Call groups can play a critical role in call centers that consistently experience high call volumes, though the benefits they bring and the best times to use them are often misunderstood.

First of all, a call group, which is sometimes called a ring group, brings multiple phone lines or extensions together to handle incoming calls collectively. This is done to provide a more efficient distribution of calls among team members, ensuring that incoming calls are both answered quickly and routed smoothly to the right person or department.

If you run a high-volume call center, there are a few key reasons why call groups should be a key feature of your phone system and overall strategy:

• Improves efficiency: Call groups ensure that calls are distributed evenly among team members, ultimately reducing missed calls and improving responsiveness.
• Elevates customer experience: Call groups can route calls to the right agent or department so that callers are promptly connected and led to what they need. This can significantly impact the overall customer experience.
• Boosts productivity: Call groups simplify incoming call handling, which allows team members to focus on their specific areas of expertise and nail down what they’re good at.

A call group is often confused with a hunt group, which is a tool or feature of a phone system that distributes calls based on predefined rules. Unlike call groups, hunt groups don’t offer simultaneous ringing or dynamic call distribution features — they simply send incoming calls to a group of users until one of them is available or all of them have been tried.

How call groups work

To set up a call group, you’ll need to add it to your phone system’s backend configuration.

The first step is to assign a unique phone extension to each member of the intended call group. This serves as an identifier that allows your phone system to route calls to each specific agent.

The next step is to set up your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system so that its menu options will send callers to the call group whenever they choose the right department or service that applies to it.

Keep in mind that business hours and employee schedules play a role in configuration. To reduce hiccups, you need to be sure that your system routes calls to agents based on availability. For example, calls outside of business hours can be directed to voicemails and other contact points so that callers aren’t left waiting for a call group that has nobody available to answer.

Call group ring patterns

Next, you need to choose a ring pattern for your call group. Your options will usually include the following.

• Simultaneous: All call group phones ring at the same time, so the call goes to the first agent who picks up.
• Sequential (linear): Phones in the call group will ring in a sequence, with each call being directed to the next available agent in a pre-set order.
• Round-robin: Each call is directed to the next agent in a revolving order. This creates an equal distribution of calls among group members rather than always going to the first available agent in the same fixed order.
• Least recent: The system will direct the call to the agent who has been idle the longest. This promotes a fair workload distribution.
• Fewest calls: The system will direct the call to the agent who has handled the fewest calls, which helps optimize workload distribution.
• Random: Calls are routed to any available agent in the group at random.

Businesses that need quick response times may opt for a simultaneous ring time, whereas those that want to build team cohesiveness might prefer a round-robin pattern.

Sequential works well when there is a clear preference for the order in which people receive calls, such as reaching the administrator of a department first.

A random ringing pattern can add an element of unpredictability to the equation, which can promote a higher level of focus among agents by encouraging them to stay on their toes in case they need to answer a call.

Seven scenarios where call groups are ideal

Call groups can be a great solution for many contact centers, but there are a number of scenarios in which they really shine — especially against hunt groups.

1. Multilingual support

For companies that need to handle calls in different languages, creating call groups based on each one is extremely useful, if not essential.

To set up a call group for multilingual service, you can configure your IVR system with language prompts that direct callers to press a number for their preferred language. From there, calls are routed automatically to a group of agents that are ready and able to assist. Callers can get quick and accurate help in their preferred language, ultimately improving their experience.

You can also manage multilingual calls when you don’t have multilingual speakers available, as ring groups offer voicemail boxes for callers to leave messages. This way, an agent who speaks the caller’s language can respond to the message and get back to them when they’re available.

2. Overflow handling

In scenarios of peak call volumes, call groups are essential for managing overflow.

Setting up a call group to handle overflow calls ensures that calls are spread among available agents more efficiently during busy times. This prevents overwhelming individual agents.

You may have used a hunt group to deal with overflow situations before, but remember that a call group is probably a better solution. For example, since hunt groups use pre-set rules, they could lead to delays and uneven call distributions during high-traffic times.

Alternatively, call groups have simultaneous and distributed ring patterns, which gives them a more effective and fair way to manage overflow. They also ensure that every call is handled promptly without favoring any agents.

3. Specialized departments

Call groups are an ideal solution for businesses with many specialized departments.

For example, when you implement distinct call groups for different departments, your phone system can efficiently direct callers to experts who can answer their questions on the first try.

Hunt groups, in comparison, lack the precision needed to handle specific departments. This can cause delays in call answering and potentially misrouted calls, leading to a more negative customer experience.

Meanwhile, since call groups are customizable, they can be tuned to meet the needs of larger businesses with multiple departments, ultimately leading to more satisfied customers.

4. Time-sensitive projects

Call groups shine when you use them for time-sensitive projects and campaigns. This is especially true when you have a project with personnel from multiple teams. This call group can be set up, used for the duration of the project, and torn down after.

Traditional voicemail-based systems and alternatives like hunt groups tend to be too slow when time is of the essence.

Call groups allow for dynamic call distribution and simultaneous ring pattern features, which can be perfect if you want one person on the team to get calls first, and then the next person, and so on. On the day of the event, you could switch to simultaneous if need be.

5. Remote work support

If you’ve configured your phone system to account for agents working in different time zones, then using call groups can efficiently route calls to agents based on both their availability and their location.

For a virtual contact center or multi-location call center, ring groups can play a vital role in making sure customer calls or texts are only ever routed to an agent that is on duty.

Hunt groups are also an option for routing calls to remote teams, but call groups are usually more precise and offer much more targeted call distribution capabilities. In addition, they’re more scalable to handle the complexities of large, distributed organizations.

6. Customer feedback lines

When you use a call group for customer feedback lines, you can be sure that agents will answer every call.

Many call centers use a single-line setup or a hotline for feedback, but these tend to be inefficient and provide poor coverage, which can lead to missed feedback opportunities.

With a call group, you can bring in a systematic and organized approach to handling customer feedback that can lead to better customer relationships and help you gather valuable business insights.

7. Emergency response

In extremely urgent scenarios, you don’t want a call to be mishandled. This makes call groups the best choice for situations that call for rapid and coordinated emergency responses.

You can configure a call group so that multiple team members get alerted about calls simultaneously. This alone increases the chances of a fast and effective response.

Every second matters when you are responding to a cybersecurity incident, for example. Having a simple call group pre-established will go a long way toward getting all of the relevant experts in communication.

Alternatively, choosing a hunt group for emergency scenarios can be risky. Unlike call groups, hunt groups don’t have simultaneous ringing or targeted routing features, which can slow down or even stall emergency response efforts.

Thus, the simultaneous ringing and dynamic call distribution features of call groups make them an essential tool for call centers dealing with urgent cases.