10.1 Enhancements for Help Desk (GetHelp) Release

Frontline Education is pleased to announce the latest enhancements for Help Desk (GetHelp), which introduces a new "District Settings" feature, as well as the ability to integrate with Frontline Central to create onboarding tickets.

Release Overview

Highlights include:

• "District Settings" page
• Frontline Central integration to create onboarding tickets

District Settings Page

The latest Help Desk release introduces District Settings, a powerful new configuration area designed to give Admins greater control over global settings that impact users, permissions, and system behavior across the entire district.

Now, from the Admin dropdown, you can access District Settings, under Notifications.

The "District Settings" page now holds the district:

• Timeout Selections - Admins can configure districtwide idle timeouts to log inactive users out automatically after a set period, enhancing security and session control.
• Tickets Generated by Email - Enable or disable the ability to generate tickets from incoming emails, and define the default problem type and priority for those tickets.
• HCM Integration - Enables automatic ticket creation in Help Desk when a new staff member is hired in Frontline Central, helping ensure technology and support are ready on day one.

Frontline Central Onboarding Integration

We are excited to introduce a powerful new integration that connects Frontline Central (HCM) with Frontline Help Desk. With this enhancement, your onboarding process becomes more seamless, automated, and collaborative across departments, ensuring new staff members are set up for success from day one.

When a new staff member is onboarded in Frontline Central, the system will automatically generate a Help Desk ticket, notifying the appropriate teams (e.g., Technology, Finance, Operations, HR) that onboarding tasks need to be completed. This ticket acts as a launchpad for all the services and access the new employee may need, from email account creation and badge printing to systems access and equipment setup.

Key Benefits

• Automated onboarding workflows - Eliminate the need for manual followups between HR and support departments. Tickets are generated instantly, ensuring no steps are missed.
• Cross-departmental visibility - Everyone involved in new-hire setup, from IT to Facilities, is aligned around one centralized request, reducing communication gaps and duplicate work.
• Faster time-to-productivity - New staff have the tools, credentials, and access they need before they even walk in the door.
• Consistency and compliance - Standardize onboarding procedures across the district with predefined ticket templates and problem types tied to new hires.

Setting Up a Nightly Onboarding Export from Frontline Central to Help Desk

To enable the HCM Integration with Help Desk, your district will need to configure a nightly export in Frontline Central that pushes key onboarding data directly into Frontline Help Desk. This ensures support teams are automatically notified when a new employee is hired and can begin their onboarding workflows promptly.

Steps to Complete in Frontline Central

Create Two Export Templates

• Assignments Report: Named “HelpDesk_AssignmentExport”
  • Assignment Reports can only export one report. If the report gets renamed or fields are removed from the report, your integration will stop working. 
• Staff Data Report: Named “HelpDesk_EmployeeExport”

Configure the Export Frequency

• Set both exports to run nightly
• Set both to export only new in the past 24 hours
• Create a one-time manual export to support immediate testing or onboarding needs

Export Format

• File Type: .CSV
• Delivery Method: [Based on your district's integration method; typically SFTP or automated file drop]

Required Fields for the Export

Additional Guidance for Existing Clients with Both Help Desk and Frontline Central

If your district already uses both Frontline Help Desk and Frontline Central, here’s how to get started based on your current setup:

If You Already Use Nightly Exports from Frontline Central

• Follow the integration-setup instructions provided in this release.
• If you encounter any issues with the export process, reach out to Frontline Central Support for assistance.
• For Help Desk setup questions, contact IHDM (Inventory & Help Desk Management) Support.

If You Do Not Currently Use Nightly Exports in Frontline Central

Contact Frontline Central Support to:

• Enable SFTP access
• Configure the nightly export schedule

If You Experience Issues During Help Desk Setup

• Reach out to IHDM Support for guidance on enabling the integration and managing onboarding tickets.

Help Desk Integration Setup: Connecting to Frontline Central

Once your district has completed the nightly onboarding export setup in Frontline Central, you are ready to activate the integration in Frontline Help Desk.

This integration allows your district to automatically generate Help Desk tickets for new hires, ensuring departments such as IT, HR, Facilities, and Finance are immediately looped in and can begin onboarding support.

Enabling the Integration in Help Desk

1. Navigate to District Settings.
2. Go to the Admin menu and select District Settings.
3. Locate the section titled "Frontline Central Integration."
4. Enable Onboarding Tickets.
5. Check the box labeled Enable tickets to be generated for onboarding through Frontline Central. This setting allows Help Desk to begin receiving and processing the nightly onboarding file from Central.

Set Ticket Defaults

• Default Problem Type: Select the Problem Type that should be assigned to new onboarding tickets (e.g., "New Hire Onboarding").
• Default Priority: Choose the appropriate default priority for incoming onboarding requests (e.g., "High," "Medium," "Low").

Configure Notification Recipients

Under "Email Notifications," select users who should receive email alerts regarding the integration.

These notifications will include success or failure reports from the nightly import file, which help your team proactively resolve any data issues or missed tickets.

Automating Onboarding with Problem Types and Routing Rules

Once onboarding tickets are being generated from Frontline Central, Frontline Help Desk offers powerful tools to route, assign, and manage those tickets through your existing support workflows. This ensures that the right teams are informed at the right time, and that new staff have everything they need to hit the ground running on Day 1.

Problem Types Drive Routing and Approvals

Every Help Desk ticket, including those from Frontline Central, is created with a Problem Type. In this integration, that Problem Type is selected in District Settings when the integration is enabled.

Problem Types serve as the triggering mechanism for routing rules already configured in your Help Desk environment. This gives districts the flexibility to automate key onboarding processes, such as:

Automatic Assignment (Options/Optional)

• Route tickets to an "Onboarding" service group
• Assign directly to a technician or team lead

Conditional Approvals (Optional)

• Kick off approval workflows based on the nature of the hire (e.g., high-level access roles)
• Require signoff from a manager or department head before provisioning resources

Onboarding Data Lives in the Description Field

To ensure compatibility with all ticket templates and keep onboarding data centralized, all information sent from Frontline Central is formatted into the "Description" field of the ticket.

This includes:

• Employee Information
  • Employee ID/External ID
  • Full name
  • Job title/Position name
  • Department and location
  • Staff type (Certified/Classified)
  • Hire and assignment start dates
• Contact Information
  • Personal and organizational email
  • Personal phone number
  • Work phone number
• Supervisor Information
  • Supervisor name, ID, and effective dates
  • Email address (if available)

Previous Releases

The following are release notes for prior releases.