> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.harmony.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.harmony.io/settings/managing-service-desks-and-teams.md).

# Managing Service Desks and Teams

{% hint style="info" %}
**Path:** `/settings/desks`
{% endhint %}

### Understanding Service Desks

#### What are Service Desks?

A **service desk** is a top-level unit that organizes support work. Each desk has a name, emoji, description, inbox email, and members. Desks contain **teams** (also called subdesks), which group agents and can have their own working hours and routing. Tickets belong to a desk and are routed to teams and agents based on your configuration.

#### Understanding Desk Structure

Each desk has:

* **Main team** - A special default team (`main`) for the desk
* **Custom teams** - Additional teams with names, timezones, descriptions, working hours, and members
* **Desk members** - People who can work on the desk; team members must be desk members first

Desks also have settings for email inbox, automation, SLA, notifications, tags, custom fields, and canned responses. Access these from the desk's settings pages.

#### Understanding Desk Hierarchy

**Desk → Teams.** A desk is the parent. Teams are children. Routing can send tickets to a specific team based on the team's timezone or description (configured at the desk level).

***

### Managing Service Desks

#### Creating a New Desk

1. Go to **Settings** → **Desks**.
2. Click **Create Desk**.
3. Create a custom desk or choose a predefined template:
   * **Custom** - Enter name, emoji, and description.
   * **From template** - Select a template that preconfigures common desk setups (IT, HR, Legal, Finance, Workplace, Marketing, and Security).
4. Click **Create**.

While filling in the description, you can click **Improve with AI** to generate a polished, routing-optimized description automatically. Enter your raw notes or key points about the desk's purpose and the AI rewrites them into a clear, precise description that helps your agent route conversations accurately. The AI uses tailored prompts for each of the seven predefined templates and a general fallback for custom desks. It is also aware of your other active desks to minimize ambiguity between them.

![Desks list with Create Desk button](/files/nVUwpORkVTGkIDJbXpAV)

![Create Desk modal (custom vs template)](/files/3WvIVNf6NrWkB2bL5mQZ)

#### Editing Desk Settings

1. Open a desk from the Desks list.
2. Use **Edit** (or the desk header) to change the name, emoji, and description. Editing opens a focused modal so you can make changes without leaving the current page.
3. On template-based desks, the desk name and emoji remain fixed to preserve their core identity. You can update the description at any time to influence how Harmony's AI agent classifies and routes incoming tickets.
4. On custom desks, all fields - name, emoji, and description - are fully editable at any time.

You can also use **Improve with AI** in the Edit Desk dialog to regenerate the description from new notes at any time.

Desk descriptions now support up to **1,000 characters** (increased from 500), giving you more room to provide detailed context and routing guidance. Your unsaved changes are also preserved if you switch browser tabs while editing.

#### Configuring Desk Details

{% hint style="info" %}
**Path:** `/settings/desks/$deskId`
{% endhint %}

From the desk overview, you can configure:

* **Email** - Enable email-to-ticket, set inbox address, and choose whether CC'd addresses become watchers.
* **Members and teams** - Add/remove desk members and manage teams.
* **Automation** - Assignment rules, status management, auto-close, surveys.
* **SLA** - Response and resolution targets by priority.
* **Notifications** - Destinations for ticket created, status changed, SLA breach.
* **Tickets** - Tags, custom fields.
* **Templates** - Canned responses.

![Desk overview with Email, Members, Automation, SLA tabs](/files/GiNU5OvKgl7rMARDJVIH)

#### Hiding and Reordering Desks

You can hide desks you don't need to reduce clutter and reorder visible desks to match your team's priorities. These controls are available from the Desks list and keep your support environment organized and focused on what matters most.

#### Deleting a Desk

1. Open the desk and go to **Settings** or use the delete option.
2. Confirm by typing the desk name.
3. The desk and all associated tickets are permanently deleted.

![Delete confirmation dialog with name confirmation](/files/Clqfjf25lNedSjntjd8V)

#### Understanding Desk Status

When the disabled-desks feature is enabled, desks can be turned on or off. Use the **Enabled** toggle in the desk header. Disabled desks no longer receive new tickets and may be hidden from some views.

***

### Configuring Desk Members

{% hint style="info" %}
**Path:** `/settings/desks/$deskId/members`
{% endhint %}

#### Adding Members to a Desk

1. Go to **Settings** → **Desks** → select a desk → **Members** tab.
2. Click **Add Member** (or use the command/search popover).
3. Search for employees and add them to the desk.

