Escalation process: Everything you need to know

To solve a process, an operator will sometimes need someone else.

Escalation

Escalating a task is about knowing when a task needs to be passed to someone with more expertise, authority or a different skill set. Sometimes, the best way to keep a process running is to call in the right person for the job!

Escalation can happen for a variety of reasons. Let's see some of them.

Expertise escalation

When a task requires specialized skills or knowledge that the initial operator doesn’t have.

Example: In tech support, a complex product question might lead an agent to escalate the issue to a more experienced support team member or even the product team.

Authority escalation

When resolving a task requires a level of authority beyond that of the initial operator.

Example: A billing dispute in customer support might need to be escalated to a different team or a supervisor who can make decisions about refunds or adjustments.

Urgency escalation

When an urgent situation arises, prompting the operator to raise an alert for immediate action.

Example: If there’s a service outage, the operator needs to escalate the issue to the IT team for urgent troubleshooting and resolution.

Process escalation

Sometimes, escalation isn’t just a backup plan—it’s built right into how things work. This is process-driven escalation, where tasks are designed to move through different levels of support based on their complexity. Teams and processes are set up in tiers, to make sure the right people handle the right problems.

For instance, in a big tech support center, we can find this "tiered support" organisation:

• Level 1 — Frontline support
  Handles basic issues and general inquiries. They’re great at quick fixes and gathering all the info before escalating.
• Level 2 — Specialized support
  If Level 1 can’t solve it, the task moves up to Level 2, where more experienced agents dig into more complex problems.
• Level 3 — Experts/Engineers
  For really tricky issues, tasks get escalated to Level 3. These are the experts, like engineers or developers, who can handle deep technical fixes.

Later in this course, we’ll dive deeper into how teams are structured for this kind of tiered support.

De-escalation

De-escalation is the opposite of escalation: it's when an operator de-escalates to the initial operator or to an inferior tier.

Example: When a specialized support agent provides the answer to a complex customer inquiry, he de-escalates that task to a frontline support agent for him to close this task.

Double checks

To ensure high output and minimize errors, double-checks act as a crucial quality safeguard. They help maintain consistent standards and catch issues before they become bigger problems.

Example: In our bakery, before a batch of croissants goes on display, another baker might take a moment to inspect them, making sure they’re evenly baked and perfectly shaped. This step keeps the quality consistent, no matter who handles the baking.

Double-checks can be done in two ways:

• Systematic Checks: These happen every time under specific conditions. For instance, if a support agent offers a customer a discount, it needs to be approved by a manager.
• Random Checks: These are spot checks to keep quality on track. Occasionally, the head baker might inspect a batch of croissants to ensure everything is up to standard and nothing is off course.

Another name for double-checks is the four-eye principle, simply because you need a second set of eyes.

Why does it matter?

When you’re trying to optimize a process, escalations, de-escalations, and double-checks can be common spots where things slow down. These steps involve extra coordination, and if they’re not managed well, they can cause delays.

For example, when you escalate a task, it doesn’t just move to the next person. Escalation means there’s a second round of dispatching. Sometimes, the task just sits there, waiting for someone else to pick it up, which can really slow things down.

It's all a compromise between quality and speed: the dilemma in operations management!

Curious to learn more? Download this free ebook and learn everything you need to know about customer operations.