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Assignment Rules - Automated Case Routing

Automatically route incoming whistleblowing reports to the right team members based on category, urgency, keywords, and custom conditions.

Assignment Rules

Automatically route incoming reports to the right team members with intelligent assignment rules. Save time, ensure proper expertise, and never miss a critical case.

What are Assignment Rules?

Assignment Rules are automated workflows that route incoming whistleblowing reports to specific users or teams based on configurable conditions. When a new report arrives, Disclosurely evaluates all active rules and automatically assigns the case to the appropriate handler.

Benefits:

  • Faster Response Times: Cases reach the right expert immediately
  • Consistent Routing: No manual sorting or decision-making needed
  • Better Expertise Matching: Financial reports go to finance team, HR issues to HR
  • Reduced Admin Work: Eliminate manual assignment tasks
  • Improved Accountability: Clear ownership from the start
  • 24/7 Automation: Works even when admins are offline

How Assignment Rules Work

Rule Evaluation Process

When a new report is submitted:

  1. Report Created: Whistleblower submits a report
  2. Rules Evaluated: System checks all active assignment rules
  3. Priority Order: Rules are evaluated from highest to lowest priority
  4. First Match Wins: The first rule that matches the conditions assigns the case
  5. Assignment Made: Case is assigned to specified user or team
  6. Notification Sent: Assigned handler receives notification
  7. Audit Log Updated: Assignment action is recorded

Priority Example:

Priority 100: Critical Financial → Senior Finance Manager
Priority 50:  All Financial → Finance Team
Priority 10:  All Reports → General Queue

If a critical financial report arrives, it matches the Priority 100 rule first and goes directly to the Senior Finance Manager, bypassing lower-priority rules.

Creating Assignment Rules

Accessing Assignment Rules

  1. Navigate to Dashboard > Workflows
  2. Click the Assignment Rules tab
  3. Click Create Rule button

Rule Configuration

Each rule requires:

1. Rule Name (Required):

  • Descriptive name for the rule
  • Example: "Financial Misconduct → Finance Team"
  • Helps identify the rule's purpose at a glance

2. Priority (Optional, Default: 0):

  • Higher numbers = evaluated first
  • Range: Any integer (-999 to 999)
  • Example priorities:
    • 100 = Critical/urgent cases
    • 50 = Department-specific routing
    • 10 = General catch-all rules
    • 0 = Default priority

3. Enabled/Disabled (Required):

  • Toggle to activate or deactivate the rule
  • Disabled rules are kept but not evaluated
  • Useful for temporarily pausing rules

4. Conditions (Optional):

  • Category: Match specific report categories
    • Options: Financial, HR, Safety, Security, Other, Any
    • Select "Any" to match all categories
  • Urgency: Match urgency levels
    • Options: Critical, High, Medium, Low, Any
    • Select "Any" to match all urgency levels
  • Keywords: Match text in report content
    • Comma-separated list
    • Case-insensitive matching
    • Matches if ANY keyword is found
    • Example: "fraud, embezzlement, theft"

5. Assignment Target (At least one required):

  • Assign to User: Assign to specific team member
    • Select from dropdown of active team members
    • Case goes directly to that person
  • Assign to Team: Assign to team name
    • Enter team name (e.g., "finance", "hr", "legal")
    • Multiple team members can handle
    • Not a built-in team feature, used for organization

Note: You must specify either a user OR a team (or both) for the assignment to work.

Example Assignment Rules

Example 1: Critical Issues to Leadership

Rule Configuration:

Name: Critical Cases → Director of Compliance
Priority: 100
Enabled: Yes
Conditions:
  - Category: Any
  - Urgency: Critical
  - Keywords: (empty)
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: director@company.com
  - Assign to Team: (empty)

How it Works:

  • ANY report marked "Critical" urgency
  • Automatically assigned to Director of Compliance
  • Ensures leadership visibility on critical issues
  • Highest priority (100) means evaluated first

Example 2: Financial Misconduct to Finance Team

Rule Configuration:

Name: Financial Reports → Finance Team
Priority: 50
Enabled: Yes
Conditions:
  - Category: Financial
  - Urgency: Any
  - Keywords: (empty)
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: (empty)
  - Assign to Team: finance

How it Works:

  • Any report in "Financial" category
  • Assigned to "finance" team
  • All finance team members can see and handle
  • Priority 50 (evaluated after critical cases)

Example 3: Harassment Keywords to HR

Rule Configuration:

Name: Harassment & Discrimination → HR Team
Priority: 60
Enabled: Yes
Conditions:
  - Category: Any
  - Urgency: Any
  - Keywords: harassment, discrimination, bullying, hostile environment
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: (empty)
  - Assign to Team: hr

How it Works:

  • Matches if report contains any harassment-related keyword
  • Works even if reporter selects wrong category
  • Ensures HR expertise for sensitive issues
  • Keywords catch issues that might be mis-categorized

Example 4: Safety Issues to Safety Officer

Rule Configuration:

Name: Workplace Safety → Safety Officer
Priority: 70
Enabled: Yes
Conditions:
  - Category: Safety
  - Urgency: Any
  - Keywords: injury, accident, hazard, unsafe, OSHA
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: safety-officer@company.com
  - Assign to Team: safety

