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Escalation ladder L1 to L2 to L3 based on elapsed unresolved time

One of 565 written HubSpot workflow specs, by a collective of independent HubSpot consultants.

Professional

Seat pricing: Professional edition. To build it, a GTM Seat or an Ops Seat (an Ops Seat cannot create marketing emails or sequences). Per-hub plans: Service Hub Professional.

13 steps
Per-hub plans: also Marketing Hub Professional

On per-hub plans, one of its steps belongs to another subscription: add to static list needs Marketing Hub Professional. Both are required to build it as written. On seat pricing the edition covers both.

Updated for HubSpot seat pricing
OutcomeAn unresolved ticket climbs through three escalation levels on a fixed schedule, so an issue nobody has touched for hours gets progressively more senior attention instead of staying invisible.
Workflow maptickets-sla-015
SLA overdue, priority High/Urgent, still open leads to Escalation level = 1. Escalation level = 1 leads to Wait 2 hours. Wait 2 hours leads to Still open?. Still open? leads to no: End - stopped at L1; yes: Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task. Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task leads to Wait 4 more hours. Wait 4 more hours leads to Still open?. Still open? leads to no: End - stopped at L2; yes: Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task. Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task leads to Add to L3 escalations - active list. no yes no yes SLA overdue, priority High/Urgent, still open Escalation level = 1 Wait 2 hours Still open? End - stopped at L1 Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task Wait 4 more hours Still open? End - stopped at L2 Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task Add to L3 escalations - active list
SLA overdue, priority High/Urgent, still open leads to Escalation level = 1. Escalation level = 1 leads to Wait 2 hours. Wait 2 hours leads to Still open?. Still open? leads to no: End - stopped at L1; yes: Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task. Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task leads to Wait 4 more hours. Wait 4 more hours leads to Still open?. Still open? leads to no: End - stopped at L2; yes: Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task. Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task leads to Add to L3 escalations - active list. no yes no yes SLA overdue, priority High/Urgent, still open Escalation level = 1 Wait 2 hours Still open? End - stopped at L1 Escalation level = 2 - notify manager, create task Wait 4 more hours Still open? End - stopped at L2 Escalation level = 3 - notify director, create task Add to L3 escalations - active list

One of 565 written HubSpot workflow specs, by a collective of independent HubSpot consultants.

When to use it, when not to

Use it

  • Use it for tickets where a single breach alert (tickets-sla-003, tickets-sla-005) is not enough because the issue can stay unresolved for a long stretch and needs increasing visibility over time.
  • Use it for High/Urgent priority only; the escalation cost of repeatedly interrupting managers and directors needs to be worth it.
Read more on when to use itShow less

Skip it

  • Do not use it for every ticket; a full three-level ladder on routine tickets trains people to ignore it.
  • Do not use it as a substitute for fixing the root staffing or process issue if the ladder fires constantly; rising escalation volume is a signal to review the queue, not just the individual tickets.
Read more on when to skip itShow less

The rest of this spec

Prerequisites · 5 items

Every property with its label, internal name, type and options, plus the assets the workflow needs.

Enrollment · 4 parts

The trigger, the criteria as ticked in the UI, the re-enrollment rule and the suppression list.

Steps · 13 numbered actions

Each action in order with its parameters, branches and delays.

Known pitfalls · 5

Traps seen in production, each with what breaks and what to do instead.

Test plan and UAT script · 4 cases, 3 variants

How to prove it works in a test portal, one case per branch, and a sign-off sheet.

Files · PDF, Markdown, JSON, CSV

The properties JSON creates the fields in one call. The workflow JSON documents the build.

Install · 1 click, switched off

The installer creates the properties and the workflow, switched off, then opens a task for what it cannot create. Nothing is deleted, enabled or enrolled.

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