Support Team AMER

Welcome to Support Team AMER’s Handbook page

This page documents items specific to the AMER Support Team which we have not yet found a home for in the wider Support Team Handbook.

The intent is to enable AMER Support team members to contribute to results for AMER-specific initiatives, policies, processes and workflows by prioritizing:

1. Transparency, through being handbook first and providing a single source of truth for AMER-specific information.
2. Iteration, through providing a safe space where AMER Support team members can introduce or update AMER-specific policies, workflows and processes without creating confusion and uncertainty for the wider Support Team.

Where appropriate, we should always look to move content from this page into other pages of the wider Support Team Handbook.

General policies

AMER Support Timezone-Aligned Ticket Distribution

Overview

AMER Support ticket work is organized into three distinct, timezone-aligned windows. This model ensures new ticket assignments match your preferred working hours, reduces overhead associated with constant queue monitoring, and improves assignment predictability.

Engineers are expected to take new ticket assignments only during your designated shift window. Outside of this time you are welcome to continue collaborating with ticket work but are not expected to take tickets.

Shift Schedule

Shift	Local Time Window	Team Size	Duration	Note
East	8:00 AM–12:00 PM ET	~20	4 h
Central	11:00 AM–2:00 PM CT	~11	3 h	Designed to flex support for East or West shifts as needed
West	12:00 PM–4:00 PM PT	~11	4 h

How It Works

Ticket assignment during a shift is a collaborative process managed by the rotating shift chair. Usually a manager but engineers are welcome to participate.

1. At the start of the window, the shift chair posts the current ticket queue to the shift’s Slack channel.
2. Engineers pull tickets via self-selection.
3. The shift chair assigns any remaining tickets after engineer self-selection is complete.

Engineer Expectations

During your assigned shift window, you adhere to the following expectations:

• Slack Presence: Be active and responsive in your shift’s slack channel
• Actively Collaborate on getting tickets assigned.
• Proactively communicate if you are stepping out of your workspace.
• Ensure no tickets go below the 1-hour FRT SLA after your shift ends.

Shift Chair Responsibilities

The shift chair runs the distribution window by completing the following tasks:

• Post the ticket queue to the shift channel at the start of each window.
• Run the Shift Ticket Priority List script.
• Highlight any tickets that are about to breach SLA

Shift Assignments

Shifts are assigned based on your preferred working hours. To request a change to your assigned shift, reach out to your manager.

These channels are used for queue posting and active collaboration during the designated shift window:

• #spt_amer_shift_east
• #spt_amer_shift_central
• #spt_amer_shift_west

Success Metrics

The following metrics are tracked to evaluate the effectiveness of the timezone-aligned ticket distribution model:

• FRT SLA attainment % is maintained at or above target.
• Ticket distribution is even across all AMER support engineers.
• Engineers have dedicated time for backlog and project work.