I've seen this be the case in other places. We used to have a queue based system. Then we went to an auto-assignment process. One of things it has done is open

I've seen this be the case in other places. We used to have a queue based system. Then we went to an auto-assignment process. One of things it has done is open up communication on our team, since when we did it, we implemented as a rule of policy that if you aren't familiar with something getting assigned to you, you first ask for help before trading (we have a formal mechanism for soliciting this). 1. It encourages everyone to be aware that we're here to help 2. It encourages learning, the number of request for help decrease over time once the experience and familiarity ramp up 3. It exposes everyone to different types of work. There are exceptions of course. Our P0 bucket has a dedicated set of people that handle that, and they are hand picked because those are house on fire situations that need the experience. Its also the one we put the juniors on when they know the ropes and are ready to take on the critical tasks so they can advance themselves (its good experience for career and personal growth I feel). The other thing i like about this is that as a manager, I can actively encourage behavior by claiming a ticket, or helping someone with a ticket. I really want that culture effect to happen from the top down.