Core Principles

Clear Ownership

Every conversation that needs action should have one owner. Avoid shared ownership or "someone will handle it" situations.

Context Transfers

When assigning, provide context. Don't just reassign - explain why and what's needed.

Right Person, Right Skills

Route based on expertise, availability, and relationship to the contact.

Assignment Operations

Viewing Teams

code

missive_teams action: list

Returns all teams you have access to.

Viewing Users

code

missive_users action: list

Returns all users in the organization.

Assigning Conversations

Use missive_messages action: create with:

code

message: {
  conversation: [conversation_id],
  add_assignees: [user_id]
}

Or filter conversations by assignee:

code

missive_conversations action: list
assignee: [user_id]

Assignment Decision Framework

Route by Expertise

•Technical questions → Technical team member
•Billing issues → Finance/accounts person
•Sales inquiries → Sales team
•Support requests → Support team
•Legal/contract → Legal or leadership

Route by Relationship

•Existing client relationship → Their account manager
•Previous thread history → Person who handled before
•Personal connection → Person they know

Route by Availability

•Check workload before assigning
•Consider time zones
•Respect OOO/vacation status

Route by Authority

•Decisions requiring approval → Manager/lead
•Escalations → Senior team member
•Sensitive topics → Appropriate authority level

Handoff Best Practices

What to Include

When delegating, add a note/post with:

•Why you're assigning to them
•What needs to be done
•When it's needed (if time-sensitive)
•Context they might not have

Example Handoff

code

missive_posts action: create
post: {
  conversation: [conversation_id],
  markdown: "@[Name] - Assigning this to you as it's a billing question. Customer is asking about their last invoice. They're a long-term client, so please prioritize. Let me know if you need any background."
}

What to Avoid

❌ Silent reassignment (no context) ❌ Reassigning without checking capacity ❌ Bouncing back and forth ❌ Assigning to group/nobody

Team Structure Patterns

Functional Teams

•Sales, Support, Engineering, etc.
•Route by topic/request type

Account-Based Teams

•Client A team, Client B team
•Route by customer

Geographic Teams

•EMEA, Americas, APAC
•Route by time zone or region

Tiered Support

•Tier 1: General inquiries
•Tier 2: Technical issues
•Tier 3: Escalations
•Route by complexity

Escalation Patterns

When to Escalate

•Customer is frustrated/angry
•Issue is beyond your authority
•Technical complexity exceeds your knowledge
•Time-sensitive with no clear owner
•Potential legal/PR implications

How to Escalate

•Summarize the situation
•Explain what's been tried
•Clearly state what you need from escalation point
•Assign to appropriate person with full context

Escalation Chain

Know your escalation path:

•First: Team lead/senior
•Then: Department head
•Finally: Leadership

Monitoring Assignments

Your Assignments

code

missive_conversations action: list
assignee: [your_user_id]
closed: false

Team Workload

Check assignment distribution across team by listing conversations filtered by each assignee.

Unassigned Conversations

code

missive_conversations action: list
team: [team_id]

Then filter for those without assignees.

Self-Assignment

When to Self-Assign

•You're the right person for this
•You started the thread
•You have the relationship
•Quick task you can handle

When Not to Self-Assign

•Outside your expertise
•Overloaded already
•Someone else is better suited
•Need authority you don't have

Anti-Patterns

Assignment Ping-Pong

❌ A assigns to B, B assigns back to A ✅ Discuss ownership before assigning

Ghost Assignment

❌ Assign without any context or notification ✅ Always add a note explaining the assignment

Abandon Assignment

❌ Assign and forget about it ✅ Follow up if no action taken

Over-Assignment

❌ Assign trivial things that don't need ownership ✅ Only assign conversations needing clear accountability