Updating an On-Call schedule

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Updating an On-Call schedule

    ServiceNow's On-Call Scheduling feature allows shift managers and members to view and update group on-call schedules efficiently. Managers can identify and resolve gaps or conflicts from a consolidated interface, ensuring continuous support coverage. Access the scheduling interface viaOn-Call Scheduling > On-Call Schedulesand select the relevant group.

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    Schedules Page Tabs

    Overview tab

    • On-Call Section: Provides details of the current on-call shift, including navigation between shifts, roster, and escalation details.
    • Roster and escalation details dialog:
      • Roster: Lists all rosters and active on-call members, including contact info and group membership.
      • Escalation Path: Shows the defined escalation sequence for the shift.
      • Profile: Displays the primary on-call member’s profile with options to send direct messages or calls via Notify WebRTC if configured.
      • Contact Preferences: Displays the contact settings for the primary on-call member.
    • Pending Actions: (Visible to shift managers only) Highlights gaps, conflicts, and time-off requests requiring action to maintain coverage.
    • Your Upcoming Shifts: (Visible to shift members and shift managers who are members) Shows personalized upcoming shifts in a calendar format.
    • On-call calendar: Displays the group’s shifts in a weekly calendar view, facilitating schedule management.

    Shifts tab

    Lists all shifts for the user group, allowing editing of shifts and creation of custom escalation policies to override defaults. Contact preferences for shifts can also be modified here, enabling tailored communication settings for on-call members.

    Settings tab

    Allows configuration of group-specific preferences for on-call shifts. Managers can create custom settings that override global defaults. The global on-call properties can be viewed by administrators with the rotaadmin role.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Centralized viewing and management of on-call schedules to ensure proper shift coverage.
    • Ability to quickly identify and resolve scheduling conflicts, gaps, and time-off requests.
    • Customizable escalation policies and contact preferences to fit organizational communication needs.
    • Enhanced communication options via real-time messaging and calling through Notify WebRTC integration.
    • Flexibility to set group-specific preferences that tailor the on-call experience without affecting other groups.

    Shift managers and members can use the Schedules tabs to view and update the on-call schedules of a group. Shift managers can review, manage, and resolve gaps or conflicts in your On-Call schedule from a single view.

    Opening the Schedules page

    To open and start working on a schedule, navigate to On-Call Scheduling > On-Call Schedules and then click the card for the group.

    Overview tab

    This tab gives an overview of the current shift. The following sections are available:
    • On-Call: Displays information about the current on-call shift. From here, you can:
      • Navigate to the previous and next shifts.
      • View the roster and escalation details of the current shift. When you click Roster and escalation details, a dialog box displays the following tabs:
        • Roster: Displays a list of all rosters along with its active on-call member. Information of the on-call member such as the contact number, email address, group, and the shift to which the user belongs to is also available.
        • Escalation Path: Displays the escalation path defined for the shift.
        • Profile: Displays the user profile of the primary on-call member. You can send a direct message to the on-call member by clicking Send a direct message or call the member if Notify WebRTC for on-call is set up. For more information on real-time messaging, see Connect. For information on Notify webrtc, see Forward to notify client workflow activity. For information on the Specify a valid Notify Number with voice capability property that enables the Notify WebRTC for on-call, see System properties for On-Call Scheduling.
        • Contact Preferences: The contact preferences set for the primary on-call member. On-Call Scheduling roster and escalation settings
    • Pending Actions: Displays the pending actions for the group’s on-call schedule. You can review gaps, conflicts, and time-off requests to find a replacement and ensure proper support coverage. For information on resolving the pending actions, see Resolve gaps, conflicts, and time-off requests in a shift and Resolve gaps, conflicts, and time-off requests in a shift.
      Note:
      This section is displayed only for a shift manager.
    • Your Upcoming Shifts: Displays your upcoming shifts in a calendar view.
      Note:
      This section is displayed for a shift member or a Shift Manager who is a shift member.
    • On-call calendar: This section displays the calendar view of all shifts of the group. By default, the week view is displayed. For more information on on-call calendar, see Manage shifts from the Calendar view.

    Shifts tab

    This tab displays all shifts defined for the user group. From here, you can edit a shift or create a custom escalation policy to override the default policy. For information on editing the escalation type, see Create an escalation policy.

    You can also edit contact preferences from this tab. For more information on configuring a contact preference, see Configure my availability and contact preferences

    Settings tab

    This tab displays the group preferences set for your group's on-call shift. If not already set, click Create Custom Group Settings to set the group preferences. For more information about group preferences, see Configure preferences for a user group.
    Note:
    The group preferences set here affect only this group. These settings override the global settings.
    To view on-call properties, click View Global Settings.
    Note:
    View Global Settings is only visible to rota_admin.