Our Team Workflow

Overview

This document outlines our internal processes, team workflows, and collaboration guidelines. PenguinMails operates with a 4-tier staff hierarchy system designed to provide efficient customer support while maintaining strict security and compliance standards.

Staff Hierarchy System

4-Tier Staff Structure

1. Super Admin

  • Responsibilities: Full system administration and tenant management
  • Access: Can access all data across all tenants
  • Capabilities: User management, system configuration, staff role assignment
  • Security Level: Highest - complete system oversight

2. Admin

  • Responsibilities: High-level operational oversight
  • Access: Billing and subscription management, tenant-level administration
  • Limitations: Cannot modify staff roles or system-wide settings
  • Security Level: High - operational management

3. Support

  • Responsibilities: Customer support and tenant assistance
  • Access: Read access to customer data for troubleshooting
  • Limitations: Cannot make billing changes or system modifications
  • Tools: Help center and support tools access
  • Security Level: Medium - customer assistance focused

4. QA

  • Responsibilities: Quality assurance and testing operations
  • Access: Read-only access to test environments
  • Limitations: No customer data access in production
  • Focus: Campaign testing and validation
  • Security Level: Low - testing and validation only

Permission System

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

  • Permission Categories: General, billing, user management, system administration
  • Dynamic Permission Assignment: Permissions assigned per role with granular control
  • Audit Logging: All permission changes tracked for compliance
  • Temporary Elevations: Emergency access with automatic expiration

Database Design 

-- Staff roles with 4-tier hierarchy
CREATE TABLE staff_roles (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE,           -- super_admin, admin, support, qa
    description TEXT,
    created TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Staff members table
CREATE TABLE staff_members (
    user_id UUID PRIMARY KEY REFERENCES users(id),
    role_id INTEGER REFERENCES staff_roles(id),
    notes TEXT,
    created TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Permissions system
CREATE TABLE permissions (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE,
    description TEXT,
    category VARCHAR(50) DEFAULT 'general',
    created TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

Staff Operations Workflow

Daily Operations

  • Morning Standup: Team sync on priorities and blockers
  • Ticket Triage: Support team reviews and categorizes incoming requests
  • System Monitoring: Regular checks on infrastructure and deliverability
  • Customer Updates: Proactive communication on issues and improvements

Support Process

  1. Customer Contact: Via help center, email, or dashboard
  2. Manual Triage: Support team categorizes by expertise
  3. Assignment: Tickets routed to appropriate staff member
  4. Investigation: Access customer data within role permissions
  5. Resolution: Provide solution and document in system
  6. Follow-up: Ensure customer satisfaction and issue closure

Escalation Procedures

  • Level 1: Support team handles routine inquiries
  • Level 2: Complex technical issues escalate to Admin
  • Level 3: System-wide issues escalate to Super Admin
  • Emergency: Critical security issues bypass normal escalation

Help System Integration

Current Implementation

  • Help Center: https://help.penguinmails.com/
  • Dashboard Integration: Help dropdown in user menu
  • Floating Support Button: Direct email contact from landing page
  • Knowledge Base: Self-service documentation and tutorials
const helpLinks = [
  { name: 'Knowledge Base', url: 'https://help.penguinmails.com/knowledge-base' },
  { name: 'Support', url: 'https://help.penguinmails.com/support' },
  { name: 'Video Tutorials', url: 'https://help.penguinmails.com/video-tutorials' },
  { name: 'Glossary', url: 'https://help.penguinmails.com/glossary' },
  { name: 'Our Services', url: 'https://help.penguinmails.com/our-services' }
];

Email-Based Support

  • Primary Contact: support@penguinmails.com
  • Template System: Standardized responses for common issues
  • Categorization: Technical, billing, feature requests, bug reports
  • Response Time: <4 hours for critical, <24 hours for normal issues

Audit & Compliance Workflow

Staff Access Tracking

  • Activity Logging: All staff data access recorded with timestamps
  • Permission Monitoring: Changes to staff permissions require approval
  • Cross-Tenant Access: Special approval required for staff accessing multiple tenants
  • Temporary Elevations: Emergency access with automatic expiration and audit trail

Compliance Reporting

  • Daily: System health and security alerts
  • Weekly: Staff activity summary and permission reviews
  • Monthly: Comprehensive compliance report generation
  • Quarterly: Full audit trail analysis and process improvement

Security Procedures

  • Multi-Factor Authentication: Required for all staff access
  • Session Management: Automatic timeout and device tracking
  • Geographic Alerts: Unusual login location notifications
  • Privilege Reviews: Quarterly permission audits and updates

Future Enhancements (Q4 2026 - 2027)

Enhanced Staff Operations

  • Advanced Audit System: Comprehensive staff activity monitoring
  • SOC 2 Compliance: Enhanced audit trails and access controls
  • Temporary Role Elevation: Emergency support access with approval workflow
  • Compliance Automation: Automated reporting and violation detection

Full Support Ticket System (2027)

  • Ticket Management: Automated routing and SLA tracking
  • Multi-Channel Support: Email, chat, phone integration
  • AI-Powered Categorization: Intelligent ticket classification
  • Performance Analytics: Staff productivity and customer satisfaction metrics

Quality Assurance Workflow

QA Processes

  • Campaign Testing: All email campaigns validated before sending
  • Feature Testing: New features tested across multiple scenarios
  • Compliance Testing: Verify adherence to CAN-SPAM and GDPR requirements
  • Performance Testing: Monitor system performance under various loads

Testing Environment

  • Isolated Environment: QA team uses separate testing infrastructure
  • Test Data: Synthetic data that doesn't impact real customers
  • Automated Testing: CI/CD pipeline includes comprehensive test suites
  • User Acceptance Testing: Beta users test features before general release

Communication Protocols

Internal Communication

  • Slack: Real-time team communication and updates
  • Email: Formal communications and documentation
  • Weekly Meetings: Cross-functional team alignment
  • Monthly Reviews: Performance metrics and improvement planning

Customer Communication

  • Status Pages: Real-time system status and incident updates
  • Email Notifications: Proactive updates on planned maintenance
  • In-App Messages: Contextual help and feature announcements
  • Support Portal: Centralized customer service interface

Emergency Response Procedures

Incident Response

  1. Detection: Automated monitoring alerts or manual reporting
  2. Assessment: Severity determination and stakeholder notification
  3. Containment: Immediate measures to prevent further impact
  4. Resolution: Technical team works to restore normal operations
  5. Communication: Regular updates to affected customers
  6. Post-Incident: Review and process improvement

Emergency Contact Protocol

  • Critical Issues: Immediate notification to Super Admin
  • Security Incidents: Security team + legal counsel notification
  • Customer Impact: Customer success team activation
  • Media Relations: Designated spokesperson for external communications

Performance Metrics

Staff Performance KPIs

  • Response Time: Average time to first customer response
  • Resolution Rate: Percentage of issues resolved within SLA
  • Customer Satisfaction: Post-interaction survey scores
  • First Contact Resolution: Issues solved without escalation

Team Productivity

  • Ticket Volume: Daily/weekly support ticket counts
  • Time to Resolution: Average time from ticket creation to closure
  • Escalation Rate: Percentage of tickets requiring escalation
  • Knowledge Base Usage: Self-service resolution rates

This workflow document is reviewed quarterly and updated based on operational needs and compliance requirements. For questions about staff operations or to report workflow improvements, please contact the Operations Lead.