How Pliancy Streamlines Internal Support Across Slack and Zendesk with ClearFeed

Company Goal

Pliancy's mission is to empower innovative companies with tailored IT solutions that transform technology into a strategic advantage, allowing clients to navigate complex landscapes with confidence and adaptability.

https://pliancy.com/

HeadQuarters

San Francisco, CA

Industry

Software Development

Key Features Used

Triage Channels Ticketing System for Slack Slack - Zendesk Integration Ticketing Forms for Zendesk

Summary

Challenge
Pliancy faced challenges in managing internal support as the company expanded. Slack was widely used for real-time communication and collaboration, but the increase in support requests led to a disorganized environment. The absence of integration between Slack and Zendesk resulted in platform silos, making it difficult to manage and prioritize support requests. Manual processes for ticket creation and a lack of visibility into service metrics further compounded the inefficiencies.

‍Solution
‍Pliancy implemented ClearFeed to create a seamless workflow between Slack and Zendesk, allowing internal support requests to be managed more effectively. ClearFeed helped bridge the gap between real-time communication in Slack and the structured support management in Zendesk, eliminating platform silos and streamlining internal processes. This solution enabled Pliancy to centralize support requests, automate routine tasks, and ensure efficient follow-up on unresolved issues, leading to better coordination across teams and improving overall support response times.

‍Impact
‍The implementation of ClearFeed significantly improved Pliancy’s internal support process. By automating key support workflows, the team was able to focus more on resolving issues rather than managing them. The streamlined integration between Slack and Zendesk allowed for faster response times and better tracking of requests, leading to a more organized support environment. With improved efficiency, Pliancy successfully handled increasing support volumes without additional staffing, enhancing both productivity and internal satisfaction.

About Pilancy

Pliancy provides tailored IT solutions that empower innovative companies to harness technology as a strategic advantage. Specializing in IT management, cloud solutions, and cybersecurity, Pliancy helps its clients navigate complex technology landscapes with ease. Through a focus on personalized service and strategic partnerships, Pliancy enables businesses to achieve their goals, knowing their technology infrastructure is robust, adaptable, and secure.

Optimizing Internal Operations with a Collaborative Support Model

In fast-growing companies, the efficiency of internal operations is crucial to maintaining overall business momentum. As Pliancy scaled, so did the complexity of its internal workflows, particularly in handling internal support requests. From IT troubleshooting to operational challenges, the volume of support queries increased dramatically, requiring faster response times and better cross-departmental collaboration.

To manage this influx of internal requests, Pliancy’s support system is divided into specialized teams, each handling distinct areas:

Escalations Team: Provides support for complex technical issues, troubleshooting, and maintaining internal applications.
Cloud Technologies Team: Handles the installation, maintenance, and deployment of cloud services (AWS/GCP/Azure).
Infrastructure Team: Manages networking, including VPNs, firewalls, and system upgrades.
Data Team: Oversees data management, ensuring accurate reporting and accessible data flow.
Internal Operations Team: Supports all internal operations, from hardware setup to software maintenance.

Combining Slack’s Agility with Zendesk’s Structured Issue Management

To facilitate a high level of internal collaboration and responsiveness across internal teams, Pliancy adopted Slack as a primary communication channel. This involved setting up dedicated Slack channels categorized based on the nature of the issues reported, allowing employees to raise requests efficiently. Slack’s agility empowered the support teams to respond in real time, enabling rapid problem-solving through constant cross-team collaboration.

However, for more complex requests that couldn’t be resolved quickly, Zendesk was used to provide the structured oversight necessary. For tickets that remained unresolved for over 24 hours, Zendesk’s tracking and management capabilities ensured thorough follow-up and resolution.

The Challenges

While Slack significantly improved the immediacy and efficiency of Pliancy’s internal support, it also presented several challenges in the initial setup.

Influx of Slack Requests: As the number of employees and Slack channels grew, so did the volume of support requests originating in Slack. This surge created a chaotic environment, making it difficult to track and close requests efficiently.
Platform Silos: The lack of integration between Slack and Zendesk led to isolated systems, complicating the process of tracking and managing support queries across different platforms.
Disorganized and Manual Request Management: The team struggled to manage and prioritize the influx of Slack-based requests, spending too much time manually filing Zendesk tickets from Slack threads. This inefficient process led to delays in resolution and diverted attention from more critical tasks.
Inability to Track Service Metrics in Slack: The team struggled to monitor key service metrics within Slack, such as who was handling specific requests, the status of those requests, and overall resolution rates, making it difficult to gauge performance and ensure timely resolutions.

