How do I assign Tasks in Sprout?

As you work your way through messages in the Smart Inbox, you might come across a question or piece of feedback that may be better suited for someone else. In that case, you can delegate the message to a specific team member by clicking  to assign a task.

This article contains the following sections:

• How do I assign a message as a task?
• How do I manage tasks?
• How are messages tracked against tasks?
• Task FAQs

 

How do I assign a message as a task?

To assign a message as a task:

1. Click .
2. Choose a Task Type:
    
   • General
   • Support
   • Question
   • Feedback
   • Lead
3. Select the Priority:
   
   
   • Critical
   • High
   • Medium - selected by default
   • Low
   • No Priority
4. (Optional) Leave an internal comment to add additional information.
5. Assign the task to a Sprout user from the dropdown. You can assign the task to any team member that you share at least one group with, unless cross-group assignments were disabled.
   You can also Mark Message as Complete, to remove the message from the Smart Inbox view, but keep it in the assignee's Open Tasks. 
   Click Create Task to assign the task.

After you assign a task to a team member, they receive an email and Notification Drawer alert. 

How do I manage tasks?

If you were assigned a task, you can see it in the Tasks section. Tasks are sorted by most recent activity first.

Tasks with blue dots beside them are unread, and the Task Type is displayed as an icon. To the right of that icon, the subject line of each task displays the last action taken. Any items marked as high priority are highlighted by a red bar.

Click a task to view details.

Task details show any and all internal comments associated with the message in view. You can easily reassign the task to another team member by selecting them from the list on the right side of the screen. The new assignee sees all comments and events in the Task Activity section. After you’ve taken the appropriate action, select Close Task before you Save & Exit to close the task.

Access closed Tasks from the Closed Tasks section in the left navigation bar. Deselecting Close Task reopens the task and places it in the Open Tasks section.

Users who don't have admin permissions enabled see a left navigation bar section called Assigned By Me. Selecting this displays all tasks assigned to others by the individual.

Account Owners and users will full admin permissions see a left navigation bar section called All Tasks (Across Team). Selecting this shows all tasks assigned across the team, giving you oversight into your team’s task activities.

How do I use the Tasks filter in the Smart Inbox?

The Tasks filter is a great way to focus on messages that require triage and review. You can also create custom views for tasked messages.

Access the Tasks filter in the Smart Inbox. When you expand the filter, you can:

• Select All Untasked Messages - shows messages that aren't currently tasked.
• Select All Tasked Messages - shows messages that are currently tasked.
• Select All Tasked Team Members or Specific Team Members - shows messages that are tasked AND assigned to any selected team members.
  

How are messages tracked against tasks?

All follow-up messages are added to the task until it’s closed. Once a task is closed, any new messages from the private conversation are considered untasked, and you can add them to new tasks if desired. If you re-open a task, any follow-up messages created after the task was closed will be automatically associated with that task.

FAQs

Can I add or remove individual messages from a task?

No. A single private message is tasked manually, after which the follow-up messages will automatically be added to the task until the task is closed.

How do follow-up messages in Tasks impact the Task Performance report?

The Active Task Time metric remains the same and indicates how long a task remains open after it is assigned to a user, regardless of whether the task includes one or many messages.

Can I reopen any task in a private conversation?

No. The same private conversation may contain many tasks, but only one task in the conversation can be open at a time.

What users are listed in the Tasked Team Members section of the Tasks Inbox filter?

The list of users that is displayed depends on the Cross-Group Assignment setting. When the Cross-Group Assignment setting is enabled, the list of team members includes all users within your Sprout instance, regardless of group. When the Cross-Group setting is disabled, the list of team members includes only users within your current Group.

What happens if a message becomes tasked or untasked and no longer matches the filters I selected?

Make sure to perform a page refresh to ensure the list of messages that appears in the Inbox is accurate.

Why can't I select All Tasked Messages and Team Members at the same time with the Tasks filter?

When you select All Tasked Messages you see all messages that are tasked. When you select All Team Members, you see all messages that are tasked and assigned to any user in the list.