Short answer
Simultaneous rings every free member at once, and the first to answer gets the call. The other five ring one agent at a time, in different orders: sequential uses a fixed order; round robin picks up after whoever got the last call; longest idle starts with whoever has been free longest; fewest calls starts with whoever answered the fewest today; skills starts with the best skill match for the caller.
A ring group's strategy decides who rings first. Only free members are considered, and each attempt rings for the group's ring time (20 seconds by default) before moving on.
The six strategies
| Strategy | Who rings | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous | All free members at once. The first to answer wins. | Fastest answer. Small teams. |
| Sequential | One at a time, in the member order you set | A clear first responder, with backups |
| Round robin | One at a time, starting after whoever got the last call | Spreading calls evenly |
| Longest idle | One at a time, the agent free longest first | Fairness by workload |
| Fewest calls | One at a time, the agent who answered the fewest calls today first | Evening out call counts |
| Skills | One at a time, best match for the caller first | Language, licensing or product expertise |
Simultaneous
Everyone free rings. It's the fastest to be answered, but it interrupts everyone, and the fastest clicker gets most calls. Good for small teams or urgent lines.
Sequential
Rings members in the order you set: your senior closer first, then the backups. Predictable, but the top of the list gets nearly every call.
Round robin
The group remembers who got the last call and starts with the next member. Over a day, calls spread evenly by count.
Longest idle
Starts with the agent who has been free the longest. Calls go to whoever has had the most downtime, which feels fair on busy lines.
Fewest calls
Starts with the agent who has answered the fewest calls today, with longest idle as the tie-breaker.
Skills
Members who have every skill the caller needs come first, ordered by their total skill level (1–10 per skill), then longest idle. "Needs" comes from the caller's contact record: their state for state skills, their language, and tags matched by custom skills. For an unknown caller no skill applies, so members are rung longest idle first.
Teams and required skills
- Add a team to a group and every team member is in it. Team members come after the agents you list by hand, in sequential and round-robin order.
- Required skills limit the group to members who have all of them. This is useful for a "Spanish" or "Licensed in FL" group built from a big team.
Choosing a ring time
Most voicemail boxes pick up after 20–30 seconds. Keep each ring short, around 15–20 seconds, in one-at-a-time strategies, so a caller isn't left listening to five agents ring in turn.