These challenges highlighted the need for a more streamlined and integrated Slack-first ticketing system that could enhance the efficiency of handling support requests in Slack and integrate seamlessly with their ticketing system, Zendesk.

"More metrics, more info is always appreciated"

Migration from Halp to ClearFeed

Pliancy first implemented Halp to streamline ticket management in Slack. However, Halp's limited functionalities and eventual shutdown prompted Pliancy to evaluate tools in the market that offer:

Ease of Use and Integration: The solution needed to be user-friendly and easily integrated into their existing workflow without disrupting daily operations.
Bi-Directional Integration: It should facilitate seamless communication and data exchange between Slack and Intercom, ensuring updates are synchronized in both directions.
Automate Ticket Creation: To reduce the manual workload and ensure that no internal request slipped through the cracks.

The ClearFeed Advantage

ClearFeed enabled Pliancy to streamline support across Slack and Zendesk, enhancing internal team efficiency across the organization.

Unified View of Customer Requests: Before ClearFeed, tracking and prioritizing incoming requests in Slack was chaotic, with some requests even slipping through the cracks. With the ClearFeed Triage channel, all customer requests are now centralized in one place, ensuring better alignment and prioritization of requests across channels.
Effective Ticket Routing: ClearFeed allows Pliancy employees to create tickets with a single click or via Slash commands in Slack. ClearFeed then automatically routes these requests to the appropriate Slack channel and ensures they are directed to the correct queue in Zendesk. This ensures tickets are efficiently managed and reach the right team members for timely resolution.
Two-way Sync Between Slack and Zendesk: Bi-directional integration gives teams the flexibility to work from either Slack or Zendesk with all conversations including attachments, status updates, and private comments in sync in real-time across both platforms.
Creating and Importing Forms from Zendesk to Slack: The team can raise Zendesk tickets directly from Slack. The system is configured to prompt employees across departments to fill out Zendesk Forms from Slack, ensuring all necessary information is captured.
Efficient Tracking of Ownership and Status of All Customer Requests: Each customer request is auto-assigned to the representative who first responds, ensuring clear ownership from the start. The request status is regularly updated, giving internal teams a shared understanding of who is responsible and the current progress, promoting efficient tracking and resolution.
Access to Service Metrics in Slack: ClearFeed provides essential service metrics such as request load, response times, time to closure, and first touch resolution rates directly within Slack. These metrics are crucial for Pliancy in tracking resource usage, monitoring performance, and assessing individual contributions.
Centralized Platform to Manage All Support Requests: ClearFeed serves as a single app for Pliancy employees to manage support requests across different teams, all within Slack. Employees can raise tickets, receive updates, and filter open tickets directly from the ClearFeed app.

Results

The implementation of ClearFeed brought about significant improvements in Pliancy’s internal support processes:

Increased Efficiency: By automating the ticket creation and assignment processes, ClearFeed freed up the internal support team to focus on resolving issues rather than managing them. This led to faster resolution times and a more streamlined workflow.
Efficient Handling of High-Volume Requests: With ClearFeed’s Slack-first helpdesk, Pliancy has significantly elevated its support capabilities. The team effectively manages around 400+ tickets each month across 5 different Slack channels, demonstrating a robust and efficient internal support system.
Reduced Administrative Burden: By reducing manual effort for ticket categorization, assignment, and updates, ClearFeed facilitates smoother operational workflows. This allows teams to focus more on resolving issues efficiently rather than getting bogged down by administrative tasks.

Before & After ClearFeed Comparison Table

Wrapping Up

Pliancy's implementation of ClearFeed has transformed its internal support system. By integrating Slack and Zendesk, ClearFeed provides a unified platform for efficient request management, enabling Pliancy to focus on innovation and delivering exceptional services. This enhancement in internal support has solidified a lasting partnership with ClearFeed, setting the stage for continued success.

If you are curious to learn how ClearFeed can streamline and enhance your support in Slack, contact us at support@clearfeed.ai or book a free customized product walkthrough with our support experts.

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How Pliancy Streamlines Internal Support Across Slack & Zendesk and Enhances Support Efficiency With ClearFeed