Light Agents - Collaboration Without a Full Licence

In a modern company, good customer service is often the result of close collaboration across departments. Knowledge from sales, finance, logistics and product development can be crucial for solving complex customer needs, but it is not always practical or cost-effective to give everyone a full Zendesk licence. Light agents can be used as a strategic and cost-effective solution that supports information sharing between customer support and the rest of the organisation.

What Is a Light Agent?

A light agent in Zendesk is a user role for internal collaborators who need insight into support processes without being part of the day-to-day support team. The role makes it possible to follow relevant tickets and contribute professional knowledge when necessary.

The core of the light agent role is limited access. Unlike a full agent, a light agent cannot perform actions that directly affect a ticket's lifecycle, such as creating, assigning or closing tickets. The role is primarily aimed at observation and internal comments and is therefore well suited to:

• Consult: Contribute specialised knowledge without full agent access.
• Stay informed: Keep up to date on customer problems within their own area.
• Collaborate: Take part in internal discussions about a ticket.

The role is relevant for employees in sales, finance, legal, technical or management roles who occasionally need to interact with support tickets. A light agent licence is typically significantly cheaper than a full agent licence, which can reduce costs while at the same time strengthening internal collaboration.

Light Agent vs. Other Roles

To clarify the differences, the light agent can be compared with other user types in Zendesk.

The table shows that the light agent role provides read and internal commenting access without the operational permissions and costs that come with a full agent.

Strategic Areas of Use for Light Agents

The use of light agents should be based on concrete business needs. Typical scenarios where the role creates value are described below.

1. Internal cross-functional collaboration

This is the most common use. Departments that work close to the customer, but are not part of the support team, can gain relevant insight.

• The sales team: Can see tickets from existing customers that mention upgrades, new needs or potential problems. This can support proactive sales opportunities and retention. Internal comments can add context about contract or history.
• The finance team: Can gain access to tickets about billing, payments and pricing models. This can make it possible to quickly confirm payments, explain refund rules or handle complex billing questions, so that support agents are relieved.
• The logistics and operations team: Can follow tickets about shipping, delivery and product faults. This can provide real-time updates on shipping status or confirm whether a fault is known and being handled.

2. Access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

When support agents encounter very complex or technical problems, input from experts can be necessary.

• Technical specialists: Engineers or developers can be added as light agents to provide technical solutions directly in the ticket without separate calls or emails.
• Product specialists: Employees with deep product knowledge can review solutions and ensure that the answer to the customer is correct and complete.
• Legal advisers: In the case of complaints or questions about GDPR and terms, a legal light agent can contribute qualified input in the internal thread and reduce the risk of errors.

3. Management oversight and escalation

Managers may need an overview without taking part in day-to-day operations.

• Team leads and managers: Can monitor the status of important customer tickets, follow escalations and form an overview of the workload without a full agent licence.
• C-level escalation: A CEO or CTO can be added as a light agent on selected critical tickets to follow developments closely and make decisions on an informed basis.

In Depth: Capabilities and Limitations

To avoid misunderstandings, it is important to know what a light agent can and cannot do.

What a Light Agent Can Do

• See tickets: Can see tickets within the groups the role is a member of. Access can be further restricted via views.
• Comment on tickets: Can add internal comments (visible to agents, but not to the customer). Public replies to the customer are not possible.
• Access the Help Center: Can read publicly available articles in the Help Center.
• Receive notifications: Can receive email or Slack notifications when @mentioned or when there are updates on tickets being followed.
• Use side conversations: Can take part in internal conversations (side conversations) with external parties such as Slack or Microsoft Teams directly from the ticket.
• See CCs: Can see who is CC'd on a ticket.
• Add and see attachments: Can upload files to internal comments and see attachments in the ticket.

What a Light Agent Cannot Do

• Create tickets: Cannot create a new ticket.
• Edit tickets: Cannot change the subject, description or other fields.
• Assign tickets: Cannot assign a ticket to themselves or others.
• Change status: Cannot change the status to, for example, Open, Pending or Solved.
• Use macros: Cannot use predefined reply templates (macros).
• Add tags: Cannot add or remove tags.
• Edit custom fields: Cannot interact with fields that are configured to control workflows.
• Access the Admin Center: Has no access to system settings, reporting or configuration.

Implementing Light Agents in Zendesk

Rolling out light agents requires planning, so that correct access is granted and the role is clearly defined.

Preparation: Before Creating the First Light Agent

1. Identify users: Prepare a list of employees and departments that need access.
2. Define needs: Clarify which information is necessary, which tickets need to be visible, and whether internal commenting is required.
3. Plan the group structure: Create groups in Zendesk that reflect the teams the light agents come from (e.g. Finance, Sales, Technical Experts). This is an effective way to manage access.
4. Check the Zendesk plan: Verify that the current plan supports the light agent role.

