A call queue is where inbound callers wait for an agent, usually listening to music or recorded messages. When an agent becomes free, the ACD decides which call goes next and to whom.
The main settings:
- Distribution strategy: ring all agents, round robin, longest idle or fewest calls.
- Maximum wait and overflow: where the call goes when nobody answers in time, such as voicemail, an IVR menu, another queue or an outside number.
- Wrap-up time: a pause after each call before the agent is offered the next one.
- Opening hours: what callers hear outside business hours.
A queue is judged on its service level, average speed of answer and abandon rate. Long waits drive abandons, which is why many teams offer a callback from the queue.
OVOKY call queues offer four distribution strategies and five overflow actions (voicemail, IVR, another queue, external number or hang up), with a wrap-up time set per queue.