On call management

Breaking down the on-call management process for IT teams

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On call management in IT operations

There’s an old saying that goes something like, “You never know what you need until you need it.” Though, we beg to differ – by employing a robust on-call management strategy into your business plan, you can know exactly what you need before you need it. Strong on-call management involves instituting contingency procedures to designate escalation protocol and which of your team members will respond in the event of an emergency scenario. 

Today, we’ll take a comprehensive look at what on-call management means in relation to IT support and how best to implement it in your organization.

What is on-call management?

On-call management encompasses the process of organizing a system in which individuals are designated to be available for responding to critical issues outside of regular working hours. This is a particularly common feature for business functions where continuous operations are essential – such as IT. A key component of an on-call agreement is that employees must always remain accessible through a specified communication channel to provide timely resolution in the case of a crisis.

Some key elements of a sound on-call system include setting clear rotation schedules, establishing communication protocols, and instituting well-defined escalation procedures. Post-incident analysis also serves a crucial role in the continuous improvement of processes, allowing businesses to refine their strategies for future emergency situations.

What is an on-call management system in IT operations?

It’s crucial that technical systems are operational around the clock, making it paramount for organizations to have an on-call contingency in place for IT support.

For instance, imagine your company suffers a critical system outage during a busy weekend surge. If your business relies heavily on e-commerce to conduct sales, this can be devastating and perhaps even incapacitate your entire operation completely. With an on-call IT team standing by, the situation can be immediately assessed and resolved. Otherwise, your company may not become aware of the issue until regular working hours on Monday, which would have by then resulted in substantial revenue loss and negative customer experiences.

Why is on-call management important in IT operations?

Severe technical problems are capable of disabling the functionality of your whole business, meaning it’s vital to have on-call IT support in place in the event of a worst-case scenario, such as the one provided above.

An unfortunate real-world example of a company lacking a reliable on-call blueprint is Delta Air Line’s August 2016 IT failure. The company lost power at its Atlanta operations center and was unable to resolve the issue for five hours, resulting in thousands of canceled flights and an estimated loss of $150 million. With effective on-call procedures, a designated team could have been promptly alerted and implemented necessary measures to reduce the impact on travelers and the organization.

Repercussions of system downtime

While the intention is to avoid technical failure altogether, this simply is not always possible. The next best thing is to minimize system downtime when it does occur, and a well-considered on-call plan is the best way to achieve this. When left unchecked, significant periods of IT outage can result in many negative consequences for your company.

Revenue loss

As referenced above, just a short period of downtime can result in monumental revenue losses, particularly if you’re a larger organization. Businesses that mainly operate through e-commerce will essentially be rendered useless, resulting in immediate financial damage. Moreover, if your organization provides services, you may be on the hook for additional compensation fees for users that were unable to access your offerings during the outage.

Customer dissatisfaction

Particularly in industries where customer experience (CX) is an essential element, customer dissatisfaction can lead to negative public feedback and increased churn. Studies have shown that it takes up to 12 positive experiences to make up for a single negative one, and that’s only if your customers even provide you the chance to make up for it. During a system failure, each additional second of downtime can affect many more customers; in on-call management, time is quite literally money. 

Productivity reduction

Though customers will be your main concern in the event of a technical outage, your employees will likely not be able to carry out their traditional job duties either. Downtime prevents employees from accessing essential tools and applications, leading to a significant drop in productivity. The lack of a competent on-call plan can also lead to lower employee morale through decreased confidence in their systems and management.

Data corruption

IT failures can also result in the loss of information, particularly if proper backup mechanisms are not in place. This can have long-term consequences for data integrity, business continuity, and customer confidence. Furthermore, the longer your system is down, the higher the probability is for security infiltration. Cyber threats are significantly more likely during downtime, as patches and updates cannot be applied during disruptions.

Common procedure for on-call IT strategies

Your protocol will be unique to your business operations and the particular system you utilize. That being said, there are key elements that comprise the vast majority of successful strategies across all industries.

Incident detection

Automated or manual monitoring of your system will be the initial indicator that other members of your on-call team need to be alerted. If your monitoring tools are automated, they should be programmed to generate alerts when anomalies are detected. You can configure these alerts to be sent directly to your on-call team and to specify the nature and severity of the issue. 

Incident categorization

Once your primary engineer is alerted of a potential incident, they’ll perform an initial assessment to determine its urgency and how to resolve it. They’ll classify the issue based on predefined criteria so that the rest of your team can gain a clear understanding of how significant the error is. 

Communication and collaboration 

Once the failure is identified and triaged, your team can begin collaborating to find a resolution. You should already have a designated channel in place containing your on-call protocol and scheduling to consolidate relevant information and enable seamless communication. Clear comms procedures can allow primary engineers to work with other IT support, update stakeholders, or alert the escalation engineer that their services are required.