Step by Step: Creation and Configuration

1. Navigate to the Admin Center: Go to Admin Center (the cog icon) → People → Team members.
2. Add a new user: Click Add team member.
3. Enter user details: Fill in the name and email address.
4. Select the correct role: Under Role, select Light agent in the dropdown menu.
5. Assign groups: Assign the relevant groups from the preparation. This is crucial for ticket access.
6. Save the user: Click Add.

Advanced Configuration: Precise Access Control

For more targeted access, groups can be combined with other features:

• Views: Create views that only light agent groups can see, e.g. Billing - Awaiting input for the finance team's light agents.
• Custom roles: On the Enterprise plan, a custom role based on the light agent role can be created to further restrict permissions, for example by removing access to see CCs.

Best Practices for Maximum Value

The following guidelines can support a successful implementation:

1. Define clear roles and areas of responsibility: Clarify the purpose of the role to both the support team and the light agents, including when comments should be added and what is expected.
2. The principle of least privilege: Grant only the necessary access. Start with view only and add commenting access when needed.
3. Use group-based access: Organise light agents into groups for simpler administration and consistent access control.
4. Train light agents: Provide a basic introduction to Zendesk, including how tickets are found, internal comments are added, and @mentions are used correctly.
5. Establish a communication protocol: Use @mentions to involve relevant light agents instead of separate emails, so that communication is gathered in the ticket.
6. Review and audit regularly: Review the use quarterly: relevance, actual use and the need to add new employees.

Return on Investment (ROI) and Cost Aspects

A significant driver is cost saving, since a light agent licence typically costs a fraction (often 50-70%) of a full agent licence.

The primary value (ROI) also lies in indirect gains:

• Reduced handling time: Faster answers from experts can reduce the customer's waiting time.
• Higher customer satisfaction: More precise and well-informed answers.
• Increased efficiency: Specialists can contribute without being interrupted in their primary tasks.
• Better internal knowledge sharing: Knowledge is shared across departments, and the support team can learn from the experts' input.

Investing in light agents can thus support a more collaborative support setup.

Concrete Use Cases in Practice

Use case 1: The sales team and value proposition

A customer asks about the possibility of a volume discount on a product. The support agent @mentions the Sales Team group. A light agent from sales reviews the purchase history and comments internally: "This customer is a VIP customer. A 15% discount can be offered. Use the discount code VIP15." The agent can then give the customer a precise answer.

Use case 2: The finance team and refunds

A customer is dissatisfied with an invoice that they feel is incorrect. The agent adds the Finance group as a follower and writes: "@Finance team, can invoice #12345 be confirmed as correct?" A light agent from finance replies: "The invoice is correct, but there was an error in the first payment. It has been corrected now." The agent can then give the customer a clear explanation.

Use case 3: Technical expert and product fault

A customer reports a fault that the support team has not seen before. The agent escalates by @mentioning the Technical Expert group. A developer (light agent) comments: "The problem is recognised. It is a known bug in version 2.1, and a fix is ready for next week. The customer should be informed of this." This reduces the need for extensive troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting and Common Challenges

Even with good planning, challenges can arise.

Problem: The light agent cannot see the tickets that are expected.

• Solution: The cause is typically incorrect group membership. Check membership of the group that owns the relevant tickets. Also verify whether there are specific views that need to be used.

Problem: The light agent cannot add a comment.

• Solution: Check that an internal comment is being added. Public replies are not possible. If internal comments cannot be added either, there may be an error in the role configuration.

Problem: The light agent receives too many notifications.

• Solution: Adjust the notification settings in the user profile. Instead of following all tickets in a group, notifications can be limited to cases where they are @mentioned directly.

Problem: Lack of clarity about when to use a light agent vs. a full agent.

• Solution: This is handled via training and communication. Hold a short meeting where the roles are reviewed, and prepare an internal guide with the differences and typical use cases.

Next Steps with Light Agents

Implementing light agents is an ongoing process where internal collaboration can be optimised over time.

1. Start small: Designate one or two departments with the greatest need and carry out a pilot project.
2. Measure success: Track relevant metrics, e.g. handling time for complex tickets and the number of internal comments from light agents.
3. Gather feedback: Obtain input from both agents and light agents about what works and what can be improved.
4. Roll out more broadly: Use the experiences from the pilot project to roll out the role to more teams.

By using the light agent role, knowledge sharing can be strengthened, and the customer can receive faster and more precise answers, which can improve the overall service experience.