Assignments answer one question quickly: who is responsible for the next reply? That answer matters even when everyone can see the conversation. Without it, a team can send two replies, leave a customer waiting, or assume someone else is handling the request.

Use assignments for ownership, and use notes for the context around that ownership. They solve different parts of the handoff.

1. Open the customer conversation

From Inbox, select the conversation that needs an owner. Read the latest messages first, then check the contact profile so you do not take work that another teammate is already handling.

If the conversation is resolved but the customer has returned, reopen it before you start the new piece of work.

WATeamInbox inbox with guidance for finding unassigned conversations — Use the assignment filters to find work without an owner instead of scanning the whole inbox. The queue and counts shown here are synthetic demo data.

2. Check who owns it

The contact profile includes an Assignment section. It shows the current owner and when the assignment started. If no one owns the conversation, it will say so clearly.

An existing owner is a useful signal, not a reason to stop communicating. If the customer has replied and the owner is away, follow your team’s handoff rule and make the change visible.

3. Assign the next action

If you are taking the work, choose Assign to me. In workspaces where your role includes broader assignment access, use the available controls to select the teammate who should act next.

Do not assign a conversation just to make the list look tidy. Assign it to the person who can make the next decision or send the next useful reply.

WATeamInbox contact panel showing assignment and assignment history — The contact panel shows the current owner and assignment history beside the conversation. The names and dates shown here are synthetic demo data.

4. Add the context a teammate needs

A good handoff note is short and specific. Include:

what the customer is asking for
what has already been promised
what is waiting on another person or system
the next action and its deadline, if there is one

For example: “Customer approved the replacement. Warehouse needs to confirm stock before Maya replies tomorrow morning.” That is more useful than “Please follow up.”

Use a shared note for information the next person should see. Keep personal reminders in a private note when the detail is not part of the team’s shared process.

WATeamInbox contact panel with an assigned owner and shared handoff note editor — Save the owner and the next action together so a teammate can continue without a separate private summary. The names and note shown here are synthetic demo data.

5. Finish the handoff

The outgoing teammate should make sure the assignment and note are saved, then leave the conversation in the right state. The incoming teammate should read the thread and note before replying.

When the work is complete, resolve the conversation. When it is waiting, leave it pending and make the reason clear in the note.

A simple assignment rule

If a conversation has an unanswered customer message, it has an owner. If the owner changes, the reason and next step are visible. If no action remains, the conversation is resolved.

That rule is easy to teach and gives a manager a clear queue without turning the inbox into a meeting.

Keep going

Try the workflow with one real conversation.

Create a small Cloud workspace and test the handoff with a teammate, or use the open-source application on infrastructure you control.

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