Configure escalation triggers and policies

Configure the user, notification, and on-call escalation preferences by creating escalation trigger rules and policies.

Before you begin

Role required: rota_manager, rota_admin

About this task

To apply an escalation policy to multiple teams, use policy templates in the on-call bulk onboarding. For more information, see Create on-call schedules for multiple groups.

Procedure

Navigate to Workspaces > Service Operations Workspace and use any of the following options.
- Schedules menu:
  - Select the Schedule menu, select a shift card and select [Omitted image "mim-edit-icon.png"] Alt text: Edit shift icon.
  - Select the Escalation policies tab and select Open Team Record.
- Teams menu:
  - Select the Teams menu, select All Shifts from the list, and then select a shift card.
  - Select the Escalation triggers and policies tab.
Under Escalation policies in the navigation panel, select Create policy.

On the form, fill in the fields.

[Omitted image "create_policy_teams_menu_sow.png"] Alt text: Escalation triggers and policies form.

Field	Description
Active	Option to activate or deactivate the policy.
Create from scratch or Create from template	Option to create your own policy or use a template created by your administrator.
Description	Text that describes the policy.
Active on shift	Shift on which the escalation policy is applicable. Selection from the list of shifts. To make this shift the default, select the Use as default check box.
Use as default	Option to set the shift as default for the escalation policy.
Order	Order in which the escalation policy is executed. When there are multiple escalation triggers in a team, the one with the smaller order number is checked first.
Conditions	Conditions for the policy. You select a table and condition set. These conditions are checked after the escalation is started by an escalation trigger. If the conditions are met, the policy is run.
Escalation steps	Escalation steps that you can add in the dialog box. Select Done when you are finished.
Escalation notifications	Notification conditions for the policy. Options include user preference override, manual setup, or a template.
Add notification step	Notification step such as email, call, or SMS that you can add. You can add as many attempts as you like. Select Done when you are finished.

To add more escalation levels to the policy, select Add an escalation level.
Select Save changes.
To add another escalation policy to the team for another category of alert or incident, select Add a policy.
To create trigger rules, select Escalation triggers in the navigation panel, and then select Create trigger.
On the form, fill in the fields.

[Omitted image "create_trigger_sow.png"] Alt text: Create trigger form

Field	Description
Escalation trigger name	Name of the trigger.
Active	Option to activate or deactivate the trigger.
Order	Order in which the trigger rule is executed. When there are multiple escalation triggers in a team, the one with the smaller order number is checked first.
Conditions	Conditions for the trigger, defined by a selected table and condition set. When conditions are met, escalation triggers are triggered for shifts in SRM team.
Advanced options
Trigger action	Action that is triggered when the Match conditions and Conditions are met. Possible values:- Subflow Workflow Script (server-side JavaScript)
Trigger workflow	Workflow to run. Available only if Trigger action is set to Workflow.
Trigger subflow	Subflow to run. Available only if Trigger action is set to Subflow.Note: The following subflows under the On-Call Escalation Triggers category can be configured using the trigger rules: On-Call: Assign On-Call: Assign and Notify On-Call: Assign By Acknowledgement On-Call: Escalations by Email
Trigger script	Script (server-side JavaScript) to run. Available only if the Trigger action field is set to Script.Note: This action is available only for users with the rota_admin and admin roles.
Run trigger rule every time the selected field changes	Option to re-run the trigger rule when the field value of the specified Trigger fields is changed.
Trigger fields	List of fields for a specific table that, when changed, cause the trigger rule to re-run. For example, with table as incident, you can select fields such as assignment group, priority, and state.Note: This field is visible only if the Run Trigger field is set to Every time trigger field changes. You can use the Trigger Rule Table Configs table to configure which fields to be displayed for a specific table. You can access the table from the SOW Admin Center. For more information, see Manage configurations in Service Operations Workspace for ITSM and Configure a table for escalation trigger rules.

9. Select **Save changes**.

Create escalation trigger rules and policy from team record
Create an escalation policy and trigger rules from a team record.

Parent Topic:Configuring On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations Workspace

title	Configure escalation triggers and policies
description	Configure the user, notification, and on-call escalation preferences by creating escalation trigger rules and policies.
locale	en-US
canonical_url	https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management/service-operations-workspace/work-on-escalation-trigger-rules-and-policies-in-sow.html
release	australia
product	Service Operations Workspace
classification	service-operations-workspace
topic_type	task
last_updated	2026-09-21
reading_time_minutes	4
breadcrumb	Configuring On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations WorkspaceOn-Call Scheduling in Service Operations WorkspaceManaging IT services in your organizationService Operations Workspace for ITSMIT Service Management