---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# On-Call Scheduling workflows

# On-Call Scheduling workflows {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read  
Workflows perform On-Call Scheduling operations.

## Workflows installed with On-Call Scheduling {#workflows-oncall__section_q1b_vw5_mlb}

On-Call: Assign by Acknowledgement

:   The workflow uses data from escalation settings,
    including overlapping shifts and custom escalation
    settings for shifts and rosters. Depending on the
    settings, the workflow moves through the
    escalation path and sends notifications by SMS,
    voice, or email that ask users to accept a task.

    To send notifications, a trigger rule is
    required. Trigger rules supersede some On-Call
    business rules in earlier releases. To define a
    trigger rule, you must deactivate business rules
    that you customized in earlier releases.

    The workflow respects time off as specified in
    rosters. Roster members with time off are not
    included in the escalation path and no
    notifications are sent to them.

    If Force communication channel is specified in the
    Escalation settings for
    rosters, the [Subscription-based
    notifications](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_SubscriptionBasedNotifications&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US) is used: SMS, email, voice,
    Microsoft Teams,
    or mobile push. If the preferred
    method is SMS and the on-call member does not have
    an SMS device defined, the user is not contacted
    even if the user has an email address. When
    forcing a communication channel on an escalation
    level does not succeed, no further communication
    attempts are made. The failed contact attempt is
    logged. The setting Force communication channel is available only if Notify is installed.

    * Until acknowledged, sends on-call notifications to escalatees based on the escalation policy and configured contact preference.
    * Logs escalation details for each communication.
    * Resumes the workflow immediately after rejection.
    * Catch-all users are treated like all other escalation users: A response is expected and the incident might be assigned to them based on their response.

    Note:  
    This workflow internally launches the On-Call: Assign by Acknowledgement per Rota workflow.

On-Call: Escalations by Email
:
    * Until acknowledged, sends on-call email notifications to escalatees based on the escalation policy and configured email contact preferences.
    * Logs escalation details for each communication.
    * Catch-all users are treated like all other escalation users: A response is expected and the incident might be assigned to them based on their response.

On-Call: Assign
:   Assigns the task to the current primary roster
    member.

On-Call: Check Assignment Response
:
    * Triggered when an inbound SMS message is received.
    * Based on the response in the message, assigns the task to the roster member.
    * Updates the response in the corresponding notification record.

On-Call: Assign by Acknowledgement Voice
:
    * Triggered when an outbound call is made from the on-call number to any user or device.
    * Based on the response to the voice call, assigns the task to the roster member.
    * Updates the response in the corresponding notification record.

On-Call: Time-off approval
:
    * Triggered when vacation time off (PTO) is requested by a user.
    * Sends approval requests to appropriate managers.

On-Call: Conference Call Escalation
:
    * Triggered when a conference call is initiated and a group is added to the call.
    * Makes a voice call to the first group member in the escalation policy.
    * If the member does not join the conference call, then escalates to next group member in the policy
    {#workflows-oncall__ul_tqh_r33_zlb}
* **[Workflow Activities for On-Call Scheduling](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Nt8mRS4v7C3T47nezEABfw)**   
  Workflow activities in On-Call Scheduling workflows.