Set agent availability (Available, Away, Offline)
Mark yourself or a teammate as Available, Away or Offline. Only Available agents receive auto-assigned tickets; others keep the tickets they have.
Last updated 2 min read
Availability tells round robin who can take new tickets. Set yourself Away for a break or Offline at the end of your shift, and new tickets go to teammates who are around.
Before you start
- Who can do this: everyone sets their own availability; owners and admins can set anyone's.
- Plan: all plans.
Step by step
- Open Settings and choose Agent unavailability under Account.
- The page explains: "Only Available agents receive auto-assigned tickets. Away and Offline agents keep the tickets they already have."
- Find your name, marked (you).
- Pick Available, Away or Offline in the menu next to it ("Availability for …").
- The change applies at once.
What happens next
Round robin rules skip anyone who is Away or Offline. Their open tickets stay assigned to them, and teammates can still assign tickets to them by hand.
The Ticket assignment page shows everyone's state under Right now, and warns if nobody can receive tickets.
The three states
| State | New tickets by round robin | Keeps current tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Available | Yes | Yes |
| Away | No | Yes |
| Offline | No | Yes |
A simple shift routine
At the start of your shift, set yourself Available and work your Assigned to me view first. For a break of more than a few minutes, switch to Away so new tickets go to a teammate. At the end of the day, set Offline, add a short note to any ticket you are halfway through, and reassign anything urgent so it does not wait overnight.
Tips
- Set Away at lunch and Offline at the end of the day; it keeps the next ticket going to someone who can answer.
- Leads: check Right now at the start of each shift and set anyone who forgot.
- Before a holiday, reassign your open tickets as well as going Offline.
- If the whole team is off at once, set business hours and an away message for the chat widget too, so customers know when to expect an answer.
Troubleshooting
"You can only change your own availability"
Agents can only set themselves. Ask an admin to change a teammate.
"Invalid state"
The choice did not reach the server. Refresh and pick again.
New tickets still come to me while Away
They may be assigned by hand, by a rule that assigns to you by name, or by your first reply on an unassigned ticket. Only round robin skips Away agents.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set myself as away in Hushdesk?
Open Settings and choose Agent unavailability under Account. Find your name, marked you, and pick Away or Offline from the menu next to it. Pick Available again when you are back. The change applies at once to automatic assignment.
What is the difference between Away and Offline?
Both stop round robin from giving you new tickets, and both let you keep the tickets you already have. Use Away for short breaks during your shift and Offline when your shift has ended, so teammates and leads can see at a glance who is around.
Can an admin change someone else's availability?
Yes. Owners and admins can set any agent's availability, for example when someone forgets to set themselves Away before leaving. Agents can only change their own availability, and the page says so if they try to change a teammate's.
Does being away hide me from the assignee list?
No. Teammates can still assign tickets to you by hand, because manual assignment is never limited. Availability only affects automatic round robin assignment, which skips anyone who is Away or Offline. If you do not want new work at all, tell your lead or put a note in your team channel.
Does availability change the chat widget's online status?
No. The chat widget shows Online or Away based on your business hours, not on agents' availability, so it stays Online during your hours even if everyone is on a break. To show the away banner outside working times, set your business hours and the message for when you are closed.
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Related articles
- Assign tickets automatically with round robinShare new tickets evenly between available agents with round robin, cap how many open tickets each agent gets and see who receives the next ticket.
- Create teams to group your agentsGroup agents into teams so tickets can be routed and reported per team. Create, edit and delete teams from Settings, Teams in a minute.
- Assign a ticket and set its team and priorityGive a ticket to a teammate, take it yourself, set a team and priority, move it to a queue and tag it, all from the ticket header and sidebar.
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