Escalation Task

If you require a task to be escalated to another approver if the task has not been approved after a specific time period has elapsed, you must set up an Escalation.

This is a two part process:

First, you must specify that the task is to be escalated by adding an Escalation timeframe to it.
Secondly you must create a new task that defines the routing of the requisition if the escalation is invoked. This task must immediately follow the task that is escalated.

1. Specify an Escalation Timeframe

1. In the Activity sub-window of the task you want to escalate, in the ‘Escalation’ section choose the Timeframe and then choose the number of Units to be used to calculate the escalation for that timeframe.
  Note that the timeframes ‘Days’ and ‘Hours’ use the Organisation Calendar and will calculate based on working hours only. The timeframes ‘Minutes’ and ‘Seconds’ will calculate escalation based on clock time.

PECOS will begin counting the timeframe immediately the task is invoked. As soon as the defined number of units is reached the task becomes expired and the requisition or order will move forwards in the approval plan onto the next task.

For Example. If you wish a financial approval task to be escalated to a deputy approver after 4 hours: within the financial approval task, within the activity window select the timeframe of ‘Hours’ and type in the ‘Units’ of 4. You must then create an escalation task immediately below the financial approval task in order to define the approval for the deputy approver. To do this, follow part 2 below.

2. Create an Escalation Task

To specify to whom your requisition or order gets escalated after a previous task’s timeframe has expired, you need to set up the Escalation Task immediately following the escalated task in the plan:

Insert a new task by using one of the ‘insert’ buttons.
Call the new task (for example) ‘Approval Escalation’ by typing this into the Task Name field.
Select the Action ‘Request Approval’ from the drop down selection box.
Fill in the eMail message that you want the system to generate for transmission to the task owner. Note that the eMail message will go to your escalated approver and the text should reflect this, along with a note to the urgency of approval.
Complete the audit trail. The audit trail message should read (for example) “Requisition escalated to ‘%User_Name%’ for approval”.
Click on the Owner button to set up the approver information.
Set the Owner Type field to either User or Role. If an appropriate Role does not exist, you should first go to the Approval Rules > Approver Roles menu and create it there. If User is selected a user search sub window will open for you to select the user who is to fill the approval role. The Role or User is the person to whom the requisition or order is being escalated to.
If Role is chosen, select a ‘Resolve Role by’ option. ‘Buy-for user’s Approval Rule Group’ should be selected if the buy for user’s role owner (approver) is to be used or ‘Requisitioner’s Approval Rule Group’ if the Requisitioner’s role owner (approver) is to be used. The former is recommended.
Optionally select a combination of five editing options for the approver in the ‘Approver can modify’ check boxes.
Click on the Criteria button.
In the Field dropdown selection box choose the value ‘Task: Prior tasks expired’.
Set the Operator field to the Greater Than Sign (>).
Set the Value field to 0.
Click the Add Rule Button. This puts the rule in the lower window.
Click the Update Button at the top of the screen (located just above the Plan Type field). Wait until the ‘Plan successfully updated’ confirmation box appears.
Click OK. This saves your work.

1. Summary: This task will only be invoked if the previous task has been marked by PECOS as being ‘expired’. If this is true the requisition or order will be routed for approval in the usual way. If the task immediately prior to this one has not expired (i.e. the approver has approved within the designated timeframe) this task will be skipped.