When should a case be escalated?

In many organizations, cases are escalated when the customer becomes angry enough, or when the caseworker has been stuck long enough to give up. Both are arbitrary criteria, and they make escalation feel like a personal failure rather than a normal part of the process.

The four criteria that should apply

The case is approaching a service-level agreement deadline. It requires access or expertise that the caseworker does not have. It affects several customers at the same time, meaning it is actually an incident rather than a request. Or the customer has asked for it. All four criteria are objective and can be assessed without evaluating anyone’s performance.

Escalation is a handover, not a handoff

The most common weakness is that the case changes hands without the context being passed along. The next person then has to start over, and the customer has to explain everything again. Make sure it states what has already been tried and what has been ruled out. It takes two minutes and saves twenty.

Measure the escalation rate

If the proportion of escalated cases in a particular area increases, it is usually due to a skills gap or a product issue—not a staffing issue. It is one of the most useful metrics customer service can provide to the rest of the organization.