---
title: Improve inter-departmental communication
description: Enable agents to effectively collaborate on associated tickets using the Sidebar discussion and Discuss options.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/employee-service-management/universal-request-for-hr-service-delivery/discuss-routing-agents.html
release: australia
product: Universal Request for HR Service Delivery
classification: universal-request-for-hr-service-delivery
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Use, Universal Request, Employee Service Management]
---

# Improve inter-departmental communication

Enable agents to effectively collaborate on associated tickets using the Sidebar discussion and Discuss options.

## Before you begin

Role required: sn\_uni\_req.routing\_agent or admin

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** > **Universal Requests**.

2.  Select the universal ticket that is assigned to you.

3.  Select **Discuss**.

4.  In the Start a sidebar discussion window, fill in the fields:

<table id="table_s33_x2z_g3c"><thead><tr><th>

Field

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Record number

</td><td>

Unique number generated for the universal request.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Subject

</td><td>

Option to indicate the main topic or point of discussion.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Add participants

</td><td>

Routing agents with whom you want to initiate the discussion.This restricted list controls agent participation and applies access permissions consistently across associated tickets.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Include a brief message for participants

</td><td>

Brief message to the participants indicating what the discussion is about.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Private discussion

</td><td>

Option to create a private discussion accessible only to chosen participants. Users linked through associated tickets, even those with access to the Universal Request record, will not be included unless explicitly added to the **Add Participants** list.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>5.  Initiate your discussion with the selected routing agents by selecting **Start discussion**.

    The **Start private discussion** button appears only when you select the **Private discussion** option.


## What to do next

1.  Select Sidebar discussions \[Omitted image "sidebar-discussions.png"\] Alt text:.
2.  Review all the discussions that you are part of.
3.  To begin another conversation with routing agents, select **New Discussion**.

**Parent Topic:**[Using Universal Request](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/employee-service-management/universal-request-for-hr-service-delivery/using-ur.md)