eskalationsveje

Eskalationsveje are predefined routes within an organization for escalating incidents, problems, or requests to higher levels of authority or to specialized teams when initial handling cannot resolve the issue. They form part of incident management and service governance, helping to ensure timely, appropriate responses and accountability. The term is commonly used in Danish and Norwegian contexts and corresponds to escalation paths or escalation procedures in English.

Purpose and scope: Eskalationsveje specify who can escalate, to whom, and when. They align with service level agreements and operational goals and cover IT incidents, customer service, facilities, security, and other operations where delays can affect users or business outcomes.

Components: Typical elements include escalation levels (for example L1, L2, L3), criteria for escalation (severity, impact, time-to-respond), required information at escalation (incident number, symptoms, actions taken), communication channels (ticketing, phone, email), escalation contacts, handover and de-escalation procedures, and methods for tracking and auditing.

Process example: In IT service management, if an incident is not resolved within the SLA, it is escalated from first-line support to a supervisor, then to a service owner, and, if needed, to an external vendor. Each level records status, justification, and target resolution times.

Governance and best practices: Assign clear ownership for each level, avoid escalation loops, review and update the pathways regularly, integrate with reporting and dashboards, train staff, and conduct drills to validate effectiveness. Eskalationsveje should be designed to support timely resolution while maintaining accountability.