Hunt Group
About
A hunt group is a set of users / extension numbers that are embedded inside a single virtual extension. Incoming calls are rotated through the pool of extensions until someone answers and the caller is connected. PSTN and mobile numbers can also be configured to be included in calls made to a hunt group.
Understanding Hunt Group
When creating and managing a hunt group it is important to understand the different ways on how you can setup your hunt group.
You will see that each hunt group has a total of 4 stages, and each of the first 3 stages there is a duration setting to let the service know how long each attempts should be made for each stage before moving to the next stage.
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If an incoming call is assigned directly to a Hunt Group, please ensure that the total duration set for the call to make it to the final stage is less than 1 minute. This is because on most PSTN networks, there is a 1 minute ‘idle’ timeout - which means if the call is not connected within the 1 minute mark, the call will be dropped. If you need the hunt group to try for more than a minute, consider to send the incoming call to an Auto Attendant first, before sending it to the hunt group.
Another key element for routing calls within a hunt group is the Algorithm that is selected:
Default - all extensions and numbers in the same stage will ring simultaneously.Select most idle agent per stage - It will ring only 1 extension or number at a time - depending on which agent has been idle the longest. This is great for balancing load.From the example above, as the Algorithm is set to
Default, when a call enters this hunt group, it will attempt to call extensions 123 and 456 simultaneously. If nobody picks up after 15 seconds, it will then attempt to call extension 789 and 012 simultaneously for another 30 seconds.Using the same configuration and just by changing the Algorithm to
Select most idle agent per stage, it will attempt to call either extension 123 or 456, whichever has been idle the longest. If there is no pick up after 15 seconds, it will then attempt to call either extension 789 or 012 - whichever is idle the longest.Creating a Hunt Group
- Navigate to Features > Hunt Group
- Click on Create Hunt Group
- Hunt Group Extension Number - Enter the virtual extension number that you would like to assign to this hunt group. This must be a unique number (eg. 123)
- Hunt Group Name - Enter a descriptive name you would like to call this group (eg. NSW Sales Team)
- CLI - The CLI that will be used by the hunt group when sending calls to an external number
- FROM Label - This allows you to set the display name that hunt group members will see when someone is calling. There are several options to select from:
Calling Party- In this mode, it just displays the calling party like on a regular incoming call. An example would be "John Doe".Group Name- If you select this mode, the system will put the name of the hunt group into the display of the phone. An example would be "Sales Group".Group name (Calling Name)- In this mode, the system will use the name of the group in the front with the display name of the calling party in brackets behind it. Fro example, if the calling party is "John Doe" and the group name is "Sales Groups", the system would send "Sales Group (John Doe)" to the phone.Group name (Calling Number)- This is similar to the previous mode, but the system puts the username into the brackets. For example, if the calling party is "John Doe" and the group name is "Sales Group", the system would send "Sales Group (61283176200)" to the phone. - Click on Create to create the hunt group
Configuring a Hunt Group
Once a Hunt Group has been created, you can customise and configure your Hunt Group
Instructions
- Navigate to Hosted Voice > Hunt Group
- Click on the Edit button for the corresponding hunt group you would like to configure
Hunt Group Details
You can edit your Hunt Group details like the extension, name, CLI and label name directly in this panel.
Stages
The extension numbers that are part of a Hunt Group can be arranged into groups known as stages. Each stage is configured to ring for a specified period before the system begins ringing the next stage. To continue ringing the same extension throughout all stages, include that extension in each ring stage. A last-resort or final stage number (often an auto attendant or a mobile) can also be used when none of the extensions pick up the call. A common use case for the ring group is to use the ring group as the main number for incoming calls, then put the receptionist, secretaries, and assistants on the different stages.
You can also include regular numbers in the hunt groups, not only extensions. That makes it possible to call devices that cannot register as an extension. If you want to include mobile phones in hunt groups, the best way is to use the extension number and enable Answerpoint in the extension settings.
You can also use other hunt groups, call queues or auto attendants in the extensions field. The hunt group will then use the first account which is idle. This can be used to distribute calls to a free account.
The hunt group supports three stages and a final stage. Each stage can be configured to ring for a different number of seconds, and the final stage can be either an internal or external phone number.
For each stage:
- List the extensions or numbers that should be part of that stage. You can select multiple extensions as well as entering an external phone number.
- For duration, specify the length of time that the system should ring each stage before ringing the next. The duration of the stages must be specified in seconds.
- For unwanted stages, leave the fields empty.
If all extensions of a stage are unavailable, the system will immediately move to the next stage.
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The number of extensions permitted for all stages is limited to 10. Should you require more, please contact your Account Manager.
Algorithm
By default, the hunt group calls all agents, call queues and numbers in each stage and connects the call to the first that accepts the call. In the case of call queues, this is the first that is idle. If the algorithm is
Select most idle user per stage, the system will call only one user per stage. This makes it possible to automatically balance the call load on several users / extensions in a fair way.Missed Call Notification
You can enter multiple email addresses to receive an email notification whenever a call arrives to the hunt group and is not answered by a user/agent.
Allow users to divert incoming calls
If this setting is toggled ON, users can use their SIP devices to deflect incoming calls to another destination. Please note that some phones will send call redirections by themselves. If this toggle is set to OFF, if extension listed in the Stages has enable call forwarding, it will not forward the calls but force the extension to ring.
Record Incoming Calls
If this setting is toggled on, the system will record all calls that come into the hunt group. The recordings can later be retrieved and reviewed. On the behest of the caller, the user can turn off call recording by dialling a star code. Please refer to the below article for more information:
Redirection
Redirection allows you to redirect calls to other extensions during off-hours, meetings, etc. You can use a Service Flag or set it to Always.
Service flag - Once you have created the account, enter the number of the Service flag account.
Always - This rull will always redirect calls. This can make sense if this is the last rule in a list of other rules.
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You may specify more than one redirection flag.