Updating an On-Call schedule

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 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 efficiently view and update on-call schedules for a group via the Schedules tabs. Shift managers have a comprehensive single view to review, manage, and resolve scheduling gaps or conflicts, ensuring continuous support coverage.

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    To begin, navigate to On-Call Scheduling > On-Call Schedules and select the group card to open the schedule.

    Schedules Page Tabs and Their Functions

    Overview Tab

    • On-Call Section: Displays the current shift details, including navigation between shifts. You can view the roster and escalation details, which include:
      • Roster: Lists all rosters with active on-call members, including contact information and shift details.
      • Escalation Path: Shows the escalation path defined for the shift.
      • Profile: Displays the primary on-call member's profile with options to send direct messages or calls if Notify WebRTC is configured.
      • Contact Preferences: Shows the primary on-call member’s contact preferences.
    • Pending Actions: (Visible only to shift managers) Displays any pending actions such as gaps, conflicts, or time-off requests that need resolution to maintain proper coverage.
    • Your Upcoming Shifts: (Visible to shift members and shift managers who are members) Provides a calendar view of upcoming shifts.
    • On-Call Calendar: Shows all group shifts in a weekly calendar view, enabling easy shift management.

    Shifts Tab

    This tab lists all shifts defined for the user group and allows editing shifts or creating custom escalation policies to override default ones. Additionally, contact preferences can be edited from this tab to tailor on-call availability and notifications.

    Settings Tab

    This tab enables setting or editing group preferences specific to the on-call shift for the group. These preferences override global settings for that group only. If no custom preferences exist, you can create them here. Viewing global on-call properties is restricted to users with the rotaadmin role.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Centralized management of on-call schedules reduces administrative overhead.
    • Clear visibility into current and upcoming shifts improves team preparedness.
    • Resolution of schedule gaps and conflicts ensures continuous service availability.
    • Custom escalation policies and contact preferences provide flexibility tailored to organizational needs.
    • Direct communication options enhance responsiveness during on-call shifts.

    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.