EBS: Contacts in Scheduled Shifts Are Not Receiving Notifications Due to an Unstaffed Override Shift in Everbridge Suite

Updated March 24, 2026 13:33

Terry Branoff

Problem:

Contacts in scheduled shifts are not receiving notifications in Everbridge Suite.

Root Cause:

There are myriad reasons a contact may not receive a notification, such as incomplete contact data or improperly selected contacts. Common causes include:

Integration or upload issues that prevent contacts from appearing in Everbridge (for example, a staff member is active in HR systems but is missing from the HR contact file used to populate Organization Contacts > Uploads).
Contacts whose HR status is set to a leave status, which can exclude them from notification recipient lists while that status is active.
Notification rules that return no recipients because there are no staffed contacts in the relevant shift and time window, or because an override is affecting who is on call.

If you have ruled out fundamental notification or contact issues, then the problem could be caused by an unstaffed override shift that was added to a calendar. An unstaffed override shift will prevent notifications from being sent to any contacts for the duration of the override shift.

When an override shift is active, it temporarily replaces all predefined staffing layers (Primary, Secondary, Escalation Lead, Escalation Manager, etc.) for the duration of the override period, and reminder emails are sent to the override contacts. Reminders are generated at the shift level and are sent simultaneously to all contacts in the applicable staffing layer (or override list), not in escalation order.

Solution:

When creating an override shift, always add a staffing layer so there are active contacts to receive notifications and shift reminders:

Log in to the Manager Portal.
Select the Contacts tab, then the Scheduling sub-tab.
Select the desired calendar name on the left-hand side of the page.
Select +New Shift and enter a shift name.
Select the shift duration and repetition desired.
Select the checkbox next to Mark this shift as an override shift.
Select Staffing on the upper right-hand side of the page.
A pop-up will prompt you to save changes before moving to the next page. Select Save & Continue.
Select Add a staffing layer and enter a staffing layer name.
Select the shift duration and repetition desired.
Select the check boxes next to all the desired contacts to include in the staffing layer.
Select Save & Exit. The override shift will notify the selected staff for the duration of the shift.

Once you have created this override shift, it may be essential to review all the shifts associated with this calendar and remove anything that does not belong or is not working correctly to avoid future issues. Shifts associated with a calendar are listed underneath the +New Shift button when you select the specific calendar as in Step 3 above.

If a notification rule returns no results when you expect on-call contacts, verify that there are staffed contacts for the rule's time window and check for any active overrides that might affect who is on call. If you need to validate a rule before the real shift starts, you can temporarily create a 24-hour test shift (for example, "Test all") and add test contacts to confirm rule behavior.

If you encounter errors such as an "invalid shift substitution date" when trying to assign a person into a second shift block, try the assignment again after a short period in case the issue is transient. Note the calendar name and the approximate time when the steps last worked successfully in case you need to contact Support.

If you have questions or need additional assistance, please contact Everbridge Support.

Was this article helpful?

0 out of 0 found this helpful