---
title: "Add escalations"
description: "When an actionable message is still not actioned after a number of days, notify someone else, such as the recipient's manager, with a short notice that says what is outstanding and since when."
sidebar:
  order: 2
area: flows
feature: steps
appPath: /flows/home
lastVerified: 2026-10-22
version: "2026-10-16"
audience: admin
screenshots:
  - id: flows-steps-escalations
    caption: The Escalations section under the reminders, with one escalation to the manager after 3 days.
related:
  - flows/steps/add-reminders
  - flows/steps/add-a-button-to-a-message
  - flows/steps/choose-recipients-and-cc
---

Reminders nudge the person who was asked. An escalation tells somebody else, so a new starter without a buddy or an unsigned policy does not go unnoticed. The escalation recipient gets a generated notice, not a copy of the message, naming who has not completed what and when it was sent.

## Before you start

- The step is an email or Slack direct message with a tracked button or embedded form. Channel posts cannot be escalated, because anyone in the channel can act on them.

![An escalation notifies someone other than the recipient when the step is still not actioned.](https://support.pynhq.com/media/flows/steps/flows-steps-escalations.png)

## Steps

1. In Pyn, open the automation from **Flows**, **Automations**, and select the step.

2. Select the **Reminders** tab and scroll to **Escalations**, under the reminders. It reads **No escalations configured.**

3. Select **Add escalation**. A row appears reading **3 days after send, notify Manager**.

4. Change the number of days (1 to 90). Place it after your last reminder, so the person has had every chance to act first.

5. Select the recipient to change who is notified: under **Relative to the employee**, **Employee**, **Buddy**, **Manager** or **Skip-level Manager**; under **People**, a specific employee; on an email step, under **Email addresses**, a custom email recipient; on a Slack step, under **Channels**, a channel.

6. Add up to three escalations, for example the manager after 3 days and the skip-level manager after 7. Close the drawer and **Publish** the automation.

> **Note:** An escalation goes out with the step's own sender in the step's medium, so a Slack step escalates in Slack and an email step by email. One that resolves to the original recipient is treated as a reminder and skipped.

## What the notice says

The notice is fixed when the original is delivered. In Slack or email it reads, for example:

> ⏰ **Jane Doe** hasn't completed **Sign the handbook** in *New hire onboarding*. It was sent on 3 Oct (5 days ago).
>
> *You're getting this as Jane's manager.*

When the step is about someone other than its recipient, the notice adds "for" and the employee's name. The email subject is **Not yet completed: Sign the handbook (Jane Doe)**.

## What you should see

Under [Enrollments](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/enrollments/), the escalation appears beneath the original delivery, **Scheduled** for its day, and is cancelled if the recipient acts first or the enrollment is stopped. Where the step cannot be escalated the section says why: **Add a button or form to this step to escalate it.** or **This step is posted to a channel, where anyone can action it, so it can't be escalated.**

## Related

- [Add reminders](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/add-reminders/) for follow-ups to the recipient.
- [Add a button to a message](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/add-a-button-to-a-message/) to make the step actionable.
- [Choose recipients and Cc](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/choose-recipients-and-cc/) for custom email recipients as escalation targets.