Plan a call queue: distribute calls across your team
Test stand: October 20, 2026. A call queue can distribute calls to multiple team members. To ensure that callers do not end up in an unclear process, routing type, waiting behavior, opening times and overflow should be planned together. This guide explains documented options from Webex for Placetel and shows what should be established before setting up.
Short conclusion
Start with the customer journey: who accepts the call, how are available employees selected and what happens if no one answers or the queue is full? Then you set agents, greeting, waiting instructions, overflow and schedules. Placetel documents different types of distribution - from simultaneous ringing to order or longest inactivity. What fits depends on the team and tasks.
Routing garden at a glance
| Routingart | Behavior according to Placetel | Can fit if… | Think beforehand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simultaneously | All selected agents are called in parallel | A small team reacts together | Responsibility and availability are clear |
| Circular | Transfer cyclically to the next available agent | Calls should be distributed in turn | Status and representation are maintained |
| Top to bottom | Agents are run through in a fixed order | A priority order is desired | Keep order current |
| Longest inactive | First the agent that has been inactive the longest | Load is distributed among available agents | Agents' qualifications match |
The overview summarizes the Placetel help on the call queue. The routing logic is only one part: Also consider parallelism, agent status, announcements, waiting time and alternative destinations.
Build the flow sensibly
- Set input: Specify the main number, queue number and a possible extension. Decide whether the number should also be used for outgoing calls.
- Assemble a team: Select employees who will answer calls. With skill-based routing, you assign skills and priorities in a comprehensible way. Clarify representations.
- Select distribution: Use simultaneous ringing when a small team responds together. Sequence or inactivity logic should fit the division of labor. Test with multiple agents.
- Set waiting and overflow rules: Determine how many conversations are waiting and what happens when the queue is full or after a certain waiting time. According to Placetel, busy signals, forwarding or further ringing are possible options.
- Coordinate announcements and times: Plan greeting, waiting message and optional waiting time information. Link the queue to working time, holiday and night rules.
Plan business hours and exceptions
A queue needs clear behavior outside of working hours. Placetel describes operating modes through which calls can go to different destinations depending on the time, day of the week and business rules - for example to the queue during the day and to the mailbox later. Also plan holidays or special times and test the process.
Video: Setting up a call queue in the Control Hub
The official Placetel video shows how to set up a queue in Webex for Placetel. The player does not start automatically.
Plan setup with PE
You can connect the Placetel Cloud PBX to the Initial setup. Agree on users, numbers, queue rules and handover. Inquiries first go through PE Digital.Networks; Contract data is recorded manually in the Reseller Center after verification.
Discuss telephony requirements with PE →
Frequently asked questions
Where is the queue set up?
Placetel names the path “Services → Calling → Functions → Call Queue” in the Control Hub. Names may vary slightly depending on the portal and language version.
What happens when all agents are busy?
You specify this in the overflow settings. Placetel mentions busy signals, forwarding or further ringing as possible options.
Can employees control their availability?
Depending on the configuration, agents can change their status or join and leave a queue. Check permissions and team rules before starting.
Sources and test bench
Reviewed October 20, 2026. Options based on manufacturer documentation; no own performance values or measurements were created.
- Placetel online help: Setting up a queue
- Placetel online help: Setting up operating mode
- Placetel Online Help: Setting Up Schedules
- Official Placetel queue video
Video source/channel: YouTube channel Placetel. oEmbed checked on October 20, 2026.
Author: TechDesk PE Digital.Networks