The Timer node allows you to explicitly pause the workflow / add a time delay for a set duration of time. Trigger escalation emails, send reminders, grant access to agents for a stipulated time, and much more using the Timer nodes.
Note: This feature is in public beta and will be accessible to customers from all plans from July 28th, 2022.
How to use the Timer node?
There are two sections in the Timer node
1. Timer to set amount of time
Add time delays between two nodes by selecting a certain amount of days, hours, minutes, or seconds in the timer node.
Note: Minimum time supported is 60 seconds or 1 minute, Maximum time delay is 60 days.
2. Timer to specify business or calendar hours.
Specify delay and execute workflow actions based on business or calendar hours
Business Hours can be derived automatically for Ticket workflows or defined manually.
Execution Logic
Once a timer starts, any subsequent workflows with a matching event will also execute based on the order of execution.
The timer node doesn’t prevent other workflows from executing on the same record as is the case for approvals.
Note: The Timer Node along with other workflows having multiple events configured may lead to unexpected results.
Sample use-cases
Usecase 1 - Send escalation mail to SD Manager if the ticket is unassigned for a specific time
Navigate to Admin → Automation & Productivity → Automation → Workflow Automator.
If your account has more than one workspace:
To modify global workflows, navigate to Admin > Global Settings > Automations & Productivity > Automation > Workflow Automator
To modify workspace-level workflows, navigate to Admin > Workspace Settings > {Workspace Name} > Automations & Productivity > Automation > Workflow Automator
Important Note:
Workspace admins can view the list of global and local workflows applicable to their workspace.
The global workflows execute first, followed by the workspace-level workflows, to allow for the workspace-level workflows to take precedence over the global workflow.
For example, A global workflow can be configured to route tickets to the right workspace based on the subject/description.
Choose New Automator in the top right corner.
Select Event-based Workflows and choose Ticket module.
Create an event to be a Service request is raised.
Drag and drop the timer node to specify the time delay. Set the timer for 30 mins based on the business hours.
Pull in the condition block to check if the ticket is assigned to an agent.
Finally, if the condition satisfies add an action block to send an email to the SD manager.
Usecase 2: Temporarily grant access to an agent for a stipulated amount of time for troubleshooting during a major incident.
Navigate to Admin → Automation & Productivity → Automation → Workflow Automator.
If your account has more than one workspace:
To modify global workflows, navigate to Admin > Global Settings > Automations & Productivity > Automation > Workflow Automator
To modify workspace-level workflows, navigate to Admin > Workspace Settings > {Workspace Name} > Automations & Productivity > Automation > Workflow Automator
Important Note:
Workspace admins can view the list of global and local workflows applicable to their workspace.
The global workflows execute first, followed by the workspace-level workflows, to allow for the workspace-level workflows to take precedence over the global workflow.
For example, A global workflow can be configured to route tickets to the right workspace based on the subject/description.
Select Incident is raised from the event block.
Drag and drop the condition block to check if the incident is Major Incident.
Note: Create a custom drop-down field to categorize the type of incident. Check here to know how to create custom fields
Using the App node (Okta), add the user to the Okta identity provider. To know how to add a user to Okta refer here
Pull in the timer node to add a time delay of 5 hours based on the calendar hours.
Pull in the App node (Okta) to remove the user from the group.
