Working today is tough – more so in a big company.

The simplest of tasks requires you to interact with 2 or more departments, often with their own views and priorities.

At times, it would seem everyone needs a push before they give what you want.

How do you push?

How do you escalate – without it leading to friction between departments or worse, bosses getting involved?

I share a way.

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For start, you need to segregate issues into two categories when it comes to escalation:

1. One-off issues
2. Issues that are systemic in nature.

Each will require a different approach.

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1. One-off issues

“One-off” issues that require escalation could pertain to a single transaction, a one-off delay, an instance of non-revert, etc.

These can often be resolved with an effective Subject line.  

In short, convey how the issue is affecting your work.  The subject structure has to thus become:

Category – Issue – Reason for Escalation

Some Examples:

IRDA Staff – Not in 5 branches – will come in Audit Report

System ‘Call-Service’ – 5 Open Items – 2 Impacting work

Sundry Ac 45836 – Rs 5.6 Crores unreconciled – Risk unknown

‘Form 16’ – Rs 2.75 lakh diff – Deadline for Tax Return 31 July

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Subjects like these don’t leave room for discussion.

They force people to give priority.

They force bosses to pay attention, to intervene if required, and in all probability to track for closure.

In a day, you will face tens of issues.

Stop running – getting into long calls and meetings.

Instead, think of your chair, your PC, and your email as a pilot’s cockpit.

Manage issues and risks with an effective email subject line.

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2. Systemic Issues

A Systemic issue is one where you can’t just blame the issue on an individual.

You get an inkling of this from a couple of prior interactions with the counterpart.

In such cases, you will have to also focus on the real reason—the process, the system, etc.

And to get your job done, you will have to proactively reach-in.

That means an Escalation Email which has the following 4 ingredients:

1. A Strong Subject,
2. Is High on Facts,
3. Is Low on Emotion (non-destructive), and
4. Has some Suggestions (Optional).

An Example

Imagine you are the Head of Administration department in a company.

You notice a delay in the release of vendor payments by the Accounts team. You decide to escalate the issue.

(It is a systemic issue because it is not a one-off payment delay, but one that is seen in payments stretching over weeks.)

Your Email’s 4 ingredients will be:

1. A Strong Subject

Whether you decide to escalate over on an existing email, or initiate a separate email, make the subject like:

‘24 Bills Pending – Over 25 Days Old – Business Impacted’.

A subject like this indicates a systemic lapse and will attract everyone’s attention.

It signals a pattern, not an isolated delay.

2. High on Facts

You list the details of all 24 pending bills.

This will help the Accounts team to investigate the issue and release your payments on priority.

If instead you merely highlight a couple of cases, they may have to search through hundreds of transactions to identify your items.

True, this means you will have to do some work – collate details of pending bills as per your records. But that is a small price to pay to have your issue resolved speedily.

But, there is another reason as well to give facts.

Usually what happens in escalation is listing of a couple of instances, and then constant hammering on it. 

The cycle is repeated every couple of days. The focus shifts to escalation per se.

Soon it stops affecting the bosses who are cc’d.

Instead, if you want bosses to intervene, give hard facts and numbers.

Once they see for themselves, they will feel comfortable to intervene.

3. Low on Emotion

Instead of being destructive / judgmental in your email:

“What is the issue?”, “Once we send the bills, it becomes your responsibility to release the payment within 5 days.”

Dispassionately highlight the effects of delay:

“We find that payments to vendors are not released in time, as per the agreed TAT of 5 days. … As per our records, the following 24 bills are pending… Due to delay in payment, vendors are delaying delivery of new equipment and services, which in turn is affecting other units in the company.”

This will prevent the email from turning into a blame game.

Using polite language helps to keep stress levels down—for yourself as well as others. It also makes it easier for people to focus on solving the issue rather than reacting to the tone.

Every systemic issue has some impact.

It could be – increased customer complaints, delays in processing, additional effort spent on resolutions, or other operational challenges. Communicate the same.

Pro Tip: Use phrases such as “We find…”, “We recently came to know…”, “In the recent Audit it was pointed out that ..”

They convey your observations rather than accusations. They will ensure your escalation remains objective and constructive.

The above 3 points will ensure your Escalation is effective – gets attention, and helps in resolution.

True, drafting an escalation email like the above will take time — possibly an additional 30 minutes — but once sent, it will get results that otherwise would take multiple phone calls and meetings.

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In addition, there is 1 more thing you can do. 

4. Suggest a Solution (Optional)

In your escalation email, suggest a solution where appropriate.

For example, in the above case, you can offer to rescan the 24 bills to help the Accounts team release the payments on priority. 

You may not always have a solution. But when you do, share it.

It positions you as someone who has thought through the issue and seeks to solve once and for — not someone who merely reports problems.

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A Caution Note: Preserve Relationship

You have a duty to get the work done.

If you don’t, you will face the consequences of not escalating issues on time.

At the same time, you and your department will benefit from having good working relationships with others.

As such, approach escalation – whether for a one-off or systemic issue – with a mindset of solving the issue, not of ‘winning’ or ‘showing others’. 

Used aggressively — especially if you’re later found to be at fault — it will invite equal or greater backlash.

A good rule of thumb:

Escalate via email – only after a call or standard follow-up hasn’t worked within a reasonable timeframe.

This ensures you’ve given the person a fair chance and are not over-escalating minor issues.

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On CC 

Escalation often means marking to higher-ups.

But if you are a junior, relatively new, or feel the need to preserve the relationship – one smart thing you can do is to just mark to your counterpart, with a cc to your boss.

Don’t mark to the counterpart’s boss.

Leave it to your boss — who is better placed to decide whether the issue needs to be escalated to their counterpart – your counterpart’s boss.

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A good escalation makes it easy for others to prioritize and act on your issue.