Set up a call queue

A call queue is where callers wait for a human agent. You create the queue, assign a team to staff it, set the timeouts, and then reference the queue from a Send to Queue node in your IVR flow.

Before you start

• A team configured in Settings → Teams — the queue routes calls to the agents on that team.
• A phone number provisioned, with the Queues tab visible.
• A clear idea of how long an agent should have to accept a call before it moves on (the reservation timeout) and whether agents should get a wrapup period between calls.

Steps

1. Open Settings → Voice.
2. Select a phone number in the sidebar, then go to the Queues tab.
3. Click New queue.
4. Enter a name — keep it descriptive (“Support — English”, “Sales”, “Premium VIP”). This is internal.
5. Pick the team that staffs the queue. Only agents on this team will be offered calls from the queue.
6. Set the reservation timeout — how many seconds an agent has to accept an offered call before it’s reassigned. A common default is 20–30 seconds.
7. (Optional) Enable wrapup and set the wrapup duration in seconds. Agents enter wrapup automatically after a call ends, which keeps them off the queue while they finish notes.
8. (Optional) Configure language-based overflow if you have language-specific agents and want calls to overflow when none are available.
9. Save.

Verify it worked

You should see the new queue listed in the Queues tab with its team and timeouts.

Then go to Flows, open your IVR, and check the Send to Queue node — your new queue is selectable in the queue dropdown.

Connect the queue to your flow

A queue does nothing until an IVR sends calls to it. Add or update a Send to Queue node in your flow:

1. Open the flow in the IVR builder.
2. Click the Send to Queue node (or add one from the palette).
3. In the right panel, pick your new queue.
4. Save the flow.

The next call to that flow will land in the queue.

Configure the experience inside the queue

The queue’s behavior while a caller waits — hold music, customer-first greetings, comfort messages — lives on the Queue Experience tab. See Configure hold audio and queue greetings.

If you want callers to opt out of waiting and receive a callback instead, see Configure callback.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: Calls reach the queue but no agent ever picks up. Fix: Confirm the team has at least one agent who’s marked Available in voice. Open the queue and check whether any agents are showing as ready.

• Symptom: Calls keep getting reassigned without ringing through. Fix: Reservation timeout is too short, or agents are not on the right team. Bump the timeout to 30 seconds and confirm the team membership.

• Symptom: New queue doesn’t appear in the IVR’s Send to Queue dropdown. Fix: Open the IVR builder, click on the Send to Queue node, and re-fetch the queue list (refresh the page if needed). Queue assignments are loaded when the builder opens.

See also

• Build an IVR flow
• Configure hold audio and queue greetings
• Configure callback