--- sourceDocument: Yokohama ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/servicenow-platform Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities ft:clusterId : - platcap bundleId : - platcap workflow : - Platform --- # Work assignments # Work assignments {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Yokohama * * Updated January 30, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Work assignments Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) in ServiceNow Yokohama release automates pushing work items to the most qualified agents based on specified assignment criteria. After routing work items to queues and agent groups, AWA selects agents using assignment rules focused on capacity or time since last assignment, optionally considering agent skills. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Assignment Rules:** * **Most capacity:** Assigns work to agents with the highest availability for a channel. * **Last assigned:** Assigns work to agents who have waited the longest without a new assignment. * **Agent Interaction Settings:** Admins can configure whether agents can reject work, automatically accept chats, and set timeouts for accepting or rejecting tasks. * **Skill-Based Assignment:** Enables routing based on agent skills and skill levels. Skills can be mandatory or evaluated for sufficiency, improving assignment precision. Agents with more matching or sufficiently leveled skills are prioritized. * **Assignment Process:** AWA checks queue priorities, identifies eligible agents based on presence, capacity, skills, and assignment rules, then pushes work items to the best-qualified agent's inbox. ## Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers * Configure assignment rules to optimize workload distribution based on agent availability or fairness. * Implement skill-based routing by defining agent skills, creating assignment rules that evaluate or enforce skill levels, and setting mandatory skill requirements if needed. * Use auto-assign and reject settings to streamline agent workload acceptance and reduce delays. * Set up work item queues with routing conditions and assignment groups aligned with skills for precise work routing. ## Expected Outcomes By leveraging AWA, customers can ensure work items are assigned efficiently to the most capable agents, improving response times and service quality. Skill-based assignments increase the likelihood that work is handled by agents with the appropriate expertise, enhancing resolution effectiveness. Configurable acceptance and rejection policies help manage agent workloads dynamically and maintain balanced distribution. After routing work items to the appropriate queues and corresponding agent groups, Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) pushes work to the most qualified agent using the assignment criteria that you specify. Assignment criteria revolve around the type of assignment rule (most capacity or last assigned) and whether skills are defined. Administrators can choose to push work items to agents based on one of these assignment rules: * Most capacity: This option pushes work to agents that have the most capacity (availability for work) for a given channel. For example, suppose that two available agents, Agent 1 and Agent 2 have different capacities. Agent 1 has capacity for three chats, but Agent 2 has capacity for two chats and is currently working on one chat. AWA assigns the next work item to Agent 1 with the most capacity. * Last assigned: This option pushes work to the agent who has gone the longest without a work assignment in the service channel. If more than one agent has the same spare capacity in a service channel, AWA creates and assigns the next work item to the agent who has gone the longest without work in the service channel. {#awa-assignment__ul_twr_x5t_cgb} In addition to selecting the assignment rule, AWA admins can also determine whether: * Agents can reject work items. * Agents automatically accept chat interactions. * A timer is used to set a timeout period (the length of time that an agent has to reject or accept a work item). * Agent skills are to be considered during assignment. {#awa-assignment__ul_gqc_g1p_dgb} ## Assignment process {#awa-assignment__section_qxl_kcp_dgb} When an agent is available, AWA: * Checks the queue priority and gets an item from the queue with the highest priority. AWA also reviews items that have timed out or have been rejected by agents. * Identifies the eligible assignment pool. The eligibility assignment pool widens the group of agents who are eligible to work on an item. * Determines the available agents based on their presence state, the assignment rule selected (most capacity or last assigned), and also skills, if defined. Agents have spare capacity when they decline, transfer, or complete a work item. For example, after an agent transfers a chat, the agent has additional capacity. * Pushes the item to the inbox of the most qualified agent (the timer begins). * Accepts work items automatically when Enable auto-assign work items is selected. Agents are unable to manually Accept or Reject work items. {#awa-assignment__ul_hdp_gq4_dgb} ## Skill-based work assignment {#awa-assignment__section_v4n_ncp_dgb} In AWA, you can enable skill-based assignment and if needed, evaluate skill levels and make skill assignment mandatory (required). The basic process for setting up skills involves the following steps: 1. Identify agents that have specific skills (for example, a foreign language or expertise in a certain area such as network routers), and then assign the skills to those agents using the Skills Management feature. 2. Make the agents members of the assignment groups for the work item queues involving those skills. 