WFM + Zendesk

Use Dialpad WFM’s Zendesk integration to seamlessly connect your ticketing system with your workforce management platform, unlocking several key benefits:

  • Real-Time Ticket Visibility: View live ticket counts from Zendesk directly within Dialpad WFM.

  • Accurate Forecasting: Use Zendesk data to create precise staffing forecasts.

  • Comprehensive Agent Performance Tracking: Monitor key metrics such as call volume, average handling time, and attendance within Zendesk.

Note

Due to differing data sources, Zendesk requires separate connections for forecasting and performance reporting.

Let’s dive into the details.

Who can use this

Dialpad WFM is available to all Dialpad users, and as a standalone product.

Please contact your Customer Success Manager if you’re interested in using Dialpad WFM.

Connect to Zendesk

To connect Zendesk with Dialpad WFM, first, you’ll need to provide Dialpad Support with your Zendesk subdomain.

The subdomain is your organization’s unique Zendesk identifier, — it’s usually included in your URL: https://yoursubdomain.zendesk.com

You can also get a list of Zendesk subdomains that your email address is associated with from the Remind me page.

Once we've let you know your subdomain is added, you'll be ready to finalize the connection in Dialpad WFM.

From your Dialpad WFM settings:

  1. Navigate to Integrations

  2. Select Customer service

  3. Select Connect to Zendesk

  4. Enter your Zendesk login credentials

Dialpad will download 12 months of historical ticket data from your Aircall account. This process will take 24-48 hours to complete, depending on your ticket volumes.

Set up forecasting with Zendesk

Once Dialpad WFM and Zendesk are connected, you can map your Zendesk tickets to WFM queues.
A WFM queue should represent the views, inboxes, or queues that your team works on in Zendesk. For example, a Tier 1 inbox or a French language queue.

To create a queue for your Zendesk tickets:

  1. Select Forecasts

  2. Select Queues

  3. Select New queue

  4. Name the queue

    1. We recommend using the same name you use in Zendesk.

    2. The 'real-time' and 'non real-time' setting does not apply to Zendesk.

  5. From the connections dropdown, select Zendesk

Now, use the Filter Queues section to choose which tickets you want to include in this queue.

You can filter tickets by:

  • assignee_id — Displays tickets based on specific agent name(s)

  • channel – Displays tickets based on the selected channel(s) where the interaction occured (ex. Facebook, web forms)

  • created_at — Displays tickets based on the date when the ticket was created

  • group_id — Displays tickets based on the Zendesk group name

  • problem_id — Displays tickets based on a Zendesk problem ID

  • requester_id — Displays tickets based on the name of the person who requested the ticket

  • satisfaction_rating — Displays tickets based on a specific Zendesk CSAT rating

  • status — Displays tickets based on their status (ex. open, pending, closed)

  • tags — Displays tickets based on their Zendesk tags

  • view_id — Displays tickets located in a specific Zendesk view

On the right, you’ll see a preview of the number of tickets you received in the last 7 days that match your filters. We recommend checking this against the data in your Aircall account to ensure you've set up the filters correctly.

Next, you need to enter the staffing parameters for this queue.

These inputs turn ticket volumes into a staffing requirement.

  • Average conversation/interaction time: The average handle time for the entire conversation.

  • Concurrency: How many interactions an agent can handle at once.

    • For phones, this should always be 1, as agents can only handle 1 call at a time.

  • Shrinkage: The percentage of scheduled time that's lost while agents work in this queue.

    • If you're not sure what you're shrinkage is, 30% is industry average.

Finally, you need to enter the service level (SLA) that you're trying to achieve.

This is target percentage of all tickets that should meet your first response time target.

That’s it! Your ticket group is now set up and ready to forecast, track coverage and agent performance. 

Set up agent tracking with Zendesk

To set up agent tracking with Zendesk, you’ll need to create a Webhook.

First, contact our team to get your integration URL.

Next, you need to authorize the new connection from Dialpad to Zendesk.

Once connected Dialpad, will start tracking agent actions and behavior in Zendesk. Data on their performance will be shown in Dialpad WFM on the Performance page.

Once the Webhook is set up, you’re ready to start linking activities with queues.

To correctly mark agent activity as 'on-task' or 'off-task', you need to define which activities are 'queue activities', i.e. agents should be working in Zendesk at this time.

  1. Navigate to the day view of the schedule

  2. Select Add activities

  3. Select the activity you want to link to a forecast

  4. Select Edit

  5. Toggle Link to a forecast on

  6. Select the queue(s) from the dropdown

Set-up is complete! You can now monitor agent's Zendesk presence and activity in the real-time page and performance page.

Frequently asked questions

What ticket data does Dialpad retrieve?

Dialpad can only see your ticket volumes, not ticket content. Content is redacted when we collect your data.

Which agent actions are tracked in Zendesk?

Dialpad WFM tracks agent’s interactions with tickets in Zendesk to create comprehensive activity timelines and performance metrics.

These interactions are categorized as follows:

  • Status Changes

    • Tracks when an agent changes the status of a ticket assigned to them (e.g., OPEN to CLOSED)

    • Records when tickets are reassigned, including the first time it’s assigned

      • The interaction will be labeled with the ticket's status at reassignment (e.g., OPEN)

      • The interaction will be attributed to the new assignee, not the agent who did the reassigning

      • Status changes to unassigned tickets are not tracked

  • Comments

    • Captures when an agent sends messages or responses to customers.

    • Captures when an internal note is added to a ticket

    • The interaction will be attributed to the author, not necessarily the ticket assignee

    • Note: Side Conversations are not tracked.

Dialpad WFM uses generic ticket status categories to fit with multiple integrations. The equivalent mapping for Zendesk is as follows:

Ticket status

Zendesk equivalent

OPEN

Open

ON-HOLD

Pending

CLOSED

Resolved, Closed