Team Collaboration

Work together effectively for better customer outcomes.

Internal Communication

Internal Notes

Use internal notes to:

• Share context with teammates
• Document customer history
• Explain decisions made
• Leave instructions for handoff

What Makes Good Notes

Include:

• Key customer information
• Steps already taken
• What's been promised
• Recommended next steps

Example good note:

Customer called (verified via phone). They're a 3-year customer,
very frustrated about recurring billing issue. Already escalated
twice before. Promised resolution by EOD tomorrow.
Needs manager follow-up.

Avoid:

talked to customer. seems mad.

@Mentions

Mention teammates for:

• Questions needing their expertise
• Handoffs requiring attention
• FYI on important updates

Use @name for individuals, @team for groups.

Handoffs

When to Hand Off

• Outside your expertise
• Needs specific department
• Escalation required
• Shift ending

How to Hand Off Well

1. Summarize the situation

   • What's the issue?
   • What's been done?
   • What's needed next?

2. Add internal note

   • Full context
   • Customer sentiment
   • Any promises made

3. Assign clearly

   • Specific person when possible
   • Team if person unknown
   • Don't just unassign

4. Notify if urgent

   • @mention in note
   • Slack message for critical
   • Don't assume they'll see it

Bad Handoff

Reassigning ticket with no context.

Good Handoff

@billing - Handoff: Customer needs refund for duplicate charge.

Context: Charged twice on Jan 15 ($99 each). Standard refund
eligible. Customer is frustrated but reasonable.

Already done: Verified duplicate charge, confirmed account.

Next step: Process refund for one of the charges.

Escalations

When to Escalate

• SLA at risk
• Customer requests manager
• Issue beyond your authority
• Technical issue needs engineering
• Potential legal/PR issue

How to Escalate

1. Document everything first

   • Full conversation history
   • Steps taken
   • Why escalation needed

2. Choose right path

   • Manager: Authority issues
   • Technical: Engineering issues
   • Specialist: Domain expertise

3. Communicate clearly

   • What you need from them
   • Customer expectation
   • Timeline if any

4. Stay involved

   • Don't disappear after escalating
   • Follow up on resolution
   • Close the loop with customer

Escalation Note Template

Escalating to: [Team/Person]
Reason: [Why this needs escalation]

Customer issue: [Brief summary]
Customer sentiment: [Happy/Neutral/Frustrated]
Urgency: [High/Medium/Low]

What I've done:
- [Action 1]
- [Action 2]

What's needed:
- [Required action]
- [Decision needed]

Timeline: [Any commitments made]

Knowledge Sharing

Share What You Learn

When you solve something new:

• Add to knowledge base
• Share in team Slack
• Tell teammates who'd benefit

Learn From Others

• Watch how experts handle tickets
• Ask questions in team channels
• Review resolved complex tickets

Team Meetings

Use team time for:

• Difficult ticket reviews
• New issue patterns
• Process improvements
• Celebration of wins

Working Together

Respect Queue Order

• Don't cherry-pick easy tickets
• Handle your fair share
• Help when you're ahead

Help Struggling Teammates

• Offer help without judgment
• Share tips that work for you
• Take tickets if they're swamped

Communicate Availability

Let team know when:

• Taking a break
• In meetings
• Focusing on specific work
• Going offline

Shift Handover

End of Shift

Before you leave:

1. Update all your tickets

   • Current status
   • Next steps needed
   • Any time-sensitive items

2. Flag urgent items

   • What needs immediate attention
   • Any commitments made
   • Escalations in progress

3. Brief incoming shift

   • Quick handover (verbal or written)
   • Top priorities
   • Potential issues

Start of Shift

When you arrive:

1. Check handover notes
2. Review escalations
3. Check overnight activity
4. Ask questions if unclear

Shift Handover Template

[Date] [Shift] Handover

Urgent items:
- Ticket #123: Customer waiting for callback by noon
- Ticket #456: Engineering fix deployed, needs verification

In progress:
- 5 tickets pending customer responses
- 2 tickets waiting on billing team

Notes:
- High volume today (new release)
- Known issue with login, workaround in #123

Communication Tools

When to Use What

Slack Etiquette

• Check channel first (may be answered)
• @mention only when necessary
• Thread replies to keep organized
• Mark resolved questions

Meeting Etiquette

• Have agenda
• Stay on topic
• Follow up with actions
• Respect everyone's time

Conflict Resolution

With Teammates

If you disagree:

1. Discuss professionally
2. Focus on customer outcome
3. Escalate to manager if needed
4. Support final decision

With Other Departments

If blocked by another team:

1. Understand their constraints
2. Find compromise
3. Escalate through proper channels
4. Document for process improvement

Building Team Culture

Celebrate Wins

• Great customer feedback
• Difficult issue resolved
• Team metrics improved
• Individual achievements

Learn From Mistakes

• No blame
• Understand what happened
• Prevent future issues
• Share learnings

Support Each Other

• Everyone has bad days
• Ask "how can I help?"
• Acknowledge great work
• Build each other up

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