Any kind of organization, whatever the size, can benefit from having a call queue to distribute incoming calls. This mechanism is not only just important for call centers as it allows callers to wait in turn until a team member becomes available to take a call.
While callers wait, you can play an audio track which can be music, an advertising message, or any other valuable service information. There is also the option to periodically announce the caller’s position in the queue, and you can give callers the option to request a call back instead of continuing to wait.
You can set up different queues for different numbers or auto-attendant options. Each queue has a list of members, which are either user extension numbers or Hot Desk extension numbers. Call handling operators can sign in to their queues when they are ready to take calls and can sign out when they are done working. There are several queue management strategies you can choose from to process incoming calls, according to how you want to distribute calls between team members.
- Ring All : The system will ring all member extensions at the same time until someone answers. This is usually the best general-purpose option.
- Least Recent : The system will first ring the member extension that answered a call the longest time ago. If that member extension is engaged, the system will move on to the next “least recent” member.
- Fewest Calls : The system will first ring the member extension that has answered the fewest calls. If that member extension is unavailable, the system will move on to the next member who has answered the fewest calls.
- Random : The system will ring member extensions in a random sequence until someone answers.
- Round Robin : The system will ring member extensions in a specified sequence until someone answers.
- Priority Groups : You can set up groups of members, and the system will ring the groups in a defined sequence.
Call queues are often used in conjunction with wallboards. A wallboard can show the number of callers who are currently waiting in the queue and can show the current average waiting time. A wallboard can also show the status and performance of each queue member, such as: whether they are on a call, idle, or on a break.
- When they signed in.
- How many calls they have taken.
- How long they have spent talking.
We hope you have found this helpful. Please call our support team on 033 0088 1394 if you would like to understand the features and options of call queues in more detail to choose the best option for your business. You can also contact us on support@vipvoip.co.uk or by clicking the Whatsapp chat icon on our website.