How it Works:

  • Matches safety category OR safety-related keywords
  • Assigned to both specific officer AND team
  • Double coverage for critical safety issues
  • High priority (70) for quick response

Example 5: Catch-All Default Rule

Rule Configuration:

Name: Default Routing → General Queue
Priority: 0
Enabled: Yes
Conditions:
  - Category: Any
  - Urgency: Any
  - Keywords: (empty)
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: (empty)
  - Assign to Team: general

How it Works:

  • Catches any report that didn't match higher-priority rules
  • Ensures no report goes unassigned
  • Priority 0 (lowest) means evaluated last
  • Acts as a safety net

Rule Priority Strategy

Priority Levels:

100-199: Executive Escalations

  • Critical urgency
  • High-risk issues
  • Legal matters requiring immediate attention
  • Direct to senior leadership

50-99: Department Specialization

  • Category-specific routing
  • Specialized teams
  • Subject matter experts
  • Department-level assignment

10-49: General Classification

  • Broad categorization
  • Initial triage
  • Team-level assignment
  • General routing rules

0-9: Catch-All Defaults

  • Fallback rules
  • Unmatched cases
  • General queue
  • Safety net assignments

Priority Planning Example

Priority 100: [Critical] All → Director of Compliance
Priority 90:  [Financial + Critical/High] → CFO
Priority 80:  [HR + Keywords: sexual, assault] → HR Director + Legal
Priority 70:  [Safety] → Safety Officer + Safety Team
Priority 60:  [Keywords: harassment, discrimination] → HR Team
Priority 50:  [Financial] → Finance Team
Priority 40:  [HR] → HR Team
Priority 30:  [Security] → Security Team
Priority 10:  [All] → General Queue

This structure ensures:

  • Critical issues reach leadership first
  • Serious issues (assault, safety) get specialist attention
  • Department routing happens at mid-level priority
  • Nothing falls through the cracks with catch-all rule

Managing Assignment Rules

Viewing Rules

Desktop View (Table):

  • Name, Priority, Conditions, Assign To, Status, Actions
  • Sortable columns
  • Quick overview of all rules

Mobile View (Cards):

  • Condensed card format
  • Swipe-friendly
  • All information visible
  • Optimized for small screens

Editing Rules

  1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to any rule
  2. Modify any field
  3. Click Update Rule
  4. Changes take effect immediately

Common Edits:

  • Adjusting priority when adding new rules
  • Adding/removing keywords based on patterns
  • Updating assigned user when team changes
  • Temporarily disabling seasonal rules

Deleting Rules

  1. Click the Delete button (trash icon)
  2. Confirm deletion
  3. Rule is permanently removed

Warning: Deleted rules cannot be recovered. Consider disabling instead if you might need the rule later.

Disabling Rules Temporarily

  1. Click Edit on the rule
  2. Toggle Enabled to off
  3. Click Update Rule

When to Disable:

  • Team member on vacation
  • Testing new routing strategy
  • Seasonal/temporary rules
  • Troubleshooting conflicts

Keywords Best Practices

Effective Keyword Selection

Good Keywords:

  • Specific and relevant
  • Common terminology
  • Variations and synonyms
  • Industry-specific terms

Financial Example:

fraud, embezzlement, theft, stealing, kickback, bribery,
money laundering, corruption, falsified records, accounting fraud

HR Example:

harassment, discrimination, bullying, retaliation, hostile environment,
sexual harassment, age discrimination, gender bias, unequal treatment

Safety Example:

injury, accident, unsafe, hazard, OSHA violation, near miss,
dangerous conditions, equipment failure, safety concern

Keyword Matching

How It Works:

  • Case-insensitive (matches "Fraud" and "fraud")
  • Partial word matching (matches "harassing" from keyword "harassment")
  • Any keyword match triggers the rule
  • Keywords searched in report title and description

Examples:

Keywords: "fraud, embezzlement"
Matches:
  ✅ "I witnessed fraud in accounting"
  ✅ "Potential embezzlement by manager"
  ✅ "FRAUD ALERT"
  ✅ "fraudulent expense reports"
  ❌ "Employee misconduct" (no keyword match)

Keyword Strategy

Combine Keywords with Categories:

Rule 1: Category=HR + Keywords=harassment → HR Team
Rule 2: Category=Any + Keywords=harassment → HR Team (backup)

This catches:

  • Reports correctly categorized as HR with harassment keywords
  • Reports in other categories that mention harassment

Use Overlapping Keywords: Multiple rules can have overlapping keywords with different priorities.

Priority 90: Keywords=[assault, violence, threat] → Security + Legal
Priority 60: Keywords=[harassment, discrimination] → HR Team

A report mentioning "violent harassment" matches BOTH rules, but the higher priority (90) wins.

