Help Scout Round Robin and Conversation Routing for Support Teams
Help Scout can route unassigned conversations on its own, but only in two ways: alphabetical round robin on Plus, and fewest active assignments on Pro. That is fine for a small desk of equals. It stops being fine when you have a billing specialist, a weekend rota, or a VIP mailbox with a response promise. This page shows exactly what native Help Scout routing does, how it interacts with Workflows, and where a routing layer adds what is missing.
In short
Help Scout routing is set per inbox under Settings, Inboxes, Routing. Plus includes round robin, which assigns one by one in alphabetical order. Pro adds Balanced, which picks the teammate with the fewest active assignments. Teammates who are Away or at their assignment limit (up to 100) are skipped, and Workflow assignments bypass routing eligibility.
Why it fits
For a head of support or a Help Scout admin on a team of five to forty, who sees conversations pile on the first name alphabetically, specialists drowning while generalists idle, or after hours conversations landing on someone off shift, and who is deciding whether the next plan tier or a separate routing layer fixes it.
Round robin here is alphabetical, not weighted
Help Scout describes round robin as assigning conversations one by one in alphabetical order. There are no weights, so a part time teammate takes the same share as a full time one unless you use an assignment limit to cap them.
Balanced needs Pro
The Balanced method gives each conversation to the teammate with the fewest active assignments. It is documented for Pro only, so a Plus desk that wants load aware routing has to move up a tier or add a layer.
Away status is the only availability signal
Routing skips teammates whose status is Away and those at their assignment limit. It does not read a shift calendar or time off. Someone who forgets to switch to Away at the end of the day keeps receiving work.
Workflows bypass routing rules
Help Scout states that assignments made through Workflows, like manual ones, are not subject to routing eligibility. A workflow that assigns every refund conversation to one person will hand it over even if that person is Away or over the limit.
A routing layer adds the missing inputs
Assigner decides the owner from round robin, weighted rotation, load balancing, skills and live availability, using shift schedules and time off, and records why each person was chosen. It sits beside the helpdesk and does not replace it.
Side by side
How each Help Scout assignment option picks the person
| Option | Where it lives | How it selects | What it ignores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round robin routing | Inbox Routing, Plus and Pro | Alphabetical rotation among eligible teammates | Weights, skills, shifts, conversation size |
| Balanced routing | Inbox Routing, Pro | Fewest active assignments | Skills, shifts, conversation size |
| Assignment limit | Inbox Routing | Skips teammates at the limit, up to 100 | Which conversations are heavy |
| Workflow assign action | Workflows | The person or team you name | Away status and assignment limits |
| Manual assignment | Conversation view | Whoever the sender picks | Everything above |
| Assigner beside Help Scout | Assigner Starter or higher | Round robin, weighted rotation, load balancing, skills, availability | Nothing hidden, each assignment records the reason |
Based on the Help Scout routing help article and the Help Scout pricing page, read November 1, 2026. Plan and feature names change, so confirm in your own account.
In detail
Set up Help Scout routing so it holds under load
Turn routing on per inbox
Open Settings, Inboxes, choose the inbox, then Routing. Switch routing on, pick the method, add teammates or teams with Add Teammate, and save. You need the Inbox: Manage Routing permission. Routing is configured inbox by inbox, so a support inbox and a billing inbox can use different rotations.
Know what gets routed
Routing covers all active, unassigned conversations in the Unassigned folder, not only new ones that arrive after you enable it. The longest waiting conversations are assigned first. If you switch routing on in a messy inbox, expect a burst of assignments to the first eligible people in line.
Use assignment limits as your capacity control
Set a per teammate limit of up to 100 assignments. Teammates at or above the limit are skipped until they drop below it. If nobody is eligible, new conversations stay unassigned until someone becomes eligible. That is a silent backlog unless you watch the Unassigned folder, so put it on a dashboard or an alert.
Keep workflows and routing from fighting
A workflow that assigns by tag or subject overrides the eligibility checks, so it can send work to an Away teammate. Use workflows for deterministic ownership such as one named person for chargebacks, and leave everything else to routing. Review workflows whenever someone leaves the team.
Know where the native model stops
Alphabetical rotation and fewest assignments treat a one line shipping question and a three day refund dispute as the same unit. They also know nothing about languages, product lines, or who works Saturday. Teams patch this with more inboxes and more workflows, and the setup becomes hard for anyone new to explain.
Where Assigner fits beside Help Scout
Assigner is a routing layer that chooses an owner using round robin, weighted rotation, load balancing, skills and live availability, with shift schedules and time off, and shows the reason for every assignment. It is priced per user, so you pay for the people who receive work. It is configuration work to connect, not a one click native app.
Test with a week of real conversations
Replay a recent week. Count how many conversations reached someone who was off shift, how many specialist conversations went to a generalist, and the gap between your busiest and lightest teammate at close of day. If those numbers are small, stay native.
Questions buyers ask
Frequently asked questions
Does Help Scout have round robin?
Yes. Round robin routing is part of the Plus plan, and Pro adds a Balanced method. Round robin assigns conversations one by one in alphabetical order among eligible teammates. It has no weights or skills, so it suits teams of similar roles and capacity.
How do I set up round robin in Help Scout?
Go to Settings, Inboxes, pick the inbox, then Routing. Turn routing on, choose Round Robin, add teammates or teams with Add Teammate, and click Save. You need the Inbox: Manage Routing permission, and routing is set separately for each inbox.
Which Help Scout plan includes routing?
Plus includes round robin routing and Pro includes round robin and Balanced. The Standard plan does not list routing on the pricing page. At the time of reading, Standard is $25, Plus $45 and Pro $75 per user per month on monthly billing.
What is Balanced routing in Help Scout?
Balanced assigns each conversation to the eligible teammate with the fewest active assignments. It is available on Pro. It is load based but treats every conversation as the same size and ignores skills and shifts.
Why is Help Scout not assigning conversations?
Check that routing is switched on for that inbox, that teammates are Active and not Away, and that they are under their assignment limit. If nobody is eligible, conversations stay unassigned until someone is. Also confirm the conversation is in the Unassigned folder.
Do Help Scout workflows respect routing rules?
No. Help Scout states that assignments made through Workflows, like manual assignments, are not subject to routing eligibility. A workflow can assign to a teammate who is Away or at their limit.
Can Help Scout route by skill or language?
Not within a single routing rotation. You can add teams or separate inboxes per language and use workflows to send conversations there, but selection inside a rotation is alphabetical or by fewest assignments. A routing layer adds skill based selection.
Is there an assignment limit in Help Scout routing?
Yes. You can set a limit per teammate of up to 100 assignments. Teammates at or above the limit are skipped by routing until they drop below it.
What does Assigner add beside Help Scout?
Assigner adds weighted rotation, skills, live availability from shifts and time off, and a recorded reason for every assignment. It is priced per user, from Starter at $7 per user per month billed yearly, with a five user minimum.
Keep reading
More on helpdesk assignment, rotation and pricing.
- Help Scout pricing - Plans, per user costs and what each tier adds.
- Support ticket routing - Route every request to the right agent by skill and load.
- Gorgias auto assign - Fewest tickets assignment and where a router adds skills.
- Round robin ticket assignment - Rotation policies compared with load based assignment.
- Skills based routing - Send each item to the person best matched by expertise.
Stop hand-sorting your incoming work
Let Assigner route it to the right available person by skill, workload, and availability, using rules you control. Nothing sits unassigned and no one gets cherry-picked. Every assignment shows why.