Flowset enables the embedding of workflow processes within Zendesk Support. Embedding is a key factor here since if the process is held as tacit knowledge or in other systems, it's not going to be reliably repeatable.
Processes are executed directly at the point of need
This becomes particularly crucial with:
- Frequently required workflows where efficiency is vital to reduce Agent Handling Time (AHT)
- Occasionally required workflows where errors can be costly to unpick or where delays can occur due to trying to figure out what to do next
- Onboarding new agents that impact both accuracies and how quickly agents can become effective
While Zendesk is incredibly flexible and powerful, it can lack data quality discipline and can suffer from opaque execution. A ticket can easily get reassigned to the wrong group, fail to capture key information, or the wrong macro can get applied at the wrong time.
Cloudset's unique Visible Workflow™ approach changes the game by not only providing a visual way to design workflow processes but also in the way that it surfaces the business logic with its agent's Workflow Assistant. Agents can see what data input or choices are required for each activity in the workflow.
The workflow process acts as a guide or control, the parameters of which can be as loose or tight as they need to be.
Workflow processes can be business processes or support case handling.
- Business process examples include employee onboarding and change management requests
- Support processes examples include trouble ticket triage and escalation
Leveraging the Zendesk Platform to implement business processes is a smart way to get more out of your Zendesk investment and to cut down on the number of fragmented costly systems needed by a business.
While workflow processes using native triggers and macros can be implemented to a certain degree, they can be difficult to design, test, and most of all, difficult to maintain and evolve. This is because they are essentially a list of autonomous bits of business logic that can't be seen as a whole.
With Flowset, it all starts with defining a process in a structured visual way, in essence, in a format similar to a flow diagram, with a nod to basic Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). Indeed, if you have used a drawing tool to design or capture a process, you'll already be familiar with the method of dragging and dropping shapes and the benefits of such techniques.
However, Flowset has stripped things right back to the bare minimum with a small pallet of shapes and lots of inbuilt validation rules that ensure simple valid, implementable processes. This contrasts with generic drawing tools which allow you to draw anything you like.
The next innovation comes with property settings for the activities and their transitions that make up the processes. This is when the process definition turns into a complete workflow definition. The properties add more detailed business logic, akin to what can be achieved with native Zendesk triggers and macros. Indeed, a design aim is to not require Zendesk native triggers or macros, since, in Flowset, all the business logic is in one holistic definition per workflow process.
A native Zendesk trigger consists of two parts: (1) conditions, (2) actions. However, the two parts are strictly coupled together, and can only be evaluated and implemented post the ticket submission - thus making the business logic opaque to the agent unless they have tacit knowledge of how the system will behave. For simple workflows, this may not be a problem, but for more sophisticated processes, this certainly can lead to missed opportunities to actively guide and control workflow processes.
Native Zendesk macros consist of just actions that do give an opportunity to surface the business logic by filling in comments and fields that the agent can see, although with not much guidance on when they should be used.
Flowset's approach seeks to deconstruct triggers and meld with the interactive concepts of macros to provide greater flexibility and maximize the benefits of agent interactivity. Indeed, this is the essence of Cloudset Visible Workflow™ beyond the obvious visual representation of the processes diagram at both the design-level and as a visual map of where you are in the workflow process.
To further strengthen the notion of embedment, micro and macro levels of documentation can be associated with workflow processes, including:
- Visible workflow short description on the Flowset Assistant
- Rich text documentation of the overall workflow process and each activity
- Hover-over activities and check-list items descriptions
Change management is equally well thought through. Flowset is enterprise-grade in the way it allows workflows processes definitions to be locked to an owner, saved as a draft, optionally tested, before being published. Running instances have safeguards to ensure workflow processes don't become stuck due to underlying changes.
In summary, Flowset represents a paradigm shift in the way work gets done in Zendesk. This is achieved by putting process-first:
- Design the process in a way that is intuitive, visible, and easy to understand by the business
- Configure business logic hung off the structure of that very process
- Seamlessly integrate with Zendesk to the point that it seems native
- Have the workflow process actively guide and control the execution of the ticket, clearly communicated, to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- Readily and quickly implement change cycles to constantly evolve working practices
Make things simple by abstracting the underlying complexity
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