Advanced Configurations

Multi-Condition Rules

Combine multiple conditions for precise routing:

Name: Critical Financial Fraud → CFO + Legal
Priority: 95
Conditions:
  - Category: Financial
  - Urgency: Critical
  - Keywords: fraud, embezzlement, SEC violation
Assignment:
  - Assign to User: cfo@company.com
  - Assign to Team: legal

Logic: ALL conditions must match (AND logic):

  • Category must be Financial
  • Urgency must be Critical
  • AND must contain at least one keyword

Dual Assignment

Assign to both a user AND a team:

Assignment:
  - Assign to User: lead-investigator@company.com
  - Assign to Team: investigations

Benefits:

  • Primary investigator gets direct assignment
  • Team visibility for backup/support
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Coverage during absences

Escalation Rules

Create layered rules for escalation:

Priority 100: [Financial + Critical] → CFO
Priority 80:  [Financial + High] → Finance Director
Priority 50:  [Financial + Medium/Low] → Finance Team

Higher-risk cases automatically escalate to senior leadership.

Troubleshooting

Rule Not Working

Check List:

  1. Is the rule enabled?

    • Check the status column
    • Edit and toggle "Enabled" if needed

  2. Is the priority correct?

    • Higher priority rules may be matching first
    • Check if another rule is catching the reports

  3. Do conditions match?

    • Test with actual report data
    • Verify category, urgency, and keywords
    • Remember: ALL conditions must match

  4. Is assignment valid?

    • User must be active team member
    • User email must be correct
    • Team name can be anything (not validated)

  5. Check workflow logs:

    • Go to Workflows > History tab
    • View which rules matched
    • See assignment actions

Reports Going to Wrong Team

Diagnosis:

  • Check rule priority order
  • Higher priority rule may be matching first
  • Review conditions of all active rules

Solution:

  • Adjust priorities to correct order
  • Make conditions more specific
  • Disable conflicting rules

No Assignment Happening

Possible Causes:

  • No active rules match the report
  • All rules are disabled
  • Conditions are too specific

Solution:

  • Create a catch-all rule (priority 0, no conditions)
  • Review and enable disabled rules
  • Broaden conditions on existing rules

Workflow History

Viewing Assignment Logs

  1. Navigate to Workflows > History tab
  2. View all automated assignment actions
  3. Filter by action type, date, or report ID

Log Information:

  • Action type (e.g., "Auto-assigned")
  • Report ID
  • Rule that triggered
  • Assignment details (user/team)
  • Timestamp

Uses:

  • Verify rules are working correctly
  • Audit automated assignments
  • Troubleshoot routing issues
  • Compliance audit trail

Best Practices

Do:

✅ Start Simple: Create basic rules first, add complexity later ✅ Use Descriptive Names: Make rules easy to identify ✅ Test Rules: Submit test reports to verify routing ✅ Document Priorities: Keep a priority strategy document ✅ Review Regularly: Audit rules quarterly ✅ Use Catch-All: Always have a default rule ✅ Monitor Logs: Check workflow history periodically

Don't:

❌ Over-Complicate: Too many conditions make rules fragile ❌ Duplicate Priorities: Use unique priorities when possible ❌ Forget to Enable: New rules default to enabled, but check ❌ Delete Recklessly: Disable first, delete later if not needed ❌ Ignore Conflicts: Multiple matching rules can cause confusion ❌ Set and Forget: Review and update as organization changes

Minimum Rules (Small Organization):

1. Critical Cases → Leadership (Priority 100)
2. Financial → Finance Team (Priority 50)
3. HR → HR Team (Priority 50)
4. Safety → Safety Team (Priority 50)
5. Default → General Queue (Priority 0)

Comprehensive Setup (Large Organization):

1. Critical + Legal Keywords → General Counsel (Priority 100)
2. Critical → Director of Compliance (Priority 99)
3. Financial + Critical/High → CFO (Priority 90)
4. HR + Serious Keywords → HR Director + Legal (Priority 80)
5. Safety → Safety Officer + Team (Priority 70)
6. Keywords: harassment, etc. → HR Team (Priority 60)
7. Keywords: fraud, etc. → Finance + Legal (Priority 60)
8. Financial → Finance Team (Priority 50)
9. HR → HR Team (Priority 50)
10. Security → Security Team (Priority 50)
11. Default → Triage Team (Priority 0)

Pricing & Availability

Assignment Rules are available on:

  • Pro Plan: ✅ Up to 10 rules
  • Enterprise Plan: ✅ Unlimited rules
  • Basic Plan: ❌ Not available

Limits:

  • Pro: 10 active rules maximum
  • Enterprise: No practical limit
  • All rules execute automatically
  • No per-execution fees

Getting Started

Ready to automate case assignment?

  1. Plan Your Strategy: Map categories to teams
  2. Create Your First Rule: Start with a simple category rule
  3. Test It: Submit a test report to verify
  4. Add More Rules: Build out your full routing strategy
  5. Monitor & Refine: Check workflow logs and adjust

Example First Rule:

Name: Financial Reports → Finance Team
Priority: 50
Category: Financial
Urgency: Any
Keywords: (empty)
Assign to Team: finance

Support

Need help with Assignment Rules?

Assignment Rules transform report handling from manual sorting to intelligent, automated routing—saving time and ensuring every case reaches the right expert immediately.

Assignment Rules - Automated Case Routing | Disclosurely Docs