The Challenge

For this client, every incoming lead mattered; but their small sales team operated in rotating shifts, which created a persistent bottleneck. HubSpot’s native assignment workflows only allowed simple round-robin or rule-based ownership, with no consideration for the time of day or shift schedules.

This gap led to several challenges:

• Leads arriving after-hours risked sitting idle until the next available rep logged in.

• Response times were inconsistent, affecting customer experience and conversion potential.

• Managers struggled to distribute workload fairly between overlapping teams.

• Live chat, ticketing, and SDR functions faced similar bottlenecks without shift-aware routing.

• The client needed a scalable, automated system that would ensure no lead was ever left unattended, regardless of when it entered the funnel.

The Solution

We designed and implemented a custom-coded workflow action in HubSpot that introduced time-based intelligence into the assignment process. Rather than just applying a static round-robin rule, our solution was built with three key layers of thought:

1. Shift Logic Mapping – We collaborated with the client to clearly define shift windows, including overlaps, hand-offs, and fallback owners for exceptions.

2. Dynamic Time Evaluation – A custom-coded workflow evaluates the exact time a record is created or updated. It then references the shift logic to determine which team or rep is active.

3. Scalable Design – Instead of hardcoding only leads, we built the logic in a reusable manner so it could extend seamlessly to tickets, live chat, or SDR territory assignments.

In practice, this meant:

• Every new lead was instantly routed to the right shift team with no manual intervention.

• Tickets and chats were redirected in real time, ensuring faster support.

• The system provided flexibility to adjust shifts as the sales team grew — without rebuilding the workflow from scratch.

The result wasn’t just automation; it was a smarter layer of operational intelligence embedded into HubSpot.

Conclusion

By embedding time-based intelligence into HubSpot, we helped the client overcome a major operational gap that was slowing down their sales and support functions. The solution not only improved response times and balanced workloads but also gave their team confidence that no lead or ticket would ever slip through the cracks. Designed as a scalable framework, this workflow sets the foundation for future growth and allows the client to get more out of HubSpot without adding complexity or overhead.