--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Service Management ft:clusterId : - itsm bundleId : - itsm workflow : - Technology --- # Major Incident workbench --- the Collaborate tab # Major Incident workbench --- the Collaborate tab {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Australia * * Updated January 30, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Major Incident workbench --- the Collaborate tab The Collaborate tab in the Major Incident workbench is designed to help ServiceNow users manage communication tasks that utilize conference calls as their communication channel during major incident management. It provides tools to create, initiate, and control conference calls, manage participants, and track communication activity effectively within the incident context. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Add Communication Plans and Tasks:** Users can add new communication plans or create communication tasks within existing plans directly from the Collaborate tab. * **Manage Participants:** After saving a communication plan, users can add or remove recipients via the Manage Participants option, ensuring the right stakeholders are included. * **Initiate and Control Conference Calls:** Users can initiate conference calls, with task statuses updating automatically---changing to Complete for one-time tasks or Open for recurring tasks. Calls can be joined by authorized itil users in progress. * **Participant Management:** The interface distinguishes between active and inactive participants. The conference leader can mute, unmute, or remove (kick) participants, and add new participants during the call. * **Group Calls and Escalation:** Adding a user group to a call adds the entire group and automatically follows the escalation hierarchy if the system property `com.snc.iam.conferencecallfollowoncallescalation` is enabled. * **Work Notes \& Activity Stream:** Users can send connect messages at the incident or communication plan level and view the activity stream for transparency and tracking. * **Direct Calling:** Calls can be started directly to group members if the `snmajorincmgmt.notifywebrtcnumber` property is set with a valid voice-capable notify number. The option disables automatically for users already in a call. * **Mute Controls:** Mute All and Unmute All options are available for managing participant audio during calls. * **Integration with Collaboration Tools:** Supports sending Microsoft Teams notifications and initiating Teams group chats from the workbench. Also supports Slack communication workflows. ## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers * **Streamlined Communication Management:** Centralizes conference call management during major incidents, enhancing coordination among responders. * **Improved Incident Response:** Automatic status updates and escalation workflows ensure timely and organized communication efforts. * **Participant Control and Flexibility:** Conference leaders have granular control over participant engagement, improving meeting efficiency. * **Seamless Integration:** Built-in support for Microsoft Teams and Slack enables leveraging existing collaboration platforms directly from the incident management interface. * **Enhanced Tracking and Auditing:** Activity streams and connect messages provide clear communication records within incidents. The Collaborate tab helps you to view and manage communication tasks that use conference as their communication channel. Figure 1. View of the Collaborate tab Like the Summary tab, you can add a new communication plan by clicking Add. You can create communication task for an existing plan by clicking Add Call. For more information, see [Add-communication-plan-from-mim-workbench](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/g_vqwiuAgbfcygzWHnx_yg "You can create a new communication plan or add a new communication task to an existing communication plan from the workbench. This UI action is helpful when you do not have an existing well-defined communication plan in the system."). If you want to add or remove recipients from a particular plan after the plan is saved, select Manage Participants. To initiate a conference call, select Initiate. If the communication task is a one-time task, then after the call is ended, the status of the task changes to Complete. If task is recurring, the status of the task changes to Open and it displays the number of times the conference call is initiated. Note: When you add a user group to the conference call, the group itself is added to the call, and the escalation hierarchy is automatically followed once you start the call. Set the com.snc.iam.conference_call_follow_on_call_escalation property to true. For more information about the property, see [System properties for On-Call Scheduling](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/LnPeuCxU~5Qu4txwXNJQng "The property settings configure On-Call Scheduling operations."). Under each task, the Active participant section displays the active participants and the Inactive participant section displays the inactive participants. If the call is in progress, the itil user, who has access to the workbench, can join the conference call by clicking Join Call. The participants can also add another user to an ongoing conference call by clicking + Participants. The conference leader can end the conference call by clicking End Call. The conference leader can mute, unmute, or kick an active participant by hovering over the active participant and clicking ![Mute or remove an active participant](). Under the Work Notes \& Activity section, you can send connect message at incident or incident communication plan level. You can also view the activity stream. To initiate a call directly to the group members, select Start a call. To start a call, populate the sn_major_inc_mgmt.notify_webrtc_number property with a valid notify number that has voice capability. For user who is already in an active conference call, Start a call is disabled. You can mute or unmute all the participants using the Mute All and Unmute All options. To send a Microsoft Teams notification from major incident workbench, see [Send a notification from Major incident management workbench](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=send-mim-notification&version=australia&pubname=australia-employee-service-management&ft:locale=en-US). The procedure applies to both the Collaborate and Communicate tabs. To Initiate Microsoft Teams group chat from MIM workbench, see [Initiate Microsoft Teams group chat from MIM workbench](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=initiate-ms-teams-group-chat-mim-workbench&version=australia&pubname=australia-employee-service-management&ft:locale=en-US). For information on process flow for slack communication, see [Process flow for Slack communication](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qJxpebD96d9U8K03VkY2uQ "Collaborate with the stakeholders from major incident management workbench using slack for an open and transparent communication."). For information on how to add a collaborative communication task, see [Add a collaborative communication task](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/IQJBWdxdHNhpVcGjufxH6g "In major incident workbench, you can add a collaborative communication task to collaborate and understand the progress of communication plan and its related tasks."). **Related concepts** * [Major Incident workbench --- Summary tab](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/uhqxMgOPfcGdnhH~5SXPoA "The Summary tab provides a unified view of information in the form of a card layout. The information on impacted services, affected CIs, active outages, locations that are impacted, and child incidents helps to keep you informed about related records associated with an incident.") * [Post Incident Report tab](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qzZx5y6o3HdwhXlqoMSOMQ "The Post Incident Report tab helps you to understand the cause of the major incident, and the actions taken by the teams to resolve the incident.") * [The Communicate tab in the Major Incident workbench](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/gnWTnBeaBSkP~4f8NhhnDA "The Communicate tab helps you understand the progress of a communication plan and its related tasks.")