3. Create an assignment rule in AWA that enables skill handling for the specific skills. If you chose to select the Evaluate skill level option while creating the assignment rule, AWA also reviews agents' skill levels prior to assigning the work item to the most qualified agent. If multiple agents have the same number of matching skills, agents with more skills at the sufficient skill level are prioritized over agents with fewer skills at the sufficient level. For example, a chat comes through listing three skills at a high skill level. Agent A and Agent B both have the three skills. Agent A has three skills with the following skill levels: two high and one low. Agent B has three skills with the following skill levels: one high and two low. In this example, Agent A would be the first assignee of the work item because they have more skills with the sufficient skill level than Agent B. Agent B would only be assigned this work item if Agent A rejected the work. AWA also prioritizes the number of matching skills over the number of skills with the sufficient skill level. For example, a chat comes through listing two skills and their sufficient skill levels: Both the English skill and the Databases skill are associated with an advanced skill level. Agent 1 has both skills but only at the beginner skill level. Agent 2 has only the English skill at the sufficient advanced skill level but doesn't have the Databases skill. In this example, the chat is routed to Agent 1 because this agent has both skills even though they aren't at the sufficient skill level. If you also chose to select the Enforce mandatory skills option while creating the assignment rule, AWA only assigns the work item to agents that have the mandatory skills at the sufficient skill level. For example, a work item with two high-level associated mandatory skills and one optional skill is ready for assignment. Agent C has all three skills but only one of the mandatory skills at the sufficient high skill level. Agent D has only the two mandatory skills, but both skills are at the sufficient high skill level. In this example, Agent D would be the only applicable work item assignee because they are the only agent with both mandatory skills at a high enough level. 4. Create the work item queue with a routing condition that includes the specific skill, and include the appropriate group in the eligible assignment pool. 5. Create a scripted business rule that includes the skill in the table associated with the relevant service channel (for example, the Case table). {#awa-assignment__ol_usr_m2p_dgb}During work assignment, AWA routes and assigns work items to the Agent Workspace inbox of the most qualified agent based on the agents skills and if applicable, skill level and mandatory skill settings. * **[Configure agent assignment rules](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/X0_RgTcf4x1KECLMY4XKIA)** Set the Advanced Work Assignment criteria for assigning work items to agents. Choose the assignment rule that considers the agent with the most capacity or the agent who has gone the longest without work. Establish the settings for the auto-assign handling, reject handling, and skill handling related lists. **Related concepts** * [Advanced Work Assignment home page](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Wd1PNoMiYt8Wt5qtHoWtyg "Explore, implement, and maintain ServiceNow Advanced Work Assignment using a home-page experience. Discover AWA, install relevant plugins, and configure settings for AWA through the Advanced Work Assignment home page available to admins.") * [Service channels](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/5t9FJiWsjRwHNOlVA4Z~2w "Provide customer support by automatically routing incoming work to agents through service channels.") * [Work items](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/u~jHTlQpHL9ULAWUp5PARg "View Advanced Work Assignment work items using the Work Items menu options.") * [Using Agent Affinity](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nNHmvcUchgwSN7i4JkWSOw "Agent Affinity is an Advanced Work Assignment feature that lets you assign work items by an agent's work history, related task, or account team affinity.") * [Agent Inbox controls](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/x7i1eMTygMVoUm21ZfNvHw "Control certain elements of the agent experience in Agent Workspace. Define the agent presence (availability) states and the work item rejection reasons used by agents to decline work assignments in their Agent Workspace inbox.") * [Advanced Work Assignment Inbox Sentiment display](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dYNZowrhGk8ooEsBxMuC2A "Surface the sentiment in AWA Inbox for agents to get the visibility of requester sentiment ( if available) during live agent handoff or agent transfer for all channels.") * [Wrap up overview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/yUy6RybTWyfJut8~FyiJfQ "When agents close an interaction, the wrap up feature enables them to enter closing details and wrap up codes for future reference.") * [Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/IivMVQZwO4rV7orc6brNCA "Configure Advanced Work Assignment properties using the Management menu options.") * [AWA group queue priorities](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Wm1xADTIBCbUHGcs2tR99A "Use the group queue priority feature to set a queue or work item preference for a given group of agents. For a given group or agent with limited capacity, this feature controls which queues should be preferred if matching work items are found in both.") **Related tasks** * [Get started with Advanced Work Assignment](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/05NHc_mXecZZkvDMuHFmCw "To implement Advanced Work Assignment, complete these initial configuration and setup steps.") * [Install Conversational SMS service channel](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/7bjsf2CNPqMGS~UkZF0JZg "You can install the Conversational SMS service channel application (sn_awa_sms_int) if you have the admin role. The application installs related ServiceNow Store applications and plugins if they are not already installed.") * [Activate Agent Affinity](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/DIuzTNN5XR6bK4izO1G~Zw "You can activate the Agent Affinity plugin (com.glide.awa.agent_affinity) if you have the admin role.") * [Activate Conversational Messaging](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZsGtlxiwEGaC3yGxvM1gaw "You can activate the Conversational Messaging plugin (com.glide.messaging.awa) if you have the admin role.") * [Configure messaging actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/4bzgSeJqs_7GTu6MNO3e2g "Create or modify messaging actions that are performed when an event occurs. These actions apply only to messaging.") * [Enable logging for Advanced Work Assignment](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/XtAqAYgRb~TQTdpvJ6yV8g "Enable logging to monitor AWA routing and assignment.")