{"id":4830,"date":"2026-01-21T15:54:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/?p=4830"},"modified":"2026-02-23T15:52:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:22:45","slug":"oncall-handoff-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Handoff best practices for on-call teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guide covers some best practices that can make on-call handoffs a bit smoother. You&#8217;ll find suggestions on when to schedule handoffs, what to discuss during handoffs, and how to keep everyone updated on who&#8217;s currently on-call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Table of contents<\/p>\n\n\n\n<nav aria-label=\"Table of Contents\" class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents\"><ol><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/#1-choosing-the-right-on-call-handoff-time\">1. Choosing the right on-call handoff time<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/#2-having-a-quick-on-call-handoff-discussion\">2. Having a quick on-call handoff discussion<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/#3-keeping-your-team-in-the-loop\">3. Keeping your team in the loop<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/#faqs\">FAQs<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"1-choosing-the-right-on-call-handoff-time\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Choosing the right on-call handoff time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"987\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"4833\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3-41-50-pm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM.png\" data-orig-size=\"1186,1230\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2026-01-21 at 3.41.50\u202fPM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM-987x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM-987x1024.png\" alt=\"Adding handoff time on Spike\" class=\"wp-image-4833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM-987x1024.png 987w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM-289x300.png 289w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM-768x796.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.41.50-PM.png 1186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 987px) 100vw, 987px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adding handoff time on <a href=\"http:\/\/spike.sh\" type=\"link\" id=\"spike.sh\">Spike<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It\u2019s usually better to pick one uniform handoff time for the entire team rather than different times for different people.<\/strong> Somewhere between 9 am and 11 am often works well, as it gives people time to settle in rather than jumping on alerts the moment they wake up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/glossary\/weekly-rotation\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/glossary\/weekly-rotation\/\">weekly rotations<\/a>, many teams prefer a Monday-to-Monday handoff so they can start their work week and on-call shift together. Friday-to-Friday handoffs also work, but consider doing them in the morning instead of the evening. That way, the incoming person still has a day to get any context from the outgoing person before the weekend begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-having-a-quick-on-call-handoff-discussion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Having a quick on-call handoff discussion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A 15-minute handoff discussion with the incoming person might save them hours of piecing things together on their own.<\/strong> Whether it&#8217;s a quick chat in the office or a call for remote teams, it can be helpful to take the time to pass along context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can kickstart these handoff discussions with this simple three-question template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6d588bc3 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#e0e1e6;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<p><strong>1. What should you keep an eye on?<br \/><\/strong>[Specific alerts, ongoing issues, or services acting up]<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. What kind of shift should you expect?<br \/><\/strong>[Smooth \/ A bit busy \/ Heavy on alerts]<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. If you get stuck, who can you reach out to?<br \/><\/strong>[Name of backup person or SME]<\/p>\n<p><!-- notionvc: c127073d-be82-45ec-be67-aaa0f2036220 --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>There&#8217;s also an image version you can download: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/design\/DAG-7vd9dJY\/Eo68nGlF3_i27QJIilA8qg\/edit?utm_content=DAG-7vd9dJY&amp;utm_campaign=designshare&amp;utm_medium=link2&amp;utm_source=sharebutton\">Handoff template<\/a>. Perhaps try it for a few handoffs and see how it works for your team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"3-keeping-your-team-in-the-loop\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Keeping your team in the loop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"660\" data-attachment-id=\"4835\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3-46-07-pm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM.png\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1032\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2026-01-21 at 3.46.07\u202fPM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-1024x660.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-1024x660.png\" alt=\"Setting on-call notifications on Slack channels (Spike)\" class=\"wp-image-4835\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-1024x660.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-1536x991.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM-1200x774.png 1200w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-3.46.07-PM.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Setting on-call notifications on Slack channels (<a href=\"http:\/\/spike.sh\" type=\"link\" id=\"spike.sh\">Spike<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sending on-call notifications to your shared channels like Slack or Microsoft Teams is a good way to keep everyone updated.<\/strong> This helps the entire team know who\u2019s on-call without needing to ask or dig through a schedule. It&#8217;s particularly useful during busy periods or when you have multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/blog\/oncall-schedules-everything-you-need-to-know\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/blog\/oncall-schedules-everything-you-need-to-know\/\">on-call schedules<\/a> running at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now go ahead and try these out. Some practices will work perfectly, some you&#8217;ll want to tweak. You&#8217;ll know within a few handoffs what feels right for your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"faqs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What if our team spans multiple time zones?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A uniform handoff time probably won&#8217;t work perfectly for everyone. Most teams in this situation pick a time that&#8217;s reasonable for the majority and adjust from there. Some also split into regional on-call groups with separate handoff times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When should we schedule the handoff call?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right around the handoff time works best, maybe 5 to 10 minutes before the shift changes. That way, the incoming person can start their shift with a clear picture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This guide explores handoff best practices for on-call teams, covering when to schedule handoffs, what to discuss during handoffs, and how to notify your team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263547072,"featured_media":4843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvYmxvZy5zcGlrZS5zaFwvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDFcL0Jhc2ljcy1vZi1JbmNpZGVudC1NYW5hZ2VtZW50LTEtMS0xMDI0eDU1NS5wbmciLCJ0eHQiOiJIYW5kb2ZmIGJlc3QgcHJhY3RpY2VzIGZvciBvbi1jYWxsIHRlYW1zIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjIzMzEzODkwMH0.F5HoldDmUYpXbTVGQgGwH2KF1gKH8FvS7c3VZhA-oVUMQ"},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1467],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Handoff best practices for on-call teams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn handoff best practices for on-call teams. Choose the right handoff time, share critical context, and notify your team.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Handoff best practices for on-call teams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn handoff best practices for on-call teams. Choose the right handoff time, share critical context, and notify your team.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spike&#039;s blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T10:24:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T10:22:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sreekar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sreekar\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sreekar\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923\"},\"headline\":\"Handoff best practices for on-call teams\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T10:24:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-23T10:22:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":497,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/\",\"name\":\"Handoff best practices for on-call teams\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/oncall-handoff-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T10:24:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-23T10:22:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923\"},\"description\":\"Learn handoff best practices for on-call teams. 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