Escalation

Escalation is the agreed step of passing a problem up to someone with more authority or skill when the person handling it cannot resolve it in time. It sets out, in advance, when to raise the alarm and who to raise it to, so a stuck issue does not sit quietly getting worse.

It is like a shop assistant knowing exactly when to call the manager rather than leaving an angry customer waiting. Clear escalation matters because the biggest failures often come not from the first problem but from it being held too long by someone without the power to fix it.