Escalated and deferred calls

Escalated calls

The term escalated calls refers to all calls that must be processed to avoid escalation. This concept of escalated calls enables you to list the calls in order of their actual escalation priority. Escalated calls are neither special, nor are the calls escalated for a specific reason.

Escalated calls are calls that must be dealt with, remain to be assigned, or for which the assigned person is yet to handle the call in process. Blocked calls and waiting calls cannot be defined as escalated calls, because these calls cannot be handled.

Therefore, a call is escalated if the call is:

  • Registered
  • Assigned

Escalated calls are listed in order of priority, which is determined by the available time to solve the call, or the available time to start to solve the call, which depends on the Priority Definition parameter defined in the Call Parameters (tsclm0100m000) session.

Deferred calls

Deferred calls are calls that must be handled, and for which the status does not change within the specified period. A registered call, for example, is not set to Assigned status in time or an assigned call is not set to In Process status in time. The Time Fence parameter in the Call Parameters (tsclm0100m000) session determines the period for status change.

The time fence is used in two ways:

  • The time fence added to the time at which the call is registered indicates when the call must be assigned.
  • The time fence added to the time at which the call is assigned indicates when the call must be in process.

In other words, a call is deferred if:

  • The call is registered and the current time is past the registration time plus time fence.
  • The call is assigned and the current time is past the assigned time plus time fence. The call is not blocked.
Note: In contrast to escalated calls, deferred calls also include waiting calls, because calls that are waiting and have passed the time fence must be brought to the attention of the help desk employee.

To view escalated calls and deferred calls

You can activate a filter through which you can list both escalated and the deferred calls. However, if you have ten escalated calls and ten deferred calls, this does not imply that the list consists of twenty calls, because calls can be escalated and deferred at a given time. This condition applies to calls that have passed the time fence and that are not Waiting.

Note: 
  • When a call is blocked, the call is not listed by any of the three possible filters for further processing, because a blocked call is not the responsibility of the help desk. A call is blocked for financial causes, and must, therefore, be addressed by someone other than the help desk manager.
  • You cannot view a call that is overdue. However, overdue calls that have not been processed are also deferred calls. In other words, the Deferred Emergency Calls filter enables you to list the subset of the overdue calls. Similarly, you can use the Escalated Calls filter to list calls that are overdue, deferred, and not waiting.