Most teams choose standard on-call patterns like weekly or daily rotations. But sometimes a less conventional rotation can solve a specific problem or just fit better with how your team works.
This guide walks you through five offbeat on-call rotations. For each, we look at why it might work for you and the challenges involved. This helps you see the full picture before you decide to try them out.
Let’s dive in!
Table of contents
1. Spike-driven on-call rotation
This rotation adjusts your schedule based on predictable incident spikes. You add more people on-call during high-activity periods and reduce the number during quiet times.
Take an e-commerce platform. They might schedule three people during Black Friday instead of the usual one. And a B2B SaaS product could drop to one person on weekends since customer activity typically stays low.
Why choose Spike-driven on-call rotation
This approach often helps you match on-call coverage to actual demand. Your team likely spends less time on-call during periods when incidents rarely trigger. When incidents do pick up, you already have multiple people ready to respond.
It can also reduce the overall on-call burden across your team. If you know Sunday mornings are always quiet, you might schedule just one person on-call instead of two. This often frees up time for others without compromising response quality.
Challenges with Spike-driven on-call rotation
The challenge here could be preparedness. You need to plan ahead so that enough people are available during peak periods. If three responders are needed for Black Friday but two people take leave, you’ll need to arrange backup coverage well in advance.
2. Fibonacci on-call rotation (1-8 days)
The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two before it (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc.).
In this rotation, shift lengths follow the Fibonacci pattern up to 8 days. The shifts run for one day, two days, three days, five days, and eight days. After the eight-day shift, the pattern resets to one day.
Here’s how it might look with three people:
- Alex covers 1 day
- Bilal takes 2 days
- Cori handles 3 days
- Alex returns for 5 days
- Bilal takes 8 days
- Cori gets 1 day
And the pattern continues from there.
Why choose Fibonacci on-call rotation (1-8 days)
This often works well as an experiment when you’re not quite sure what rotation length fits your team. Everyone gets to experience multiple shift lengths in a single cycle. You can ask people how the three-day shift felt compared to the five-day one. If most of the team prefers a particular length (let’s say 3-day shift), you can switch to that fixed pattern.
The varied lengths also prevent the monotony that sometimes comes with standard rotations. Each cycle feels a bit different because shift durations keep changing.
Some teams also appreciate the mathematical elegance of it. When someone asks about your rotation, saying “We run Fibonacci” usually intrigues them.
Challenges with Fibonacci on-call rotation (1-8 days)
The challenge is probably tracking. The rotation usually doesn’t settle into a predictable rhythm. This means people often need to check the schedule to know when they are up next.
Coordination between team members can also take a bit more effort. This is because everyone experiences different shift lengths at different times.
3. Anchor-day on-call rotation
In this rotation, each person owns one fixed day of the week. Let’s say Alex always goes on-call on Monday and Bilal covers all Tuesdays. And the rest of the week follows the same pattern, with other team members taking their assigned days.
Why choose Anchor-day on-call rotation
This on-call rotation offers high predictability. You always know exactly when you are on-call without checking a calendar. It helps you plan personal appointments easily since your on-call day never changes. Many people find this mental clarity quite valuable.
Challenges with Anchor-day on-call rotation
The challenge usually appears when incidents cluster on specific days. If Tuesday consistently sees more incidents than Thursday, one person might end up carrying a heavier load.
Spike recommends reviewing your incident patterns every month to check if workload is distributed evenly. If one day consistently sees more incidents, consider swapping days among team members to balance the load.
4. System-specific on-call rotation
You run separate on-call rotations for different systems. One rotation handles database incidents and the other covers infrastructure issues. Each rotation operates independently with its own set of responders.
Why choose System-specific on-call rotation
This approach often helps prevent fatigue from mixed incidents. The person on-call for the database usually does not need to wake up for infrastructure issues. And each rotation allows responders to develop focused expertise since they deal with the same category of incidents repeatedly.
System-specific rotation usually works best for teams managing complex systems. When different systems have different incident patterns, splitting coverage often makes more sense than having one person handle everything.
Challenges with System-specific on-call rotation
Incidents sometimes span categories and you have to figure out which rotation owns the response. Some teams find this complexity worthwhile. Others prefer the simplicity of a single unified rotation. It often depends on your team size and how distinct your systems are from each other.
With Spike, you can switch the escalation policy based on the incident title. For example, if an incident title starts with “database,” it can switch to a Database escalation policy that points to your database on-call rotation.
5. Quiet day on-call rotation
In this rotation, one day each week has no on-call coverage. You might designate Tuesday as a quiet day where no one takes on-call duties. The team treats it as a shared focus day.
Why choose Quiet day on-call rotation
A Quiet day rotation often gives the team a predictable window for focused work without the background hum of on-call responsibility. Some teams use this day for planning sessions or knowledge sharing. Others simply appreciate having one day where nobody needs to keep their phone nearby.
Challenges with Quiet day on-call rotation
The challenge usually involves handling the coverage gap. You need a plan for incidents that trigger on your quiet day. Some teams go with slightly delayed response times during that window. Others schedule the quiet day during their lowest-traffic period based on historical data.
Create any on-call rotation with Spike
Spike makes it easy to set up these offbeat on-call rotations. It is flexible enough to handle custom shift lengths, specific days, and multiple layers. You can set up a Fibonacci pattern with variable shift lengths or Quiet day rotation with a few clicks. It gives you the freedom to experiment with different patterns until you find the one that fits your team best.
Get started with Spike and see how easy it is to build any on-call rotation.
FAQs
How do I know if an offbeat on-call rotation is working?
The same signals apply as with standard rotations. Check in on how people feel at the end of their shifts. Watch for signs of fatigue or frustration. If response times stay consistent and the team seems comfortable with the rhythm, the schedule is likely working well.
How long should I try a new on-call rotation before deciding?
It is usually best to give it at least two full cycles. This gives everyone a chance to experience the new rhythm. One cycle might feel strange just because it is new, but by the second or third time around, the team will likely have a clearer sense of whether it fits.
Does system-specific on-call rotation require a large team?
It often helps to have a slightly larger team for system-specific rotation. If you only have three people, splitting them across multiple rotations might leave you with very little coverage depth. System-specific rotations usually work best when you have enough people to support independent systems comfortably.