Escalation Plan

What is the escalation plan?

An escalation plan is a collection of procedures for dealing with possible problems in a range of situations. In most cases, an escalation plan describes the actions to be taken when the center is subjected to unanticipated strain or heightened stress in a call center.

An escalation plan specifies the limits and channels of decision-making throughout a company to solve the problem swiftly. 

This process defines a path that allows the core team to make choices at lower levels of the org chart while having a predetermined way for exception handling. It is built around the concept of a core project team with a clear project manager.

When creating an escalation plan, managers should keep the following methods in mind:

• Call volume management entails switching to channel calls, either manually or automatically efficiently.
• Stage management is a technique for preventing a crisis from growing from inconvenience to a full-fledged emergency.
• Test management, which assesses all tiers of the escalation plan tactically.

Why is the escalation plan essential?

An escalation management system is critical because it enables an organization to identify, track, monitor, and manage circumstances requiring enhanced awareness and quick action.

Escalation management can re-prioritize, reassign, and monitor a problem until it is resolved satisfactorily.

Benefits of the escalation plan to the project manager 

• Reduces the time it takes to get products to market.
• Emphasizes accountability in the decision-making process.
• Offers a clear escalation path for decision-making, it saves time and energy.
• Teaches new team members how to make quick choices.

Components of an escalation plan

Understanding how to apply the escalation approach correctly is consequently critical for project managers. The following are the five components of an escalation plan that a project manager should include:

The team’s responsibilities

Suppose it is vital to rely on the team to notify a stakeholder in discovering a risky or problematic area. Each team member is responsible for conveying the problem to the appropriate people.

Plan management

When a risk is recognized, the project manager cannot abandon the project; instead, they must manage it according to the specified criteria.

Documentation

The escalation plan should include a journal, similar to a risk log, that maintains track of problems and their priority.

Prompt response

To recover from any mishaps or reduce the problem, project managers and leaders must collaborate quickly with teams and stakeholders to address the risks.

Communication

The key to an escalation plan is effective communication to and from the team. As a result, it’s critical to ensure that the communication plan is available throughout the project.

The escalation plan is only efficient if it is agreed upon at all parts of the company. Therefore, when a cross-functional team communicates a project escalation, the following management level must be ready to provide guidance swiftly. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the escalation technique is determined by the team’s quality.

The company needs strong team members who are willing to shoulder responsibility for making decisions and have the right strategies to carry them out within their scope of authority.