Overview
In our helpdesk, ticket creators were often misidentified as generic system users, leading to delays and poor visibility. To solve this, we developed a rule-based system that analyses email history to automatically identify and link employees to tickets, without relying on AI. This has resulted in a significant improvement in ticket routing efficiency and communication, providing clear ownership and accurate reporting from the moment a ticket is created.
The Challenge
In modern helpdesk systems, one of the most frustrating issues is losing track of who actually created a ticket. When employees send emails to help desks, the system often displays generic names, such as "Numla Bot" or "System User," in the "Created By" field instead of the actual person who submitted the request.
This creates several challenges:
Poor visibility
HR and support teams can't quickly identify who needs help.
Inefficient routing
Tickets can't be properly prioritised or assigned based on the requester.
Communication gaps
The actual employee might not be included in follow-up communications.
Reporting issues
Analytics become meaningless when most tickets show the same system user.
Our Solution Approach
Instead of depending on AI models, we developed a straightforward, rule-based system that intelligently identifies employees through email analysis and user lookup.
Smart Employee Identification Logic
Our identification system uses a three-step priority approach to ensure accuracy and performance. The logic first checks the most reliable source (the ticket creator) before falling back to analysing email messages.
The process works as follows:
1. Check Ticket Creator
First, the system checks if the user account that created the ticket (create_uid) is a known, non-system user. If their email matches an employee record, the process stops here.
2. Analyse Email History
If the creator is a system user, the system analyses the ticket's message history, starting with the oldest message, to find the first email address sent by a human. It intelligently filters out system addresses (like noreply@) and forwarded headers.
3. Employee Database Lookup
Once a human email is found, it's cross-referenced with the hr.employee database (checking both work and personal emails) to find a match.
4. Update Ticket Automatically
When a match is confirmed, the employee’s data is automatically linked to the ticket, ensuring visibility from the start.
Results and Benefits
The implementation produced immediate and measurable improvements across the helpdesk workflow. By quantifying the outcomes, we can see the true impact of the solution.
Immediate Improvements
Reduced Manual Handling
With employees correctly identified, automated routing rules reduced manual assignment and identification time by an average of 3 minutes per ticket.
Improved Communication
Employees are now automatically added as followers, ensuring they receive all updates and leading to a 40% reduction in follow-up inquiries.
Data-Driven Insights
Analytics are now based on accurate user data, enabling meaningful reports on ticket volume by department and employee.
Long-term Value
Enhanced Employee Experience
Employees receive timely, relevant communication about their requests, boosting satisfaction.
Increased Agent Productivity
Support agents spend less time on administrative tasks and more time solving problems.
Compliance and Audit-Ready
A clear, unbroken audit trail now exists for every request, from creation to resolution.
Foundation for Further Automation
With reliable user data, we can now build more advanced automation, such as department-based routing or SLA policies based on employee level.
Final Thoughts
By focusing on practical automation instead of complex AI, we achieved a smarter and faster helpdesk process. This simple yet effective approach shows how rule-based logic can still deliver powerful results, improving accuracy, accountability, and employee experience within Numla HR.