Configure deadline reminders and escalation ladders

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Two separate mechanisms sit under SLA Policies. Reminders warn people before a deadline. Escalations act after one has been breached. Configure both, because they cover different failures.

How to add a reminder

  1. Go to Settings, then Workflows, then SLA Policies.

  2. Under Remind users when the SLA due time approaches, click Add new reminder.

  3. Set how far ahead of the target it fires.

  4. Optionally raise the request's priority when it fires.

  5. Optionally send a specific template.

How to add an escalation

  1. On the same screen, under Send escalation when the SLA is violated, click Add new escalations.

  2. Set who is escalated to.

  3. Add further levels for escalations that need to travel upward.

Escalations run in levels, so a breach can reach a supervisor first and someone more senior only if it stays unresolved.

Reminders should outnumber escalations

A reminder is cheap and prevents the problem. An escalation is a report that the problem already happened.

Set at least two reminders on the fulfillment window: one with enough time to still do the work, and one shortly before the deadline. A single reminder an hour before a statutory deadline is a notification, not a warning.

Raising priority automatically

A reminder can raise the request's priority when it fires. This is worth using, because it changes what the queue looks like rather than only sending a message.

An email that arrives while someone is on leave achieves nothing. A request that moves up the queue is visible to whoever opens the queue next.

Where the wording comes from

Reminders and escalations send email templates, edited under Settings, then Agent Productivity, then Email Templates. The relevant staff templates are SLA warning, SLA warning - approaching, SLA warning - critical, SLA breached and SLA escalated.

Edit those before you rely on the reminders, because the default wording is generic and a warning nobody reads is a warning that does not work.

What escalations do not do

An escalation notifies people. It does not reassign the request, extend the deadline, or pause the clock. Somebody still has to act.