Inbound Call Queues FAQs

This article describes how calls are routed to agents in your Inbound Call Queues. To learn how to set up a Queue, visit this help article Setting Up Your Call Queue.

Why would I choose a Queue over a Ring Group

Ring Groups are suitable for low volume inbound call operations and small teams where Ring Order is imperative.

If your concurrent inbound call volume exceeds 30% of your available agents, Kixie highly recommends using a Call Queue. 

How are Agents selected in a queue?

1. An inbound call is directed to a Queue
2. The Queue looks for an available agent
   • An available agent is any agent that
     • is NOT on DND
     • is NOT on a call
     • is SUBSCRIBED to the queue
3. Once an available agent is identified, the call is delivered to that agent
4. If the Call is not answered by the identified AGENT, the Queue will repeat step 2 and look for a new available agent.

What happens if there are more calls than agents available?

• Calls are ordered by First-In, First-Out
  • That means older calls in the Queue are handled before new calls in the queue
• If all agents are busy, the call will be on hold until an agent becomes available

How long will a call wait in the queue?

• Calls will wait in the Queue until an agent answers the call or the Max Hold Time is surpassed
• If the Max Hold Time is surpassed, the call is redirected to the "No Answer Action" set for the Queue

Note: Learn more about setting up Max Hold Time and No Answer Actions here

What happens if an Agent Misses a call in the Queue?

• If an agent misses a call in the queue, Kixie recommends you set that Agent to DND to avoid further missed calls by that agent
  • We can do this for you automatically and it is the default setting for all Queues
• Once an agent is on DND after missing a call, they will not be selected for additional calls until they turn DND off

How fast are Queues?

• The process for matching Calls to Available agents runs every 2 seconds
  • If the number of incoming calls is greater than the number of available agents then ALL agents will receive a call and the remaining calls will remain on hold until agents become available
  • If the number of calls is less than the number of available agents then all of the calls will be delivered to all agents

How is an available agent selected?

• An available agent is any agent that
  • is NOT on DND
  • is NOT on a call
  • is SUBSCRIBED to the queue