Managed Voice / Ring Groups

Ring Strategies

A ring group (a set of extensions that all ring together for an incoming call — see Glossary) can use any of several ring strategies — the rule that decides who’s actually rung, and in what order, when a call arrives.

What ring strategies are available?

Common options include: Ring All (every phone in the group rings simultaneously, first to answer gets it), Fixed Order (rings one specific person first, then the next if unanswered, and so on down a list), Round-Robin (rotates which person is tried first each time, spreading calls evenly), Longest-Idle (rings whoever has gone the longest without taking a call), and Fewest-Answered (rings whoever has answered the fewest calls today).

Which strategy is right for our team?

It depends on how you want work distributed. Ring All suits small teams where speed matters most. Round-Robin or Fewest-Answered suit larger teams where fair distribution of call volume matters. Fixed Order suits cases where you want a specific person tried first, like a primary contact with backups.

Can different ring groups use different strategies?

Yes, completely independently — your Sales ring group might use Round-Robin for fairness, while your Emergency Support group uses Ring All so the fastest possible answer wins every time.

Does the strategy affect how long a caller waits before the call moves on?

The strategy controls who gets rung and in what order; a separate setting controls how many seconds each attempt rings before moving to the next person or to overflow. See Overflow & No-Answer Handling for what happens once ringing runs out.

Is this the same as skills-based routing?

No — ring strategies control the order/distribution within a group of people who are all considered equally capable of taking the call. Routing by Skill Set goes a step further, matching a caller to someone with specific expertise rather than just anyone in the group.