Escalation server

The additional module "Escalation Server" in c-entron enables automatic monitoring and escalation of processes based on due dates and priorities. By taking working hours and flexible escalation levels into account, the module is ideal for optimizing internal processes and reliably complying with service level agreements (SLAs).

Requirements

1. Licenses
   The escalation server requires an active license for the add-on module.
   (If you do not have one, please contact our Sales.)
   (NOTE: You can view the licenses you are using in c-entron under the orange (i) Info icon in the top left corner under the "Licenses" tab or Global Settings – Administration – System – c-entron Licenses or in the c-entron Connection Manager by clicking on [Show Licenses] or in c-entron under Global Settings.)

   

2. Required settings
   For the escalation service to work, the "Run integrated services" option must be enabled in the c-entron WebService.
   

   

   
   

3. Required permissions
   The escalation server settings are only accessible to users with the appropriate administrative rights (main menu Administration - Settings).
   
   

   

   
   

4. Configuration of escalations
   To ensure that the escalation server functions properly, under Global Settings → Administration → Escalations → Escalation Type the "Escalations disabled" property not active be and it must active escalations are defined, including:
   - Working hours for the escalation calculation,
   - Escalation levels with specified times for escalation.
   
   

   

How the escalation mechanism works

The escalation mechanism monitors the to-do list for a task and ensures that automatic escalation occurs after defined deadlines have expired. This escalation is based on the due date for tickets or similar criteria such as resubmission dates for other task types. The escalation distinguishes between the person responsible (agent), the office staff (IDM/ID), and the field staff (ADM/AD), depending on the to-do entry and priority.

You can store this setting under Global Settings → Sales → Documents → General:

Determination of escalation deadlines

The settings for escalation hours define how many hours after the due date a process moves to the next escalation level. As soon as the escalation level is reached, a notification is sent to the designated recipients. Negative values can also be entered for the first escalation level to trigger an escalation before the actual due date.

• Example of standard escalation: A ticket with "Standard" priority and a due date of November 14 at 11:00 a.m. will escalate at 7:00 p.m. on the same day with an escalation period of 8 hours.

• Example of premature escalation: A ticket with the priority "immediate" and a due date of November 14 at 5:00 p.m. escalates at 4:00 p.m. with a deadline of -1 hour.

Subsequent escalation levels build on the previous escalation, ensuring continuous monitoring and escalation.

Note: In order for a priority to be displayed and configured in the escalation server, there must be at least one ticket with this priority; only then can this priority be escalated.

A new help desk escalation type can be created under "Ticket → Helpdesk → Priorities" be deposited.

Note on help desk priorities:
Please note that a new priority only then recognized as an escalation priority and taken over if:
- At least one ticket with this priority available or assigned is.
- If necessary, the Web server (WS) be restarted for the change to take full effect.
These steps are important to ensure that the new priority is processed correctly in the system.

Working hours and escalation calculation

To prevent escalations from occurring outside of business hours, escalation times are calculated within specified working hours. These working hours define the periods during which an escalation is actively calculated and continued.

• Example of escalations during working hours:
  A ticket with "Standard" priority and a due date of November 14 at 11:00 a.m. would escalate at 7:00 p.m. with an escalation period of 8 hours. However, if the working hours are set from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the escalation calculation pauses at 6:00 p.m. and continues the next day at 8:00 a.m. The escalation would therefore take place on November 15 at 9:00 a.m.

In addition, you can specify whether the escalation calculation should be active on weekends. This is controlled by the "Sa" and "So" options in the working time settings.

Configuring escalation emails

Specific recipients of notifications can be defined for each escalation level. The recipient groups and their settings are as follows:

• Supervisor of the processor: The supervisor is automatically assigned by the employee management system and refers to the person entered as the processor of the transaction.

• Operations Manager: The email address of the operations manager must be entered manually in the escalation settings.

It is important to maintain the sender address for escalation emails so that messages are delivered correctly. The content of escalation emails is managed in the email template management system. These templates can contain various variables to dynamically adapt the message content to the respective process and recipients, ensuring personalized communication.