As a project professional, how do you handle communication when resources assigned to a critical project stop responding to the communication channels (emails, calls, Teams, etc.), and their delivery manager is also unresponsive?
At what point do you escalate and what approaches have worked for you?
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Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Srikana, I would not make the escalation point depend primarily on how many emails, calls or Teams messages have gone unanswered.
I would first clarify what is actually missing. Is it simply a response, or is the non-response preventing access to information, a decision, an agreed deliverable, or the resolution of a critical dependency? Those are very different situations, with different consequences and urgency.
I would also avoid assuming that non-response necessarily means that the assigned person has not done the work. It tells us that a communication expectation is not being met; the underlying cause still needs to be established.
My escalation trigger would therefore be consequence-based rather than attempt-based. Once the remaining response window, potential consequence or dependency indicates that waiting longer would materially reduce the ability to resolve the issue at the current level, escalation becomes part of managing the project rather than a reaction to someone's behaviour.
And I would try to escalate the unresolved issue, not the person: what is needed, by when, what commitment or dependency is affected, what has already been attempted, what happens if it remains unresolved, and what decision or intervention is now required.
If both the assigned contributor and the delivery manager remain unavailable while the exposure is becoming material, the issue may already need to move beyond that immediate management path.
For me, the key question is therefore not, “How many times should I try before escalating?” but, “At what point does waiting longer materially reduce our ability to resolve the issue before its consequences become difficult to avoid?”
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1 reply by Srikana Ray
Sep 25, 2026 11:52 AM
Srikana Ray
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I agree, thank you for sharing your insights. Resources are sometimes overallocated across critical projects, leaving teams without the bandwidth to deliver or provide timely updates. However, project timelines and release milestones still need to be met, putting project managers and professionals in a challenging position.
Srikana, I would not make the escalation point depend primarily on how many emails, calls or Teams messages have gone unanswered.
I would first clarify what is actually missing. Is it simply a response, or is the non-response preventing access to information, a decision, an agreed deliverable, or the resolution of a critical dependency? Those are very different situations, with different consequences and urgency.
I would also avoid assuming that non-response necessarily means that the assigned person has not done the work. It tells us that a communication expectation is not being met; the underlying cause still needs to be established.
My escalation trigger would therefore be consequence-based rather than attempt-based. Once the remaining response window, potential consequence or dependency indicates that waiting longer would materially reduce the ability to resolve the issue at the current level, escalation becomes part of managing the project rather than a reaction to someone's behaviour.
And I would try to escalate the unresolved issue, not the person: what is needed, by when, what commitment or dependency is affected, what has already been attempted, what happens if it remains unresolved, and what decision or intervention is now required.
If both the assigned contributor and the delivery manager remain unavailable while the exposure is becoming material, the issue may already need to move beyond that immediate management path.
For me, the key question is therefore not, “How many times should I try before escalating?” but, “At what point does waiting longer materially reduce our ability to resolve the issue before its consequences become difficult to avoid?”
I agree, thank you for sharing your insights. Resources are sometimes overallocated across critical projects, leaving teams without the bandwidth to deliver or provide timely updates. However, project timelines and release milestones still need to be met, putting project managers and professionals in a challenging position.
...
1 reply by Luis Branco
Sep 27, 2026 5:49 AM
Luis Branco
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Srikana, I agree. Overallocation can put the project manager in a very difficult position, particularly when the commitments remain unchanged.
For me, the important point is not to allow that capacity constraint to remain hidden behind missed responses until it becomes a missed milestone.
Once the capacity constraint is identified, I would assess what work and dependencies are actually at risk and what room still exists to respond: can work be resequenced, priorities adjusted, dependencies reorganized, alternative capacity found, or commitments renegotiated?
The project manager may not control the underlying capacity, but can actively manage the resulting exposure and develop options. If the remaining options require authority the project manager does not have, then the escalation should be for a specific decision, rather than simply to report that a resource is unavailable.
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Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Sep 25, 2026 11:52 AM
Replying to Srikana Ray
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I agree, thank you for sharing your insights. Resources are sometimes overallocated across critical projects, leaving teams without the bandwidth to deliver or provide timely updates. However, project timelines and release milestones still need to be met, putting project managers and professionals in a challenging position.
Srikana, I agree. Overallocation can put the project manager in a very difficult position, particularly when the commitments remain unchanged.
For me, the important point is not to allow that capacity constraint to remain hidden behind missed responses until it becomes a missed milestone.
Once the capacity constraint is identified, I would assess what work and dependencies are actually at risk and what room still exists to respond: can work be resequenced, priorities adjusted, dependencies reorganized, alternative capacity found, or commitments renegotiated?
The project manager may not control the underlying capacity, but can actively manage the resulting exposure and develop options. If the remaining options require authority the project manager does not have, then the escalation should be for a specific decision, rather than simply to report that a resource is unavailable. Saving Changes...
Program Manager| HARPER SRLSanto Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
I would escalate once the lack of response starts putting a committed deliverable, dependency, or project decision at risk. I wouldn’t wait until the deadline is already missed. Before escalating, I would document the attempts to reach them and clearly communicate what is pending and the impact of not getting a response. If the resource and their manager are both unavailable, the next escalation should focus on getting an alternative owner or a decision on how the work will move forward.
I would escalate once the lack of response starts putting a committed deliverable, dependency, or project decision at risk. I wouldn’t wait until the deadline is already missed. Before escalating, I would document the attempts to reach them and clearly communicate what is pending and the impact of not getting a response. If the resource and their manager are both unavailable, the next escalation should focus on getting an alternative owner or a decision on how the work will move forward.
I agree, thank you for sharing your perspective. Saving Changes...
Hello Srikana Ray Thanks for asking this question. This is a high-impact risk because if it occurs, it would greatly affect the project objective. I would implement the response plan identified and documented during project planning. However, if we hadn’t identified this risk initially, we could work around it before it causes a ripple effect across the project. I would implement some solutions recommended in the forum, and if none exist or are unproductive, I would escalate it to upper management. This is the textbook solution to the communication problem. It sits at the intersection of communication, risk, and stakeholder analysis. Saving Changes...
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