Bring new hires onto the pager in four stages: read the runbooks, shadow a live shift, run a shift with an experienced person watching, then take primary duty with a clear escalation path. Moving someone straight to a solo pager is the fastest way to teach them to fear it.
Why stage it
Google's on-call chapter lists clear escalation paths, well defined incident management procedures and a blameless postmortem culture as supports for people under pressure. A new person needs all three before the first real page.
The four stages
Stage 1: read and rehearse. Read the runbooks, the incident roles and the last few postmortems. Walk through one scenario aloud with a senior colleague.
Stage 2: shadow. Follow a full shift as a silent observer. Join incident calls, read the pages, and write down questions. No responsibility yet.
Stage 3: reverse shadow. The new hire takes the pager and acts first. An experienced person stands behind, ready to step in. Debrief after each page.
Stage 4: primary with backup. The new hire is primary, with a named secondary and a clear route to escalate. Check in after the first shift.
The chapter also mentions role play exercises, and Google's postmortem chapter names a "Wheel of Misfortune" format. A short drill at stage one is a good use of it.
Checklist before stage four
- Can they find and follow the main runbooks?
- Do they know how to declare an incident and who to call?
- Have they seen a handoff done properly?
- Do they have access to every tool they need, tested in advance?
- Do they know it is fine to escalate?
Timing
The source gives no schedule. Many teams use a few weeks for stages one to three. Set it with your new hire, not for them.
Tell them what good looks like
Say plainly: escalating early is correct, asking questions is correct, and nobody is judged on a first page.
Support during the first shifts
Make it easy to ask for help. Share the secondary's number, the escalation list, and the channel for questions. Tell the new person it is better to ask at the start than to guess.
After each early page, hold a five minute debrief: what happened, what was confusing, what would they change in the runbook. New hires see gaps that long serving staff have stopped noticing, so their notes are a free quality review of your documentation.
Quick check
Should new hires skip night shifts at first?
Often a sensible choice. Start with daytime coverage to build confidence, then add nights once they have handled real pages.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
