Call routing seems easy right up to the moment you open the settings page and find three choices that look almost identical. Ring Groups, Simultaneous Ring and Call Queues all send one incoming call to several devices, so it is tempting to accept whatever is selected by default and get on with your day. The catch is that every one of them was designed for a different job. Choose poorly and you will still lose calls, even though on paper the system is "configured."
Below, we break down what really distinguishes the three and how to figure out which one fits your team.
Simultaneous Ring: One Person, Many Devices
This feature is about an individual rather than a group. With Simultaneous Ring switched on, calls meant for one person ring on several of that person's own devices together, such as their desk phone plus a softphone, or their desk phone plus their personal cellphone. They can answer on whichever one is closest.
Reach for it when the question isn't "who on the team should handle this?" but rather "how do I keep this person from missing a call while they're away from their desk?" It makes one person easier to reach. It does not spread calls around a team.
Ring Group: The Whole Team at the Same Time
Take the Simultaneous Ring concept, swap one person's devices for a set of people, and you have a Ring Group. A call to the group's number rings every phone in it at once, and the first person to pick up gets the caller. You can also add a ring delay so some phones join in a few seconds after the others, which changes the order in which people see the call.
Simplicity is the whole point here. Nobody has to log in to belong to the group, and there are no extra features like recording or hold messages to look after. That suits a small, casual team where "anyone who's free grabs it" really is good enough, and where nobody wants the upkeep of something more elaborate.
Call Queue: Team Routing With Real Structure
Like a Ring Group, a Call Queue shares calls among several people, but it adds a lot more organization. Waiting callers sit in a genuine queue and hear hold messaging, agents must log in before the system treats them as available, and you can choose how calls are handed out: to everyone together, in a set order, or to the group in stages.
Queues also offer reporting and call recording, plus limits such as a maximum wait time and a maximum queue length, so a busy team doesn't end up with calls stacking up forever. In short, this is the tool for teams that need to see their call volume and measure performance, not just make phones ring. Teams that outgrow a basic queue can also look at our contact centre features.
Picking the Right Option
- Choose Simultaneous Ring if your aim is to make sure a particular person catches their calls, whatever device happens to be nearby.
- Choose a Ring Group if a small team simply needs the first available person to answer, with no added setup or reports.
- Choose a Call Queue if you get enough calls that hold messaging, agent sign-in or reporting are needed to keep things under control.
Using All Three Together
You don't have to choose one and forget the rest. Most real setups stack them, letting each feature handle the part of the problem it was made for.
For example, someone can keep Simultaneous Ring turned on while also belonging to a Ring Group or Call Queue. When a group call lands on them, every one of their own devices still rings together, so joining a team doesn't cancel out their personal settings.
Queues and Ring Groups can be linked as well. If no agent in a queue answers, you can send the call on to a separate ring group instead of only trying individual agents. And when a queue reaches its maximum wait time or maximum queue length, it can pass the caller to a simpler Ring Group or directly to voicemail, so they are never left hanging with no next step.
A Real-World Example
Imagine a five-person support team. Everyone has Simultaneous Ring enabled, so a direct call rings their desk phone and their cellphone together. All five also belong to a Call Queue that plays hold messaging to waiting callers and hands out calls in the order they arrive, which means no one has to wonder whether a colleague already picked up.
When things get busy and the queue reaches its maximum wait time, overflow calls are sent automatically to a small Ring Group of two backup employees from a different department, and whichever of them is free answers. Should neither of them be available, the call drops to voicemail as the last safety net.
Notice that no single feature carries the load alone. The queue handles volume and order, the Ring Group gives an easy backup tier, and Simultaneous Ring ensures that once a call reaches a specific person, it isn't lost because they walked away from one device.
Match the Tool to the Problem
No one of these features is better than the others on its own merits. Each was built for its own scenario, and a mismatch tends to look the same every time: the phone rings, nobody quite gets to it, and everyone assumes all is well because something was set up. Lining up the right feature with the real need is how you close that gap. If you'd like help sorting out your call flow, get in touch with RBI Cloud Connect.
Frequently asked questions
Do people need to log in to be part of a Ring Group?
No. Ring Groups need no login and have no separate recording or hold settings to manage. Call Queues are the option where agents log in to be counted as available.
Can Simultaneous Ring stay on if I'm in a Call Queue?
Yes. Your Simultaneous Ring setting stays active, so a call that reaches you through a Ring Group or Call Queue still rings all of your own devices at once.
What happens when a Call Queue gets too busy?
Once it reaches its maximum wait time or maximum queue length, the queue can send callers to a simpler Ring Group or straight to voicemail.