Resolution

Engineers will troubleshoot the issue, using their skills to identify the root cause of the incident. If needed, they’ll utilize the expertise of the escalation engineer for more complex errors. They can also leverage automation tools to perform routine or repetitive tasks for faster rectification. Once the incident is resolved, remember to update stakeholders and customers as well if they experienced any outage on their end. 

Post-incident review

Following resolution, you should conduct a post-incident review to analyze the incident response. Identifying what worked well and what didn’t can allow you to refine future protocol and implement additional proactive measures to ensure the same issue doesn’t occur again.

Benefits of on-call management

Enhance incident response

A well-implemented on-call plan ensures that there’s always a designated on-call team available outside of regular business hours, minimizing response times for incidents that occur during non-working hours. Clear communication protocols and escalation paths are defined, ensuring that the right personnel are immediately notified. Moreover, monitoring and alerting systems enable proactive detection of potential issues, triggering immediate responses.

Reduced downtime

As demonstrated in Delta’s IT failure, just a small amount of system downtime can result in catastrophic revenue losses for your business. Automated proactive monitoring is your best bet to avoid downtime altogether – it allows on-call teams to detect problems early on, before they escalate into major incidents. If you’re past the point of proactivity, having well-defined escalation procedures and on-call teams on standby will help get your system back online as quickly as possible.

Improved workflows

Utilizing a single, cohesive communication platform (such as Freshworks’ Freshservice) can consolidate your escalation protocol, on-call scheduling, and on-call rotations into one easy-to-access location. This facilitates straightforward collaboration between team members and cuts down on ambiguity regarding who is responsible for what in the event of a crisis. On-call management’s well-defined rotational schedules help to reduce burnout among team members, ensuring they’re properly rested and ready to contribute in your company’s time of need.

Integration

Sound on-call procedures will designate centralized incident response plans that encompass multiple departments. This involves creating a comprehensive playbook detailing procedures, contacts, and resources required for effective incident resolution. On-call strategies can be customized for relevance to other important business functions beyond IT, such as customer support, operations, and facilities management. Integrating your on-call plan into other areas of your company creates a unified and proactive approach to incident management, which will pay dividends in an emergency scenario.

Data Driven decision-making

A key component of on-call management is post-incident analysis, which involves examining the root cause of the issue to ensure that it doesn’t occur again. Reconstructing the incident timeline and documenting lessons learned can help implement preventative measures to mitigate the risk of similar failures occurring in the future. Optimizing proactive monitoring to reflect post-incident analyses relies on adjusting monitoring systems, providing additional training, and improving relevant infrastructure.

On-call management in IT operations best practices

Clearly define roles and responsibilities

There can be many moving parts of an on-call team, and it’s important that all employees are actively aware of their responsibilities at any given time. You should appoint at least a primary, secondary, and tertiary team member for all rotations – if the primary employee can’t respond in an emergency, you’ll then alert the secondary member, and after that, the tertiary. Furthermore, you’ll want to clearly outline each member’s responsibilities. This includes specific tasks and escalation procedures in addition to other duties such as incident documentation, post-incident analysis, and communication with stakeholders.

Build strong communication and collaboration across IT teams

This generally consists of establishing a clear communication channel, creating an on-call handbook, and implementing post-incident reviews. Employing a single communication platform ensures all protocols and scheduling is centralized in just one location, providing effortless access and limiting confusion for team members. Additionally, distributing an on-call handbook compiles all relevant information into a sole document to ensure that employees have a complete overview of your contingency plan for when the time comes. Following a crisis, collaborating for a post-incident review will allow your team to refine procedures to better address similar issues in the future. 

Utilize automation

Automation is a useful tool for on-call management, as it can immediately alert relevant team members to potential issues and reduce the need for manual monitoring. It’s also able to categorize incidents based on predefined criteria, allowing for a quicker understanding of the nature and severity of the issue. The time saved by quickly identifying and triaging issues through automation can serve as a substantial benefit to your on-call strategy.

Continuous training and improvement

As you update your infrastructure and learn from past incidents, you’ll want to continuously refine your strategy to ensure that team members are employing best on-call practices. Also, conducting hands-on, scenario-based simulations will allow team members to rehearse their responses to different potential crises. This helps identify areas for improvement, enhances decision-making skills, and ensures readiness for real-world incidents. Remember to update your on-call handbook as infrastructure improves and protocol is adjusted to make sure your team always has access to the most current information.

Which specialists should I employ for my on-call team?

A well-rounded on-call team will consist of members who offer various levels of technical expertise, leadership skills, and analytical knowledge. In addition to possessing the competence to perform necessary tasks, you must ensure these employees offer infallible reliability so that you know that you can count on them in the event of an emergency.

