The On-Call Shadow Decree for Engineering Managers

Managers shadow on-call once a quarter. The friction it surfaces, the decisions it changes, and why this is non-negotiable.

Why managers

Managers make staffing decisions. Without on-call exposure, they cannot calibrate.

Managers make tooling decisions. Tools that are 'fine' for daily use can be terrible at 3 AM. Shadow surfaces the gap.

Managers represent on-call to leadership. First-hand experience makes the case credible.

Format

One full week of shadow per quarter. Not a single shift.

Real on-call: paged, in the channel, attends incident response. Does not lead unless they are also an SRE.

Debrief at week end. What surprised? What was hard? What needs fixing?

What it changes

Investment in tooling. Managers see the gaps and budget accordingly.

On-call rotation size. After shadowing a saturated rotation, managers usually advocate for hires.

Empathy. The team feels heard when management has shared the experience.