Escalation Procedure Template

What is an escalation procedure?

An escalation procedure is a documented set of rules that defines when a support issue should be passed to a higher tier, who receives it, and what information must accompany the handoff — ensuring no issue stalls because ownership is unclear.

Without documented escalation procedures, handoffs happen informally. Agents message colleagues, forward emails, or walk to a desk. The customer waits while the issue bounces between people who each assume someone else owns it. A structured escalation procedure removes ambiguity: it defines the trigger conditions, the target team or individual, the required context, and the expected response time. When every agent follows the same rules, issues reach the right specialist faster and customers receive consistent service.

Who should use this template?

This template is for teams that handle tiered support:

• Customer Support Managers — define clear escalation paths so agents know exactly when and how to hand off issues they cannot resolve at their tier
• Team Leads (L1/L2) — ensure their teams follow consistent escalation criteria rather than making individual judgement calls under pressure
• Quality Assurance Analysts — audit escalation compliance by comparing actual handoffs against documented procedures
• Service Desk Coordinators — route escalated issues to the correct specialist based on category, severity, and SLA requirements

What’s included in this template?

The template has two parts: structured metadata fields and the procedure body.

Metadata fields classify each procedure:

• Procedure name and identifier
• Support channel (phone, chat, email, in-store)
• Product or service line covered
• Effective date and next review date
• Procedure owner — the manager accountable for keeping escalation rules current

Procedure body documents the rules:

• Escalation triggers — specific conditions that require handoff (e.g. unresolved after 15 minutes, customer requests supervisor, system outage confirmed)
• Escalation matrix — which team or individual receives the issue based on category and severity
• Handoff requirements — what information the agent must include (ticket summary, steps taken, customer sentiment)
• SLA targets — response and resolution time expectations per escalation level
• De-escalation criteria — when an issue can be returned to a lower tier after initial assessment

How to create and customise this template in Elium

1. Open the Template Builder — Go to your profile menu and select the Template Builder tab, or click “+ Create” and choose “Create a new template”.
2. Set the scope — Choose an icon, enable the template, and decide whether it applies platform-wide or to specific spaces (e.g. your Customer Support or Service Operations space).
3. Add structured fields — Click “Field” to add metadata: text fields for procedure name and identifier, tag fields for support channel and product line, date fields for effective and review dates, and a user field for procedure owner. Mark procedure name and support channel as mandatory.
4. Build the procedure structure — Use the “+” button to add content blocks: a table block for escalation triggers and matrix, text blocks for handoff requirements and SLA targets, and a text block for de-escalation criteria. Add placeholder prompts (e.g. “After how many minutes should an unresolved issue escalate?”).
5. Preview and save — Review the template layout, then save. Agents can now reference escalation procedures during live interactions, and you can apply it to existing content in bulk.

How AI helps you create and use this template

Capture faster. Paste existing escalation guidelines or training materials into Elium’s AI. It identifies the trigger conditions, routing rules, and SLA targets — then drafts a structured procedure that the support manager reviews and refines.

Retrieve smarter. During a call, an agent asks Elium’s AI: “Customer has been waiting 20 minutes for a billing refund — who do I escalate to?” The AI returns the escalation path, required handoff information, and SLA target from the relevant procedure.

Why teams use Elium for escalation procedures

Escalation procedures only work when agents can access them in seconds during a live interaction. If the procedure lives in a training manual or a shared drive, agents default to informal handoffs — and informal handoffs create delays. Elium makes escalation rules accessible at the point of need: structured templates ensure every procedure follows the same format, and AI search returns the right path from a question.

Fnac Darty — 1,800 advisors across 11 call centres — centralised 2,000+ procedures in Elium. Agents who previously relied on colleagues now find escalation paths instantly. The result: 80% first-contact resolution and consistent handoffs across every channel and site.