Engineers

A primary, secondary, and tertiary engineer should always be on-call as the first line of defense for any technical interruptions. They should be capable of quickly assessing common IT issues, troubleshooting problems, and implementing initial resolutions. Secondary and tertiary engineers can offer additional support if needed, and of course, serve as a failsafe if you’re unable to contact your first option.

Escalation engineer 

Escalation engineers are required when a situation proves to be beyond the capabilities of your regular IT team. They’re generally not a part of the first wave of support, but rather called upon if your primary engineer recognizes the need for a deeper level of expertise. They will offer either a mastery of the specific system your business utilizes, IT in general, or both.

Monitoring and documentation specialists

Monitoring and documentation specialists configure alert systems to ensure the early detection of incidents and analyze the data to refine procedures in the event that they fail. Monitoring specialists serve as your best chance to prevent the next potential incident, and documentation experts are your top prospects at avoiding the one after that. These members need to have a strong understanding of automation tools and information analysis in order to perform their duties. 

Communication coordinator

Your comms coordinator manages interactions during incidents, ensuring that relevant team members are alerted, updates are provided, and escalation procedures are followed. They’re paramount in your on-call strategy since the other moving parts of your team cannot carry out their duties until the comms coordinator performs theirs. Your coordinator should possess excellent communication skills, leadership qualities, and, most importantly, be trustworthy.

How does Freshservice help manage on-call operations?

Freshworks can help you institute a reliable on-call strategy with our Freshservice IT management. Freshservice offers a united platform for all members of your on-call team to collaborate, eliminating potential confusion by storing all relevant contingency information in one place. 

Our on-call management operates around four central components: on-call schedules, on-call rotations, on-call calendars, and escalation policies.

On-call schedules

Utilizing our on-call scheduling, your organization can ensure that the most relevant team member is always available to address any technical outages. With Freshservice, you can employ multiple on-call schedules, mapping them to either a domain-specialized agent group or a specific location. Your schedule should always be filled to have at your experts on-call 24/7 to resolve any issues that may arise.

On-call rotations

Rotating shifts across your entire on-call team ensures all members are permitted to learn, contribute, and be held accountable. With Freshservice, each shift is mapped to a group of agents categorized as primary, secondary, and tertiary to ensure you have a clear hierarchy under emergency circumstances. As mentioned before, if your primary team member is unavailable in a time of need, it’s understood the secondary agent would be contacted, and if they’re unavailable, the tertiary member would be sought out.

On-call calendars

Freshservice’s calendar provides an overview of agents’ availability and the schedules they’re associated with. You can view by day, week, or month to easily assess if there are any hours unaccounted for and, if so, quickly place an agent on-call for that period. Our calendar can be exported and viewed from any device, facilitating effortless accessibility from wherever your team may be.

Escalation policies

Having clearly defined procedures for potentially catastrophic scenarios is a must – it can save precious seconds, minutes, or hours in your time of need. With Freshservice, specific escalation policies can be applied to any shifts within your on-call schedule. Your escalation procedures will specify which agents to notify, the channels through which they should be alerted, and how frequently they’ll be contacted until they confirm receipt. Freshservice currently provides five levels of escalation and the entire path is repeated up to five times if left unacknowledged.

Get started with Freshservice

By incorporating a well-communicated on-call strategy, your organization can know exactly what it needs before it’s needed to help lessen the negative impact of any potential system failures. We wish you the best in avoiding these scenarios altogether, but the reality is that these situations will happen, and it’s important to have a trustworthy team in place for when they do. You can do your part by ensuring your employees have all the relevant information, well-defined protocols, and clear scheduling to help them best perform their duties when the time comes.

Frequently asked questions

Can on-call management be integrated with other IT service management processes?

Yes, on-call management can be integrated with processes such as incident management, change management, and problem management to ensure cohesive coordination of activities. For example, on-call procedures can be aligned with incident response processes to facilitate an all-in-one resolution strategy.

Can on-call management be extended beyond IT to other business functions?

By adopting a similar on-call structure, other critical departments such as customer support, operations, and facilities management can establish designated teams to address urgent issues outside regular working hours as well. Extending on-call systems beyond IT enables organizations to promptly address challenges across various departments to keep operations running smoothly.

What role does automation play in on-call management, and how can it improve response times?

Automation can assist your on-call strategy by providing monitoring tools that can swiftly identify abnormalities, trigger alerts, and initiate predefined corrective actions without human intervention. Automated incident escalation ensures that the right personnel are promptly informed, reducing the time it takes to assemble your on-call team.

What’s an example of a scenario where I would require on-call management?

System failure during weekend or non-working hours is the most common situation where your on-call team will be needed. Additionally, issues outside the scope of your regular IT support team will require the assistance of an escalation engineer no matter when the incident occurs.

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