On-Call Schedules
On-call schedules ensure there's always someone ready to respond to incidents. PixoMonitor helps you create rotation schedules, manage handoffs, and handle temporary coverage changes with overrides.
What Are On-Call Schedules?
An on-call schedule defines who is responsible for responding to incidents at any given time. Rather than having one person handle all alerts (and burn out), teams rotate this responsibility.
Key benefits:
- 24/7 coverage — Someone is always available to respond
- Fair workload distribution — Rotate responsibility among team members
- Clear accountability — Everyone knows who's on-call right now
- Automatic escalation — Works with escalation policies to notify the right person
Creating an On-Call Schedule
Navigate to On-Call
Go to Settings → On-Call Schedules and click Create Schedule.
Name your schedule
Give your schedule a descriptive name:
- "Primary On-Call"
- "Weekend Coverage"
- "Database Team On-Call"
Set the timezone
Choose the timezone for your schedule. All rotation times will be calculated based on this timezone.
Add participants
Add team members who will be part of this rotation. You'll need at least one participant, but rotations work best with 3+ people.
Configure rotation settings
Choose how often the on-call responsibility rotates between participants.
Rotation Types
PixoMonitor supports three rotation types to match your team's needs:
Daily Rotation
The on-call person changes every day.
Configuration:
- Handoff time — When the rotation switches (e.g., 9:00 AM)
- Handoff timezone — Timezone for the handoff time
Best for:
- Teams with many members
- High-volume incident environments
- Preventing burnout from long shifts
Example: If you have 5 team members and daily rotation starting Monday:
- Monday: Alice
- Tuesday: Bob
- Wednesday: Carol
- Thursday: David
- Friday: Eve
- Saturday: Alice (rotation repeats)
Weekly Rotation
The on-call person changes once a week.
Configuration:
- Handoff day — Day of the week when rotation switches
- Handoff time — Time when rotation switches
- Handoff timezone — Timezone for the handoff
Best for:
- Smaller teams (3-5 people)
- Teams preferring longer, predictable shifts
- Organizations with weekly sprint cycles
Weekly rotations often work best when handoff happens on a weekday (like Monday morning) so the outgoing person can brief their replacement during work hours.
Custom Rotation
Create flexible rotation periods that don't fit daily or weekly patterns.
Configuration:
- Rotation interval — Number of days between rotations
- Handoff time — Time when rotation switches
Best for:
- Teams spanning multiple timezones
- Non-standard work weeks
- Complex coverage requirements
Example custom rotations:
- Every 2 days
- Every 3 days (8 shifts per month per person with 3 people)
- Every 10 days (month-long coverage with 3 people)
Managing Participants
Adding Participants
Participants are added to the rotation in order. The order determines who follows whom in the rotation.
To add a participant:
- Click Add Participant in the schedule settings
- Select a team member from the dropdown
- Optionally drag to reorder participants
Changing Rotation Order
The rotation follows the participant list from top to bottom, then loops back to the top.
To change order:
- Open the schedule settings
- Drag participants to rearrange
- Save changes
Changing the rotation order takes effect at the next handoff. The current on-call person remains on-call until their shift ends.
Removing Participants
When you remove someone from a rotation:
- If they're currently on-call, the next person takes over immediately
- Their future shifts are redistributed to remaining participants
Schedule Overrides
Overrides let you temporarily change who's on-call without modifying the permanent schedule. Use them for vacations, sick days, or coverage swaps.
Creating an Override
Open the schedule
Go to the on-call schedule and click the Overrides tab.
Click Create Override
Choose the date/time range for the override.
Select the replacement
Choose who will be on-call during this period instead of the scheduled person.
Add a reason (optional)
Document why the override was created (e.g., "Alice on vacation").
Override Examples
Vacation coverage:
- Alice is scheduled Nov 15-22
- Create override: Nov 15-22, Bob covers
- Bob receives all alerts during this period
Partial day swap:
- Carol is on-call Monday
- Carol has a dentist appointment 2-4 PM
- Create override: Monday 2-4 PM, David covers
Emergency coverage:
- Current on-call person is unreachable
- Create immediate override starting now
- Another team member takes over
Overrides take priority over the regular schedule. If multiple overrides overlap, the most recently created one takes effect.
Viewing Active Overrides
The schedule calendar shows:
- Regular rotation in the default color
- Overrides highlighted in a different color
- Override details when you hover or click
Viewing Who's On-Call
Current On-Call
The on-call dashboard shows:
- Currently on-call — Who's responsible right now
- Shift ends — When the current shift ends
- Next on-call — Who takes over next
Schedule Calendar
View the full rotation calendar:
- Toggle between day, week, and month views
- See upcoming shifts for each team member
- Identify coverage gaps
Team members can see their upcoming on-call shifts on their personal dashboard, helping them plan around their responsibilities.
Linking to Escalation Policies
On-call schedules work with escalation policies to route alerts to the right person:
In your escalation policy:
- Add an escalation step
- Enable Notify on-call
- Select the on-call schedule
When an alert triggers:
- Escalation policy activates
- System checks the schedule for who's on-call
- That person receives the notification
Example escalation flow:
- Immediately: Notify the on-call person from "Primary On-Call" schedule
- After 5 minutes: If no response, notify on-call from "Backup On-Call" schedule
- After 10 minutes: If still no response, page the entire team
Best Practices
Schedule Design
Start with weekly rotations for most teams. Daily rotations can be disruptive, and longer rotations may lead to burnout.
Have at least 3 people in a rotation. This provides enough coverage for vacations and sick days without overloading anyone.
Consider timezone distribution if your team is distributed. Stagger handoffs so no one is always woken up at night.
Handoff Hygiene
Document ongoing issues when handing off. The outgoing person should brief the incoming person on any active incidents or concerns.
Overlap handoff times with working hours when possible. This allows for synchronous handoff conversations.
Check in after handoff to ensure the new on-call person received access to everything they need.
Reducing Alert Fatigue
Tune your monitors to reduce false positives. The on-call person shouldn't be woken up for non-critical issues.
Use escalation policies to add delays before paging. Minor issues might resolve themselves.
Review on-call experience regularly. If someone had a particularly rough shift, discuss what can be improved.
A good on-call experience leads to better incident response. Teams that dread being on-call are less effective when incidents happen.
Troubleshooting
"Nobody is on-call right now"
This happens when:
- The schedule has no participants
- All participants have been removed
- There's a gap in override coverage
Fix: Add participants to the schedule or create an override to fill the gap.
Alerts going to the wrong person
Check for:
- Active overrides that might be routing alerts elsewhere
- Timezone misconfiguration in the schedule
- Incorrect escalation policy configuration
Handoff didn't happen on time
Verify:
- The handoff time and timezone are correct
- The schedule wasn't paused
- There isn't an override extending the previous shift