![Members tab with Add Member and member list](/files/8KEfHI0Gk0egJxKN14PH)

All team members must first be desk members.

#### Adding Members When SCIM Is Enabled

When SCIM user management is active, desk membership is normally controlled through your Identity Provider (IDP) groups. You can now supplement that SCIM-managed membership by manually adding specific employees to a desk on a per-desk basis. Manually added members extend access beyond what the IDP group provides without overriding or disrupting your existing SCIM configuration.

#### Removing Members from a Desk

1. Open the **Members** tab for the desk.
2. Find the member and click **Remove**.
3. You must remove a member from all teams before removing them from the desk. If they're still on a team, remove them from the team first.

#### Understanding Member Roles

Member roles depend on your configuration:

* **Legacy mode** - All members appear as "Admin."
* **Groups-based mode** - Roles come from access management. Use **Manage users** (main desk) or the Add Member popover (team view) to assign roles. Options are provided by the access-management integration.

***

### Managing Desk Teams

Teams and desk members are managed together from a unified settings page, with separate tabs for each. Each team has a name, timezone, and description, and can be deleted at any time - members return to the desk and existing ticket assignments are preserved.

#### Creating Teams

1. Go to the desk → **Members** tab → **Teams** sub-tab.
2. Click **Create Team**.
3. Enter team name, timezone (default from desk or browser), and description.
4. Configure auto-assignment directly in the creation dialog (see [Configuring Team Auto-Assignment](#managing-team-settings) below). All auto-assignment options pre-populate with the desk's current settings so you have a sensible starting point.
5. Click **Create**.

The **Teams table** displays an "Auto-assignment" column so you can see at a glance which teams have auto-assignment active and which rely on desk-level logic.

The Create Team dialog also shows a **"Selected routing method" badge** indicating whether timezone-based or description-based routing is currently active for the desk, so you know which team property - timezone or description - is most important to fill in.

![Create Team dialog and Teams list](/files/71q1sU9ALpvY1YyGN04G)

#### Editing Team Details

{% hint style="info" %}
**Path:** `/settings/desks/$deskId/teams/$teamId`
{% endhint %}

1. Open the team from the Teams list.
2. Use **Edit** to change name, timezone, and description.

The Edit Team modal also shows a **"Selected routing method" badge** so you can see which routing property is currently driving ticket assignment for this desk.

#### Deleting Teams

1. Open the team and use **Delete Team** (or the delete option in the Teams pane).
2. Confirm. You are redirected to the desk members view.

#### Managing Team Members

**Adding members to teams**

1. Open the team detail page.
2. Click **Add Member**. The popover shows two sections:
   * **Desk Members** - Employees already on the desk.
   * **Employees** - Everyone else in your organisation not yet on the desk.
3. Selecting someone from the **Employees** section shows a confirmation dialog explaining they will be automatically added to the desk before being added to the team. The entire flow completes in one place without navigating away.

**Removing members from teams**

1. Open the team's members list.
2. Click **Remove** next to the member.

**Assigning team roles**

When groups-based member management is enabled, team members use the same role model as desk members. Three team-level roles are available:

| Role              | Access                                                                                                                                           |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Team Manager**  | Full read/write access to tickets assigned to their team, plus the ability to manage team configuration via **Settings > Desks > Team Settings** |
| **Team Operator** | Full read/write access to tickets assigned to their team                                                                                         |
| **Team Observer** | Read-only access to tickets assigned to their team                                                                                               |

These roles give support organisations finer-grained control over ticket visibility across subdesks, addressing privacy and operational boundary needs. Assign roles via the member management UI.

#### Configuring Team Routing

Desks have a **routing method** that determines how tickets are assigned to teams:

| Method                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Route by timezone**    | Tickets are routed to the team whose timezone matches the ticket context. Ensure all teams have a timezone configured.                                                                                                            |
| **Route by description** | The AI agent routes based on each team's description. Write clear descriptions of what each team handles. Team descriptions can use natural language; the AI classifies incoming tickets to the most relevant team automatically. |

Set this in the desk's Members/Teams area under **Settings > Desks > \[Your Desk] > Members & Teams > Teams tab**. Changing the routing method now prompts a **confirmation dialog** warning you of the impact before the change takes effect, helping you avoid accidental misrouting.

