7Collaboration Best Practices

Lead with action and name an owner

Use these guidelines when crafting messages in Collaboration:

• Start each message with what needs to be done and by when, and then add context.
• Always name a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) so recipients know who is driving the outcome.

Target narrowly and respect guardrails

Use these targeting principles to keep communication focused and effective:

• Prefer Group, Organizational Unit, Bucket, or Location plus Radius targeting over wide “send to all” messages.
• The UI limits Conferences to 1,000 participants and Broadcasts to 25,000 participants so messages remain fast and relevant.

Mobilize by proximity when time matters

Use these proximity-based practices for urgent situations:

• Use Location plus Radius to reach the closest on-shift resources during scenarios such as SLA rescue or outage containment.
• Include the activity link and a clear, concrete ask such as time window or skill required.

Make Helpdesk ownership explicit

Use these practices to ensure clarity in Helpdesk workflow:

• Helpdesk operators Take Chat to accept a request and Transfer with reason to escalate.
• Use Away during coverage gaps so new requests route only to available operators.
• To create Helpdesk: Configuration > Subsystems > Collaboration > Collaboration
• To assign Operators: Resources > Set Collaboration Group (Assign Operators).

Execute fast handoffs in-thread

Use these best practices to ensure clean ownership transitions:

• Share first for context, then transfer the activity or inventory.
• The recipient accepts or rejects so accountability remains clear.
• Inventory moves typically happen in a one-to-one chat to maintain clean ownership.
• Go to Configuration > User Types and enable Activity Move via Chat and Inventory Move via Chat.

Use visibility-initiated chats wisely

Apply these practices when initiating chats based on visibility:

• Start one-to-one or group chats with any visible resources when speed matters - no prebuilt group is required.
• Governance rules apply: only the initiator can add more users by visibility; others can add members of their Collaboration Groups.
• Create a Group when you need a persistent cohort.

Keep notifications purposeful

Use these notification best practices:

• For Helpdesk: enable pop-ups during busy windows; otherwise triage using the Notifications list and unread badges.
• For mobile workers: allow OS notifications and launch the mobile app once to register the push token. On Android, ensure the user is logged in and the app can run in the background.
• Pair acknowledgment-required Broadcasts with targeted follow-ups such as Past Participants instead of re-broadcasting.

Drive signals from Message Scenarios

Use these practices for system-driven alerts:

• For system events such as assignment failure or SLA risk, use Message Scenarios → Delivery Channel = Collaboration so alerts are read-only and auditable.
• Target Resource for contextual routing or use a static address for Users, Groups, or Helpdesks.

Bring in visual assist when it shortens time-to-fix

Use these guidelines when launching Zoom:

• Start Zoom from a chat for safety checks, part or label verification, or complex diagnosis.
• Summarize outcomes in the thread, and handle recording and privacy according to your tenant policy.
• To enable Zoom: Configuration > User Types and enable Allow initiation of Zoom meetings.

Automate the front door with ODA and hand off with context

Use these practices to streamline intake with Oracle Digital Assistant:

• Let ODA answer common questions and collect basics such as activity ID and photos.
• Allow ODA to create a Helpdesk request when a human should take over.
• Keep bot posts short, escalate early, and attach context so the first human reply is actionable.

Plan integrations with structure in mind

Use these principles when integrating Collaboration with external systems:

• Link Groups to Organizational Units or Buckets to inherit membership in the UI.
• For provisioning and reporting, remember that APIs reflect direct group assignments; inherited membership is UI-only.
• Call this out in integration runbooks to avoid cases where expected users are missing.

Standardize message templates and tags

Use standardized templates to keep communication consistent:

• Maintain a small library of approved templates (three-line structure: what, impact, when) with consistent tags such as [Safety], [Weather], [SLA].
• Always include the activity link, the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI), and when needed, an acknowledgment window.
• Keep each message focused on one clear ask.

Protect privacy and reduce risk

Apply these practices to maintain compliance:

• Avoid customer PII in Broadcasts; move sensitive details to Helpdesk or one-to-one chats.
• For Zoom, follow your recording and privacy policy and reference outcomes in the thread rather than sharing raw customer data.
• Use System Messages for high-signal alerts without initiating a conversation.

Measure what matters (starter scorecard)

Use this scorecard to track performance and improvements. Each metric should have a clear owner and review cadence:

• Helpdesk time-to-take (≤ 10 minutes) — Desk Lead — weekly
• Broadcast read/acknowledge in window (≥ 90% in 30 minutes) — Supervisor — daily
• Transfer accept rate (≥ 80%) — Dispatch Lead — weekly
• SLA rescues (+10–15% vs. baseline) — Operations Manager — monthly
• Repeat visits (≤ 7 days) (−10% vs. baseline) — Operations Manager — monthly

Pilot, learn, and lock improvements

Use these guidelines when running operational pilots:

• Pick two to three use cases and define the metric to influence.
• Test variations in message copy or targeting—change only one variable at a time.
• Capture feedback from the field and Helpdesk to identify what helped and what created noise.
• Keep, kill, or tweak templates and targeting rules based on lessons learned.

Escalation and approval thresholds

Use these rules to manage large-audience messaging and operational risk:

• Choose the right channel:
  • Broadcast = one-way, urgent or important
  • Conference = collaborative work
  • Helpdesk = owned triage
• Require a named DRI and manager approval above a defined audience threshold (for example, more than 5,000 recipients).
• For safety or compliance, prefer System Messages with an acknowledgment window and audit notes.
• For customer-impacting changes (such as ETAs or cancellations), coordinate with dispatch so external communication matches what was sent in the application.

Operational Communications Standards

Use the table below to determine which channel to use in common operational situations:

Situation	Use	Why	Owner
Urgent, one-to-many alert (safety, outage, weather)	Broadcast (read-only)	Fast reach and read/acknowledge visibility	Supervisor or Dispatcher
Multi-party collaboration to resolve a live issue	Conference	Real-time coordination with clear history	Incident Lead or Dispatcher
Individual clarification or handoff	One-to-one Chat	Focused, actionable, minimal noise	Any role
Field support request needing triage or ownership	Helpdesk	Queued intake, Take Chat, transfer with reason	Operator or Desk Lead
System event that must be visible and not discussable	System Message	High-signal alert recorded in History	Admin or Automation

Tip: When you need both reach and discussion, send a Broadcast first and then open a Conference for the working group.