In rare instances, there may be multiple reasons for a customer to be escalated at one time. In order to keep the reasons for escalation and the steps to resolve them focused, there should be an escalation for each situation. Each escalation should be declared and separate Slack channels opened with the relevant stakeholders involved. The reason for the escalation should be included the channel name to reduce confusion (e.g. if one customer is escalated for both a DAST issue and a performance issue, there should be two channels, one called esc_customername_dast and one called esc_customername_perf). Each escalation should follow the defined escalation process separately, but the account team and leadership should stay aligned on where the overall account health is throughout and if there should be any action that relates to both escalations. Including additional leadership such as the e-group may be warranted if there is significant risk to the overall sentiment of the account.
## Tracking Escalation Engagements
Escalation management is critical work that directly impacts customer renewals and satisfaction. To ensure this work is visible and measurable, CSMs must track their escalation engagement activities in Gainsight. This allows leadership to understand the time investment required for escalations and recognize this work in performance reviews.
### Why Track Escalation Engagements?
- __Visibility__: Make escalation work visible to leadership and in performance metrics
- __Accountability__: Document the time and effort CSMs invest in managing escalations
- __Reporting__: Enable dashboards and reports showing escalation volume, time spent, and outcomes
- __Recognition__: Ensure escalation management is recognized as high-value customer advocacy work
#### How to Log Escalation Activities
CSMs should log all escalation-related activities (calls, emails, internal coordination, updates, etc.) in the __Timeline tab of the Escalation CTA__ in Gainsight. This is different from posting status updates to the customer timeline.
__Step-by-step process:__
1. __Open Gainsight and navigate to the Cockpit view__
- This is where you manage all CTAs for your accounts
2. __Select the specific Escalation CTA__
- Find the escalation CTA that was auto-created from the Salesforce escalation case
- The CTA will be named based on the escalation case
3. __Navigate to the Timeline tab within the CTA__
- Once inside the CTA, click on the Timeline tab
4. __Log your escalation activities__
- Add timeline entries for all escalation-related work:
- Customer calls and meetings
- Internal coordination calls with engineering, support, product, or leadership
- Email communications with the customer
- Status updates and progress notes
- Any other actions taken to drive escalation resolution
#### Visualization of the Escalation Engagement Tracking Flow
```mermaid
flowchart TD
Start([CSM needs to log<br/>escalation work]) --> SFDC[SFDC Escalation Case Created]
SFDC -->|Auto-creates| CTA[Escalation CTA in Gainsight]
- __Start immediately__: Begin logging activities as soon as the escalation is opened, so all coordination work is captured from the start
- __Be specific__: Include details about what was discussed, decisions made, and next steps in each timeline entry
- __Current limitation__: Gainsight timeline entries do not currently track actual time spent (hours/minutes). Timeline entries only capture a start date/time. Once Gainsight adds time-tracking capabilities, CSMs will be able to log hours spent on escalation activities
- __Distinction from Health Updates__: Health Updates (status updates about escalation progress) are separate from engagement activities. Both should be logged in the CTA Timeline, but engagement activities provide granular tracking of CSM work
### Closing the Escalation
- To close an escalation, a clear alignment between GitLab stakeholders and the customer (including documentation in an issue or email) is required. Both parties need to agree the situation is resolved.