***

### Configuring Working Hours for Teams

#### Understanding Working Hours

Working hours define when a team (or the main desk) is "open" for SLA calculations. Outside working hours, SLA timers typically pause. Each team and the main desk can have their own schedule.

#### Setting Up Working Hours

1. Open the desk or team settings.
2. Find **Working hours**.
3. Choose **24 × 7 support** (always open) or **Custom working hours**.
4. For custom hours, set timezone and enable/disable each day with start and end times (30-minute steps).

![Working hours section with 24/7 and Custom options](/files/oBjZHYgFygep3kq7Ahpt)

#### Configuring 24/7 Availability

Select **24 × 7 support** to have the desk or team count as always available. SLA timers run continuously.

#### Understanding Working Hours Impact on SLA

* **Desk SLA** - Uses the main desk's working hours (and holidays).
* **Teams** - Inherit working hours and holidays from their parent desk by default, but these can be overridden at the team level.
* **Holidays** - Use the **Holiday calendar** section to add custom holidays or import a country calendar. Teams can inherit the desk's holiday calendar.

***

### Configuring Desk Settings

#### Configuring Desk Automation

From **Settings** → **Desks** → *desk* → **Automation**:

* **Auto-assignment** - Choose method: round-robin, least-loaded, fixed, or first-responder. Set scope (agents) at desk or team level.
* **Status management** - Auto status: reporter reply → "In Progress"; agent reply → "Pending Reporter."
* **Auto-close** - Mandatory close comment; auto-close resolved/pending after inactivity; reminder hours; auto-close linked tickets by link type and eligible statuses.
* **Require closing comment** - When enabled, agents must leave a comment before closing a ticket to ensure every closure is properly documented. When closing multiple tickets in bulk, a single modal appears so agents can submit one comment that applies to all affected tickets. This setting is off by default and can be enabled per desk at any time.
* **Surveys** - Enable/disable satisfaction surveys; optional reminder after X hours.

#### Setting Up Desk Notifications

From **Settings** → **Desks** → *desk* → **Notifications**:

Configure destinations for:

* **Ticket created**
* **Ticket status changed**
* **SLA breach**

Destinations can include Slack, Teams, and other configured channels.

#### Configuring Desk SLA Policies

From **Settings** → **Desks** → *desk* → **SLA**:

Set response and resolution targets by priority (Urgent, High, Medium, Low). Working hours for the main desk determine when SLA timers run. See the Automation and SLA guide for details.

#### Configuring Ticket Settings per Desk

From **Settings** → **Desks** → *desk* → **Tickets**:

* **Tags** - Create, edit, and delete tags (name, color; system vs custom).
* **Custom fields** - Define custom fields (type, mandatory, internal, description, options).

#### Managing Team Settings

Per-team settings:

* **Working hours** - 24/7 or custom; option to inherit from desk.
* **Holiday calendar** - Use desk holidays or configure team-specific holidays.
* **Auto-assignment** - Configure when creating the team or update afterward. Choose from the same methods as the desk (round-robin, least-loaded, etc.), scoped to team members. Auto-assignment is disabled by default for new teams so members follow desk-level logic until you explicitly enable it.

***

### Related Resources

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Automation &#x26; SLA</strong></td><td>Configure assignment, status, auto-close, and SLA targets</td><td><a href="https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/configuring-automation-and-sla/README.md">https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/configuring-automation-and-sla/README.md</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Ticket Settings</strong></td><td>Custom fields, tags, and canned responses</td><td><a href="https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/managing-ticket-settings/README.md">https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/managing-ticket-settings/README.md</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Service Desk &#x26; Tickets</strong></td><td>How to create and manage tickets in the service desk</td><td><a href="https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/understanding-service-desk-and-managing-tickets/README.md">https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/understanding-service-desk-and-managing-tickets/README.md</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Organizing Tickets</strong></td><td>Table views and filters for tickets</td><td><a href="https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/organizing-tickets-and-table-views/README.md">https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/organizing-tickets-and-table-views/README.md</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Service Desk Metrics</strong></td><td>Analyze desk performance and SLA</td><td><a href="https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/analyzing-service-desk-metrics/README.md">https://github.com/harmonyso/public-docs/tree/main/guides/analyzing-service-desk-metrics/README.md</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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