Streamlining Urgent Escalations: Lessons for Enhanced Efficiency while Mitigating Risk

Process Consulting Case Study

In my time at a major social media company, I worked on the team responsible for some of the highest-priority escalations coming from the various platforms. These critical cases could include things like a rapid post takedowns of high-profile content or addressing viral incidents of bullying and harassment. However, as the volume of these escalations continued to rise, it became increasingly evident that our existing process needed to change to support through times of high case volume.

I worked closely with the team set up to intake, prioritize based on a standard framework, and triage all cases within 30 minutes. The team was inundated with a growing number of cases. Digging into the data, I learned the increase was driven mostly low-priority issues that were clogging up the system, making it challenging to meet our 30 minute goal and creating risk that we may not get to the highest priority items fast enough.

As the volume continued to grow, we recognized the need for a more nuanced approach. This realization led us to create a two-queue system, where we categorized escalation intake sources by the likelihood of producing high-priority escalations. Some sources hardly ever yielded critical cases, so we created a plan to to reroute them to new queue with a more lenient 1-hour goal.

We also identified sources that always generated cases with the same level of priority and were always directed/triaged to the same team. For these cases, we streamlined the process through automation, bypassing the need for manual triage altogether. The changes would allow us to focus on meeting the goal for high-priority items while generating financial savings (i.e., labor hours reduction) through automation.

By critically reviewing operations, redefining priorities, and embracing automation when applicable, you too can enhance your business’s efficiency and cut costs. In today's fast-paced world, adaptability and innovation are the keys to success.