Your on-call schedule has always had backup contacts working behind the scenes — the people who catch emergency calls when your custom schedule has a gap, or when no one answers. We've made them visible.
You can now see exactly who's on call, when they're covering, and change them yourself.
What's changing
- Default contacts are now visible in Call Management settings and on the on-call calendar
- "Backup Contact" and "Escalation Contact" are now "Default 1st Contact" and "Default 2nd Contact" — same role, clearer naming
- The calendar shows DEFAULT slots wherever your default contacts are covering calls
- No action required — the people who were already set as Backup and Escalation are now your Default 1st and 2nd
How it works
Default contacts catch emergency calls in two situations:
- No custom schedule — when a day or time block doesn't have a custom on-call schedule assigned
- No answer — when the person on a custom schedule doesn't pick up
Think of it as a safety net that's always running underneath your custom schedules.
Where to find your default contacts
Call Management → Settings → Community → Contact Information
You'll see two fields:
- Default 1st Contact — the first person called (usually your maintenance lead)
- Default 2nd Contact — the backup (usually a property manager or assistant)
Both must be different people, and both need to be team members assigned to the community.
If your organization uses SMS phone verification, only team members with verified phone numbers will show up as options.
Setting up your default contacts
If you haven't set defaults yet, you'll see a setup screen the first time you open On-Call Schedule.
- Go to Call Management → Settings → Community → Contact Information
- Pick your Default 1st Contact and Default 2nd Contact
- Save
That's it. Once saved, you can build custom on-call schedules on top.
Working with default slots on the calendar
Any time on the calendar that isn't covered by a custom schedule will show as a DEFAULT slot. Clicking one of those slots lets you create a custom schedule for that day — your default contacts stay the same everywhere else.
To change the default contacts themselves, head to Settings → Community → Contact Information.
Permissions
To set or change default contacts, you need Manage Call Management Community Settings access. Admins and Process Managers usually have this by default.
To view or edit the on-call calendar, you need Manage Call Management Schedule access.
FAQ
What happened to Backup Contact and Escalation Contact? They've been renamed to Default 1st Contact and Default 2nd Contact. Same role — primary and backup in your call tree — but the naming now matches how they appear on the on-call calendar. Whoever was already set as Backup or Escalation is now your Default 1st or 2nd. You don't need to do anything unless you want to change them.
Why can't I see the on-call calendar? Both Default 1st and 2nd Contacts need to be saved before the full calendar opens up. If you're seeing a setup screen instead of the calendar, that's why.
If I edit a DEFAULT slot, am I changing my default contacts? No. Editing a DEFAULT slot just creates a one-day custom schedule. Your default contacts stay the same. To change the defaults themselves, go to Settings → Community → Contact Information.
Do I still need to build custom on-call schedules? Only if you want them. Default contacts cover everything by themselves — but most communities still build custom schedules for rotations, vacations, weekends, etc.
Can the same person be Default 1st and Default 2nd? No, they need to be different people.