---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Workflow Activities for On-Call Scheduling

# Workflow Activities for On-Call Scheduling {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
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## Summary of Workflow Activities for On-Call Scheduling

This document outlines the workflow activities for On-Call Scheduling, specifically focusing on escalation processes.
These activities help manage escalation incidents effectively by creating, logging, and tracking various escalation-related records and communications.
Understanding these activities is vital for optimizing response times and ensuring proper notification procedures are followed during on-call scenarios.
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## Key Features

* **Log Escalation Start:** Creates an escalation record with details such as group, task, and workflow information.
* **Log Escalation Level:** Records the current level of escalation, allowing for tiered response management.
* **Log Escalation Attempt:** Tracks each contact attempt made during the escalation, ensuring accountability.
* **Log Escalation Communication:** Records the communication details sent to the escalatee, including the type and status of the communication.
* **Log Escalation End:** Completes the escalation process by updating the escalation status.
* **Send Notification:** Delivers notifications to current escalatees through various channels (SMS, voice, Slack, etc.).
* **Manage Escalation Response:** Handles responses to escalations, allowing for updates and clean-up of escalation records.

## Key Outcomes

By implementing these workflow activities, ServiceNow customers can expect improved management of on-call situations, ensuring that relevant personnel are notified promptly and efficiently. This structured approach aids in maintaining clear communication and accountability during escalations, ultimately leading to faster incident resolution and enhanced service reliability.  
Workflow activities in On-Call Scheduling workflows.

## Escalation workflow activities {#workflow-activities-oncall__section_q1b_vw5_mlb}

On-Call: Log Escalation Start

:   Creates an escalation record based on group,
    task, and workflow details.

    Note:  
    The escalation that the workflow creates the
    `workflow.scratchpad.escalationSysId`
    sys_id. Use the sys_id in any of the other
    workflow activities.
    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_x2q_mx5_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | Group | sys_id of the group that the escalation belongs to. |
    | Table | Table name of the task record of the incident. |
    | Source | sys_id of the task record on which the escalation happened. |
    | WorkflowDefinition | sys_id of the workflow definition that is used to escalate. |
    | WorkflowContext | sys_id of the workflow context. |
    | ParentEscalationLevelId | sys_id of the parent escalation in the case that the escalation was triggered from another escalation. |
    | Category | Category of the escalation. One of: \[assign_by_acknowledgement, auto_assignment, notify_manual_assignmen,conferencing\]. |
    | Channels | Comma-separated list of the channels used to communicate during the escalation. Any or all of: \[email, sms, voice, slack\]. For example, sms,email,voice |
    | IgnoreDefReminders | If true, the workflow sends notification reminders as specified by the workflow, rather than as specified in On-Call Escalation settings. For example, in Conference On-Call escalations, the workflow might to dial the on-call members at one-minute intervals instead of the standard 15-minute intervals. |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_x2q_mx5_mlb}

On-Call: Log Escalation Level

:   Creates an escalation level record given
    escalation and level details.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_rrb_v2v_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | EscalationId | sys_id of the escalation to which the level belongs. |
    | RotaId | sys_id of the shift for which the escalation is happening. |
    | Level | Current escalation level. For example, 2. |
    | Escalatee | Escalatee object at current escalation level. For example, getEscalationPlan()\[1\]. |
    | CatchAll | True if the escalation level belongs to a catch-all. |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_rrb_v2v_mlb}

On-Call: Log Escalation Attempt

:   Creates a Contact attempt record given an
    escalation, level, and attempt details.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_ghw_dfv_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | EscalationId | sys_id of the escalation to which the contact attempt belongs. |
    | RotaId | sys_id of the shift for which the escalation is happening. |
    | Level | Current escalation level. For example, 2. |
    | ContactAttempt | Contact attempt number within the escalation level. For example, 1. |
    |   |   |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_ghw_dfv_mlb}

On-Call: Log Escalation Communication

:   Creates a communication record given escalation,
    level, attempt, and communication details.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_s3b_4fv_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | EscalationId | sys_id of the escalation to which the communication belongs. |
    | RotaId | sys_id of the shift for which escalation is happening. |
    | Level | Current escalation level. For example, 2. |
    | ContactAttempt | Contact attempt number within the escalation level. For example, 1. |
    | EscalateeType | Type of escalatee to whom the communication is sent. One of: \[user,device\] |
    | EscalateeId | sys_id of the user or device, depending on escalatee type. |
    | CommType | Type of communication. One of: \[sms, voice, email, slack\] |
    | CommValue | Phone number or email address, depending on communication type. For example, `abel.tuter@servicenow.com` |
    | Status | Status of the communication. One of: \[sent, failed\]. |
    | Escalatee | Escalatee object at current escalation level. For example, getEscalationPlan()\[1\]. |
    | CatchAll | True if the escalation level belongs to a catch-all. |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_s3b_4fv_mlb}

On-Call: Log Escalation End

:   Completes the escalation by setting active flag
    to false.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_wn2_fgv_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | EscalationId | sys_id of the escalation. |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_wn2_fgv_mlb}

On-Call: Send Notification

:   Sends notification to the current escalatee via
    voice, SMS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or mobile push.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_knb_ngv_mlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | Notification type | Type of notification. One of: \[sms, voice, slack\]. |
    | Message | Text of message to send to current escalatee if notification type is sms. |
    | Notification detail | List of parameters that are required for a notification: * SMS: notify_number, users, groups, numbers * Voice: numberToCallFrom, numberToCall, user * Slack: slack user, taskId, catchAllOption, wFContextId * Microsoft Teams: user, taskId, catchAllOption, wFContextId * Mobile push: userSysId, tablename, recordSysId {#workflow-activities-oncall__ul_ejt_ngv_mlb} |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_knb_ngv_mlb}

On-Call: Manage Escalation Response

:   Manage an escalation response record (insert
    escalation record, clean escalation records,
    update response to an escalation). An escalation
    response record keeps track of a response received
    for an escalation through the SMS, voice, email,
    or Slack notification channels. An
    escalation response record is used to resume the
    On-Call: Assign by Acknowledgement workflow upon
    rejection of an escalation.

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_g4m_s4q_wlb__entry__2}

    | Setting | Description |
    |-|-|
    | Workflow Context | Workflow context ID. |
    | Escalatee Id | UserID of the current escalatee. |
    | Table Name | Table name of the task record. For example, <kbd class="ph userinput">incident</kbd>. |
    | Current Record Id | sys_id of the task record. |
    | Action Type | Type of action. One of: \[add,clean,update\] |
    | Response | Response by escalatee to an escalation. One of: \[accepted,rejected\] |
    [ ]

    {#workflow-activities-oncall__table_g4m_s4q_wlb}  
    Example uses:

    * Insert (add) - Workflow Context, Escalatee ID, Table Name, Current Record ID
    * Clean - Workflow Context
    * Update - Escalatee ID, Table Name, Current Record ID, Response
    {#workflow-activities-oncall__ul_xxm_bqq_wlb}