the user that is done with a response and then resolve the ticket.
Don't let tickets go stale. If the work was done but the ticket is sitting in the group with the wrong status, make sure you have the ticket status reflect it.