To organize the customer service flow and ensure conversations reach the correct teams, Papo (https://papo.global/) allows you to associate specific inboxes with teams of agents. The process is done in the "Settings" area, by selecting the desired inbox and adding the teams or agents in the "Agents" tab, automatically directing new messages to the responsible parties.
Organizing who handles each channel is fundamental for operational efficiency. As your company grows, it's common to have dedicated teams for Sales, Support, Finance, among others. Directing messages from a specific channel (like a WhatsApp number for sales) only to the sales team prevents other departments' inboxes from becoming cluttered and ensures the customer is served by the right specialist.
Why Associate Inboxes with Teams?
Linking channels to specific teams brings organization, agility, and focus to your customer service. Instead of all messages from all channels reaching all agents, you create specialized service queues.
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Organization | Each team (Sales, Support, etc.) only views conversations relevant to them, keeping the inbox clean and focused. |
| Efficiency | Messages are automatically directed to the correct agents, eliminating the need for manual transfers and reducing first response time. |
| Specialization | Allows teams with specific skills, such as technical support or sales negotiation, to operate where they are most effective. |
| Security and Control | Ensures that only authorized agents have access to conversations from certain channels, protecting sensitive information. |
For example, you can have a "Sales - Instagram" inbox associated only with the Sales team and a "Support - WhatsApp" inbox associated exclusively with the Support team.
Step-by-Step to Associate an Inbox with a Team
The process for defining which agents or teams will have access to an inbox is simple and quick. Only users with administrator permission can perform this configuration.
- In the Papo dashboard's sidebar menu, click the Settings icon (gear).
- In the settings menu, select the Inboxes option. You will see a list of all channels your company has connected (WhatsApp, Instagram, Email, etc.).
- Locate the inbox you want to configure and click its corresponding Settings button.
- A new settings page for that inbox will open. Click the Agents tab.
- On this screen, you will see a list of all registered agents in your Papo account. Select the agents who should have access to this inbox.
- After selecting all desired members, click the Update button to save the changes.
From this moment on, only the selected agents will be able to see and respond to conversations that arrive through that channel.
Creating and Managing Teams to Facilitate Assignment
For companies with many agents, adding agents one by one to each inbox can be laborious. Papo allows the creation of Teams to simplify this management.
Instead of assigning agents individually, an administrator can:
- Create a team (e.g., "Level 1 Support Team").
- Add all support agents to that team.
- In the inbox settings, instead of selecting agents one by one, simply select the "Level 1 Support Team".
This way, all current and future members of that team will automatically have access to the designated inbox, optimizing permission management as the team grows or changes. Team creation is done in a specific section within the account settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can associate inboxes with teams?
Only users with an administrator profile in the Papo account have permission to access the "Settings" menu and manage inboxes, including associating agents and teams.
What happens if an agent is not associated with any inbox?
If an agent is not added to any inbox, they will not see any conversations on their service screen. They will only have access to conversations from the inboxes they have been explicitly associated with.
Can I associate the same inbox with more than one team?
Yes. You can associate an inbox with multiple agents and/or multiple teams. This is useful for scenarios where, for example, a "VIP Service" channel needs to be monitored by both the Support team and Sales managers.
When I add a new agent to my account, will they automatically have access to inboxes?
No. By default, a new agent does not have access to any inbox. An administrator needs to manually add them to the correct inboxes or teams for them to start providing service.
Can an agent belong to more than one team?
Yes, the same agent can be part of different teams. For example, an experienced agent can belong to both the "Sales Team" and the "Training Team", having access to the inboxes associated with both.
How does an agent know which inbox a conversation belongs to?
On Papo's conversations screen, each dialogue is clearly identified with its source inbox (e.g., "WhatsApp Sales" or "Instagram Support"), allowing the agent to have immediate context about the channel through which the customer made contact.
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