Escalation Philosophy
This article explains the Business Process Management (BPM) team’s philosophy and approach to escalation. Escalation is used intentionally to support timely, informed decision-making while maintaining appropriate ownership, accountability, and governance.
Escalation Philosophy
Escalation is not a failure of collaboration or planning. In BPM, escalation is a structured decision-support mechanism used when risks, impacts, or constraints exceed the authority or scope of the working group.
The goal of escalation is to ensure decisions are made by the appropriate owner, with full visibility into impacts, trade-offs, and institutional considerations.
When Escalation Is Appropriate
| Scenario |
Why Escalation Is Needed |
| Conflicting stakeholder decisions |
Decision authority or priorities cannot be resolved at the working level. |
| Policy, compliance, or audit impact |
Requires review or approval beyond operational teams. |
| Enterprise or cross-functional impact |
Impacts extend beyond a single unit or functional area. |
| Material risk or unintended consequences |
Potential downstream impacts require leadership visibility. |
When Escalation Is Not Appropriate
- Clarifications that can be resolved with additional information
- Preference-based disagreements without material impact
- Items already governed by documented standards or policy
- Situations where ownership and authority are already clearly defined
Escalation Path
- Working group or functional discussion
- Functional leadership or process owner review
- Cross-functional or central governance review
- Executive leadership decision (when required)
BPM’s Role in Escalation
- Identify when escalation criteria are met
- Document the issue, impacts, and options
- Coordinate escalation to the appropriate level
- Communicate outcomes and next steps clearly and authoritatively