Hey Jen, 

This is for Freshdesk but it might work for Freshservice as well. If you go to Admin → Groups → then choose your group you want to set this for.  Under Group Properties you will see Agent Availability Status.  There you can toggle the permissions for your agents to control their status.  

I would also suggest looking at the Agent Shifts, this can help with the turning on and off of agent availability. 

Hope this helps!

Sara

Preventing agents from removing themselves from auto ticket assignment entirely may not be feasible depending on the capabilities of your ticketing system. However, there are several strategies you can employ to mitigate this issue and ensure even ticket distribution:

1. Policy and Communication: Establish clear policies regarding auto ticket assignment and communicate them effectively to your agents. Emphasize the importance of maintaining even ticket distribution for efficient workload management.

2. Training and Education: Provide training sessions or resources to educate agents on the benefits of auto ticket assignment and the impact of uneven ticket distribution on team performance.

3. Regular Monitoring: Monitor agent activity regularly to identify any agents who consistently remove themselves from auto ticket assignment. Address any concerns or issues they may have and provide additional support if needed.

4. Incentives: Implement incentives or rewards for agents who consistently adhere to auto ticket assignment policies and maintain even ticket distribution.

5. Automation Rules: Configure automation rules within your ticketing system to bypass the "do not auto assign" status for agents who consistently remove themselves from auto ticket assignment. You can set up rules to automatically reassign tickets to these agents or distribute them evenly among other agents.

6. Custom Development: Depending on the flexibility of your ticketing system, you may be able to develop custom solutions or plugins to enforce auto ticket assignment policies more effectively.

7. Regular Review: Conduct regular reviews of your auto ticket assignment settings and policies to ensure they align with your team's evolving needs and address any emerging issues.

By implementing these strategies, you can mitigate the impact of agents removing themselves from auto ticket assignment and ensure more equitable ticket distribution across your support groups.

Preventing agents from removing themselves from auto ticket assignment entirely depends on the ticket management system you are using. Generally, most ticket management systems provide administrative controls and permissions that allow administrators to enforce certain policies regarding ticket assignment.

Here are some steps you can take:

1. Policy Enforcement: Check if your ticket management system allows administrators to enforce policies regarding ticket price assignment. This may include preventing agents from opting out of auto-assignment or setting minimum thresholds for auto-assignment.

2. Agent Training and Communication: Ensure that agents understand the importance of even ticket distribution and the impact their actions have on the workload distribution among teams. Sometimes, better communication and training can mitigate the issue.