Call Queues and Hunt Groups: Managing Incoming Calls

What Are Call Queues and Hunt Groups?

When multiple calls come in to your business at the same time, you need a system to distribute them efficiently across your team. Hosted VoIP systems offer two powerful features for this: call queues and hunt groups. Understanding the difference and configuring them correctly ensures your callers are handled promptly and your team's workload is balanced.

What Is a Call Queue?

A call queue holds incoming callers in a virtual waiting line when all agents are busy. Callers hear music on hold and optional position announcements ("You are caller number 3 in the queue") while they wait for the next available agent. Call queues are essential for:

Sales teams — Ensuring no potential customer hangs up because the line is busy.
Support desks — Managing high call volumes during peak times.
Any team receiving more calls than they have staff to answer simultaneously.

What Is a Hunt Group?

A hunt group is a group of extensions that ring together or in sequence when a call comes in to a shared number. Unlike a queue, hunt groups don't hold callers in a waiting line — they simply determine which phones ring when a call arrives. Hunt groups are ideal for:

Small teams where someone is almost always available to answer.
Reception desks with multiple receptionists.
Departments where any member can handle any call.

Types of Hunt Groups

Most hosted VoIP systems offer several call distribution strategies for hunt groups:

Ring All (Simultaneous)

All phones in the group ring at the same time. The first person to pick up takes the call. This is the simplest and most common strategy, ensuring the fastest possible answer time.

Round Robin

Calls are distributed evenly across the group in rotation. The first call rings extension 1, the second rings extension 2, and so on. This ensures an even distribution of calls across the team.

Longest Idle

The call is routed to the agent who has been idle (not on a call) for the longest time. This is the fairest distribution method and prevents any single agent from being overloaded.

Linear (Top-Down)

Calls always start ringing the first extension in the list. If they don't answer within a set time, it moves to the second, then the third, and so on. This is useful when you have a primary person who should take most calls, with others as backup.

Configuring Call Queue Settings

When setting up a call queue, you'll typically configure the following settings in your VoIP admin portal:

Queue Behaviour

Ring strategy — Choose how calls are distributed to agents within the queue (round robin, longest idle, etc.).
Ring timeout — How long to ring an agent before trying the next one (e.g., 15 seconds).
Wrap-up time — A short pause after an agent finishes a call before the next queued call is sent to them (e.g., 10 seconds). This gives agents time to complete notes.

Queue Limits

Maximum wait time — The longest a caller will wait in the queue before being redirected (e.g., 5 minutes). After this time, route them to voicemail or an overflow destination.
Maximum queue size — The maximum number of callers that can wait in the queue simultaneously (e.g., 10). Additional callers hear a busy message or are redirected.
Overflow destination — Where calls go when the queue is full or wait time is exceeded. Options include voicemail, another queue, an external number or an announcement.

Music on Hold

Choose or upload custom music on hold for your queue. Options include:

Default system music
Custom music tracks (ensure you have the appropriate licence for commercial use)
Marketing messages or promotional announcements interspersed with music

Position Announcements

Enable position announcements to periodically tell callers their position in the queue:

"You are caller number 2 in the queue. Please hold and your call will be answered shortly."
You can also announce estimated wait times if your system supports this feature.
Set the announcement interval (e.g., every 30 seconds or every 60 seconds).

Agent Login and Logout

Most queue systems allow agents to log in and out of queues dynamically:

Login/logout via phone — Agents can dial a feature code (e.g., *45) to toggle their availability in the queue.
Login/logout via web portal — Agents or supervisors can manage availability through the admin interface.
Automatic logout — Some systems automatically remove agents who don't answer a set number of consecutive calls.

This flexibility is essential for managing breaks, lunch hours and shift changes without disrupting the queue.

Real-Time Queue Monitoring

Effective queue management requires visibility. Most hosted VoIP systems provide real-time monitoring dashboards showing:

Number of callers currently waiting
Average wait time
Longest current wait time
Number of agents logged in and available
Number of agents currently on calls
Calls answered, abandoned and missed

Supervisors can use this data to make real-time decisions — such as asking additional staff to log into the queue during busy periods.

Combining Queues and Hunt Groups

Many businesses use a combination of both features. For example:

An auto attendant routes callers to the right department (see our auto attendant setup guide).
Small departments use a hunt group (ring all) for quick answering.
Busy departments like Sales and Support use call queues to handle overflow.

Need help configuring call queues and hunt groups for your team? Get a quote for hosted VoIP and we'll design the perfect call flow for your business.