---
title: Call Queues & Routing
slug: voice-for-teams/call-queues-and-routing
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-03-06T19:49:06.987Z
---

Unaric Voice for Teams displays incoming Teams queue calls, allowing agents to answer them from Salesforce.

:::hint{type="info"}
Queue membership and behaviour, such as routing, overflow handling, and timeouts, is configured in Microsoft Teams. Unaric Voice for Teams automatically honours these settings when handling calls. For more information about configuration, visit Microsoft's documentation, [Manage your call queue and auto attendant settings in Microsoft Teams](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/manage-your-call-queue-and-auto-attendant-settings-in-microsoft-teams-52c741c6-8577-4faf-aa5a-c7853e0ab8f8).
:::

## How call queues work

A call queue routes incoming calls to one or more agents. When a call is placed to a queue:

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Microsoft Teams receives the call.
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The call is distributed to agents who are members of the queue. Each available agent receives an incoming call notification. Agents receive calls only if they are **available**, depending on queue configuration.
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The first agent who answers the call handles the conversation. When the call is answered, Microsoft Teams recognizes it and stops ringing for the other agents.
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## Queue routing

Queue routing determines which agents receive incoming calls. Microsoft Teams supports different options for routing:

- **Presence-based routing:** Calls are sent only to agents who are available.
- **Round-robin routing:** Calls are distributed evenly among agents.
- **Attendant routing:** Calls are sent to all agents simultaneously.

Presence-based routing ensures that agents receive calls only when their Microsoft Teams status is *Available*.

## Call overflow

Call overflow determines what happens when a queue becomes too busy to handle additional calls. For example, you can configure Unaric Voice for Teams to:

- Redirect calls to another queue
- Send calls to voicemail
- Forward calls to another phone number

Overflow rules help ensure that callers are redirected if the queue cannot accept more calls.

## Configure maximum queue size

You can define the maximum number of calls allowed to wait in a queue.

When the maximum limit is reached, new incoming calls are handled according to the configured overflow rules.

If the maximum queue size is **10 calls**, the 11th caller will be redirected according to the overflow configuration.

## Call timeout

Call timeout determines how long a caller can remain in the queue before another action is triggered. For example, you might configure a queue so that:

- Calls ring agents for **2 minutes**
- If no agent answers, the call is redirected

Timeout rules help prevent callers from waiting indefinitely.

## Redirect calls to voicemail or other queues

When a queue cannot handle a call, it can redirect the caller to another destination.

Common options include:

- **Shared voicemail**
- **Another call queue**
- **An external phone number**
- **An auto attendant**

For example, a sales queue might ring for two minutes. If no agent answers, the call could be automatically redirected to a support queue or a voicemail mailbox.
