Escalation before a target is missed
Escalation rules act when a share of a response-time target has passed, such as 75 % or 100 %. Each level tells the team lead, the customer's account manager or people you name, and can hand the ticket to them.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The lead hears about a breached ticket from the customer, not from the system.
- A ticket sits with a technician on leave until its deadline has long gone.
- Account managers walk into a customer meeting without knowing that three of their tickets are late.
How it works
- A Helpdesk Administrator opens Helpdesk > Configuration > Routing and Service Levels > Escalation Rules and creates a rule.
- Choose the Teams, the Issue Types and the SLA Target it watches: First Response, On-site Arrival, Resolution, or empty for every target.
- In Levels add one line per step with At (% of the target), for example 75 or 100. Choose whom to tell: Team Lead, Customer's Account Manager or Named Users.
- Tick Reassign to Them on a level to give the ticket to the first person found.
- Every 15 minutes the system checks open tickets. When the time used reaches a level, it writes a note on the ticket, adds those people as followers and tells them.
Everything it does
Rules
- Teams and Issue Types (with their sub-types): empty means any
- SLA Target: First Response, On-site Arrival (Growth), Resolution, or empty for every target
- Several rules can apply to the same ticket; their levels are taken together
- Rules apply in every Entity
Levels
- At (% of the target): any number above 0; 75 to start with. 100 means at the deadline; above 100 means after it
- Whom: Team Lead (the ticket team's lead), Customer's Account Manager, or Named Users
- From Growth, Customer's Account Manager means the contract's account manager first, then the customer's
- Reassign to Them: the ticket goes to the first person found, if not already theirs
- The time used is counted on the target's own clock, without paused time
What happens at a level
- A note on the ticket: Escalation: 75% of the response target used, with the deadline
- The people of the level follow the ticket from then on
- They get the notification Ticket Escalated
- The SLA tab shows Escalated at (%) for each target
- Each level acts once per target. If the check finds two levels passed at once, only the higher one acts
- A ticket in a waiting stage is not escalated while it waits
- If the target is worked out again (for example a new priority), its levels can act again
Who uses it
Helpdesk AdministratorWrites the escalation rules and their levels.
Team LeadIs told at the level set for them, and takes over or moves the ticket.
Account managerIs told when their customer's tickets run late, before the customer calls.
Service ManagerCan be a Named User on the last level, and take the ticket over at 100 %.
Where you use it
- Web: Helpdesk > Configuration > Routing and Service Levels > Escalation Rules; the note and the SLA tab on the ticket
- The SmartMy Desk app: the notification in the app's inbox (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Level at: 75 % to start with
- Whom: Team Lead to start with
- Reassign to Them: off to start with
- Checked every 15 minutes
Notifications
- Ticket Escalated: to the people of the level, in the app's inbox and on WhatsApp where your organisation set it up (from message credits). App push is built and not switched on yet
- The escalation note names them on the ticket, so it also reaches them like any message on a ticket they follow
Questions
Can we escalate before the deadline, not after?
Yes. That is what the percentage is for. A level at 75 % acts when three quarters of the target is used, while there is still time.Can a ticket move to a manager by itself?
Yes. Tick Reassign to Them on the level. At that point the ticket becomes the first named person's, or the lead's.Is escalation in the Starter plan?
Yes. Escalation rules work on every plan. The On-site Arrival target and the contract's account manager need Growth.Does a ticket waiting on the customer escalate?
No. A waiting stage stops the clock, so the percentage does not move until the ticket goes back to work.How late can a level act?
Up to 15 minutes after the moment is reached, because the check runs every 15 minutes.Related features
RESPONSE TIMESResponse and resolution targets in working hoursResponse-time policies set how fast your team must reply and solve, per priority, for chosen teams, kinds of issue, customers and tags. Targets count in working hours and holidays or round the clock, pause while a ticket waits, and are never typed by hand.RESPONSE TIMESArrival-on-site targets and a contract's own response timesFor work at the customer's site, set how fast a technician must arrive; the target is met when the technician checks in on the visit. A contract can carry its own response times and service hours, which take the place of your general ones for that customer.SET-UPTeams, working hours and stagesEach service team has its members, a lead, its own working hours and holidays, and its own email address. Tickets move through stages you name, and a waiting stage stops the response-time clock while you wait on the customer, parts or a quote.CUSTOMERS, SITES AND EQUIPMENTCustomer organisations, their people and account managersEach customer is an organisation with its people, its email domains, a default team and an account manager. Its people sign in to the portal as admins or members. You decide whether members see only their own tickets or all of the organisation's.ACROSS SMARTMY DESKNotificationsCustomers hear when a ticket is received, a visit is planned, the technician is on the way and the job is solved. Your team hears what needs them. Email and the in-app inbox work with no set-up; WhatsApp and SMS use your message credits.
See one of your own jobs run through it.
Tell us how a complaint reaches you today and what you bill for. We will show you the same job in SmartMy Desk.