Ring several phones at once or one after another, with a plan for when nobody picks up.
A call for Sales can now ring everyone in Sales.
Two ways to ring
- All at once. Every phone in the group rings, and the first to answer takes the call.
- In order. One person at a time, in an order you choose, each for a set number of seconds.
All at once suits a front desk. In order suits a team where one person should get first try and the others are backup.
You can see why it is ringing
Each phone shows the group's name in front of the caller's, such as "Sales: Keoni Akana". At a glance you know this is a group call and not one meant for you alone.
If nobody answers
The call follows the group's own plan: a mailbox, a menu, another group, or it ends. It never drops into the personal mailbox of whichever member happened to ring last. A message for Sales should not be sitting in one person's voicemail while they are on vacation.
Where groups fit
A group is a target, like a person or a menu. An incoming number can lead to one. So can a menu key. A group's fallback can be another group, which is how "ring the front desk, then ring everyone" is built from two simple pieces.
Groups also have an internal number, so a colleague can dial the whole team from their desk.
What we held back
Queues, where callers wait in line for the next free person, are a different and bigger thing. A ring group does not hold anyone's place. For most small offices that is exactly right.