Escalating Tickets

Escalation can occur automatically as a result of the threshold number of User Chases being met, automatically as part of the SLM process, or at any time by Analysts with sufficient rights to do so.

Each of these escalations has a different purpose and trigger. It is important to understand why and when the various escalations happen.

Key Terms

SLA-Based escalation refers to the process where a ticket is escalated based on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) timelines not being met. This is an automated process that triggers when a ticket has not been responded to or resolved within the agreed-upon time frames. The escalation could move the ticket to a higher-priority queue or notify a supervisor to intervene and ensure the ticket is addressed promptly. SLA-Based escalations help in maintaining accountability and ensuring that customer service standards are consistently met.

Priority escalation happens when all other escalations are not appropriate. It should be avoided as much as is possible. Priority escalation happens when the severity or impact of the issue increases, warranting immediate attention. This could be due to the problem affecting more users than initially thought or impacting critical business operations. In such cases, the ticket's priority is adjusted to reflect its increased importance, ensuring it receives prompt and appropriate resources for resolution.

Managerial Escalation (AKA Ad-Hoc Escalation) is when an issue is escalated to higher management levels within the organization due to its criticality, potential impact, or because it has not been resolved in a timely manner despite previous SLM or other escalations. This type of escalation ensures that top-level attention is given to resolving the issue, allocating necessary resources, or making strategic decisions to address the problem effectively. Managerial involvement is crucial for issues that may affect the company's reputation, financial standing, or require significant changes in processes or policies.

Functional Escalation involves transferring the ticket to a more specialized team or individual within the organization. This type of escalation is necessary when the current team lacks the specific expertise or capabilities to resolve the issue effectively. Functional escalations ensure that the right subject matter experts are engaged to provide solutions in a timely manner.

Best Practices - What Kind of Escalation Should I Use?

1. Functional escalation refers to the process of physically moving the ticket to a higher level of technical expertise. This usually happens when the current team or individual handling the ticket does not possess the necessary skills or resources to resolve the issue.

2. We may also escalate a ticket as part of the Customer Satisfaction process in what we call a Managerial Escalation. For example, if a customer has inquired a set number of times and still has not received a resolution, the ticket can be physically escalated to a higher authority. In the past, this may have been accomplished by artificially raising the priority of the ticket, but this practice has negative implications across Service Level Management and can increase the likelihood of a waterfall effect of poor service to other customers waiting in the queue. A physical escalation process whereby the priority is maintained at what it actually is is a better solution to the problem of getting immediate assistance for an unhappy customer or a sensitive issue.

3. SLA-based escalation occurs when a ticket's response or resolution times approach or exceed the agreed-upon Service Level Agreements (SLAs). This type of escalation ensures that the service provider meets contractual obligations and maintains customer satisfaction. For more information on SLA based escalation, please see Service Level Management.

You may have noticed Priority Escalation was not included in Best Practices! There are only a small subset of scenarios where it may be appropriate to escalate by raising the priority and as such, is not included in Best Practice even though it is an accepted escalation path. This is primarily because changing the priority of a ticket in lieu of one the Best Practice methods mentioned above can lead to several issues:

• Missed SLA Deadlines: Prioritizing does not necessarily engage the appropriate resources needed to address the issue quickly or efficiently, risking breaches in SLA commitments.

• Resource Misallocation: Increasing a ticket's priority without proper escalation can cause resources to be allocated based on an arbitrary sense of urgency rather than the actual need for specialized skills or rapid response, leading to inefficiencies and delays in resolving other tickets.

• Lack of Visibility: Escalation pathways often include notifications and involvement of higher-level management or specialized teams. Simply changing a ticket's priority lacks this visibility, potentially keeping critical issues off the radar of those who could expedite resolution.

Manually Escalate a Ticket - Managerial Escalations

You must have Call Escalation in your IPK Management Security Role to be able to escalate Tickets.

1. For any ticket you wish to escalate, Click the Red icon for Escalate in the top-most menu bar of the ticket:

1. When you click the Escalate Icon, a new ticket will load based on the Template Configured.

2. Complete the details

Best Practice

While the triggering ticket will appear in the Escalated Call Ref/Escalated Request Ref fields, you should take the extra step to link the triggering/escalated ticket to the Escalation Call as a parent or Child (depending on how your organization desires).

• Linking as a child allows updates to be made to both tickets at the same time.

• Linking as a parent illustrates cause/effect.

1. Assign the ticket to the recipient of the escalation

2. Click Save

1. If there are IPK Workflow Rules against this type of Ticket, they will automatically execute when you save the details. You can override or allow them to run.

2. When you escalate a ticket, the user will receive an email notification that a new ticket has been created using the Call Logged to User message template. If you wish to customize this message so that it is more apparent the ticket that has been logged is not a new issue, but rather an escalation, you will need to:

   1. Setup a new screen set for Escalations

   2. Link it to the Call Template(s) for Escalations

   3. Configure a message template for the new Screen Set

   4. Assign the new template and Subject Line in Message Type Maps for message type 1026 - Call logged to User in Self Service Portal.

Manually Escalate a Ticket - Functional Escalations

When you escalate a ticket Functionally, you are simply reassigning the ticket to another individual or group.

Click

Understand and Configure SLM Escalations

Escalations as part of Service Level Management (SLA, OLA, and UC) are configured by the System Administrator. For more Information on SLM Escalations, Please see the following:

1. SLM Thresholds - Escalation Recipients

2. IPK and Workflow Group Escalations

3. Person Profile Manager Escalations