SLA workflows for leads, deals, and tickets (no spreadsheet ops)

Problem

SLA tracking lived in spreadsheets and reminders. Leads and tickets slipped, handoffs broke between teams, and leadership lacked a reliable view of overdue work and bottlenecks.

Context & constraints

• Multiple teams (SDR, AE, CS, Support) with shared ownership and exceptions
• Territories, intent tiers, and compliance constraints affecting assignment
• Need for governance: change control, documentation, and auditability
• Escalations needed to route into Slack and ticket queues with clear owners

Approach

• Define the SLA contract per object (lead/deal/ticket): timers, owners, escalation rules, and exception handling.
• Implement workflow automation with validation gates and an exception queue.
• Add reporting that’s usable daily (SLA adherence, overdue queues, root-cause categories).

What Shipped

• SLA timers + task automation and ownership enforcement
• Escalation workflows and exception queues (with Slack routing)
• Dashboards for SLA adherence, backlog aging, and handoff bottlenecks
• Runbooks + change control for workflow edits and property governance

Operational outcomes

• Higher SLA adherence and fewer dropped handoffs
• Faster escalations with clear ownership and routing rules
• Less manual chasing through automated timers and queues
• More reliable operations through documentation and controlled changes

Governance & Safety

• Least-privilege access
• Change control + rollback plan
• Audit trail for workflow changes
• PII handling rules