Create a hunt group

Before you begin

Hunt groups route incoming calls to specific employees in a predetermined pattern. The call is routed by assigning a phone number to a group of employees and then defining rules such as how to answer the call, how long the call remains on hold, and who to forward the call.

You may want to set up hunt groups in the following scenarios:

  • A sales team that wants sequential routing. An incoming call rings one phone, but if there's no answer, the call goes to the next hunt group member in the list.

  • A support team that wants phones to ring all at once so that the first available member can take the call.

For customers in the Asia-Pacific region, the Caller ID Name field auto populates with the username. You can’t modify the Caller ID Name field.

When a call arrives to a hunt group and is sent to an agent, the agent call forwarding feature doesn't work.

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Add New to create a new hunt group.

4

In the Basics tab, enter the following information and click Next.

  • Location—Select a location from the drop-down.

    A location is a container with a location-specific Calling configuration. See Configure Cisco Webex Calling for Your Organization for more information.

  • Hunt Group Name—Enter a name for the hunt group.

  • Phone Number and Extension—Assign a primary phone number and/or an extension to the hunt group.

    If you leave the extension field blank, the system automatically assigns the last four digits of the phone number as an extension for this hunt group. To modify it, see Edit hunt group phone numbers section.

  • Allow agents to use hunt group number as caller ID—Enable the toggle to allow agents to use the hunt group number as the Caller ID.

    There’s a restriction that both the hunt group's location and the agent’s location must have the same PSTN provider, country, and zone (this applies only to locations in India). If it’s different, then the hunt group caller ID doesn't display to the agent. This restriction helps to prevent call failure, potential billing issues, and ensures adherence to country-specific telecom regulations.

    Examples of invalid cross-location number usage:

    • Agent in U.S. location using UK location hunt group number.

    • Agent in San Jose, California location with PSTN provider 1 using Richardson, Texas hunt group number with PSTN provider 2.

  • Caller ID—Assign the Caller ID for the hunt group. Caller ID is used for calls that are forwarded outside of this hunt group.

  • Language—Select the language for audio announcement from the drop-down menu.

5

In the Call Routing tab, choose one of the following options and click Next.

  • Circular (Max 1,000 agents)—This option cycles through all members after the last member that took a call. It sends calls to the next available hunt group member.
  • Top Down (Max 1,000 agents)—Sends the call through the hunt group members in order, starting from the top each time.
  • Longest Idle (Max 1,000 agents)—Sends calls to the member that is in idle state for the longest time. If they don't answer, proceed to the next member who has been idle second longest, and so on, until the call is answered.
  • Weighted (Max 100 agents)—Sends call to idle members based on percentages you assign to each member of the hunt group (up to 100%).
  • Simultaneous (Max 50 agents)—Sends calls to all members in a hunt group at once.

    For the Hunt group with Simultaneous ring setting, when another user in the Hunt group answers a call you receive a completedelsewhere indication in the CallReleasedEvent.

You can check the Advance after a set number of rings check box and use the drop-down to select the number of rings to apply to your call routing choice, if necessary.

6

In the Routing Settings tab, you can enable one or more of the following options if necessary and click Next.

  • Advance when busy—The hunt group won't ring members when they are on another call, and advances to the next member in the hunt group. If the member has call waiting enabled and the call is advanced to them, then the call waits until the member becomes idle again.
  • Forward after a set number of rings—Unanswered calls after a defined number of rings forwards to a designated number.
  • Divert calls when all agents are unreachable—Unanswered calls divert to a defined phone number. This option applies to phone calls that aren't answered due to a network outage.

    For users only using a mobile device, calls aren't diverted if there’s a network outage.

  • Divert calls when all agents are busy or if the hunt group is busy—When you enable this setting, you can also define a number for the call forward destination. Unanswered calls are forwarded to the defined number when the hunt group is busy. This could apply to calls that aren’t answered because all hunt group agents are busy, or if the hunt group busy option is enabled. You can also check the “Send to voicemail" box to divert calls.
  • Enable hunt group busy—Enabling the Enable hunt group busy option sets the hunt group status to busy, and all new calls receive the busy treatment. Calls must be routed to the appropriate destination when all agents are busy or hunt group busy is turned on.​ By default, the Enable hunt group busy is turned off.

    Only an administrator can enable or disable hunt group busy. If an administrator configures agents to control hunt group busy, then agents can also enable or disable hunt group busy using FAC codes.

  • Allow agents to change the hunt group’s busy status—Lets agents change the hunt group’s busy status.

7

In the Select Agents tab, search and add users, workspaces, or virtual lines to the call list and click Next.

Depending on the Call Routing option you chose, add information such as adding percentage weighting to users, workspaces, or virtual lines. For circular call routing, drag and drop users, workspaces, or virtual lines in the order of their queue position.

8

In the Review tab, you get a chance to review your hunt group settings to make sure you've entered the correct details.

9

Click Create to create the hunt group.

Watch this video demonstration on how to create a new hunt group in the Control Hub.

Disable a hunt group

With this procedure, you can disable a previously created hunt group.
1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group to disable from the list.

5

In the side panel, disable the Enable Hunt Group toggle to disable the hunt group.

6

Click Save.

Edit hunt group general settings

Edit the language and Caller ID for each hunt group.
1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group you want to edit.

5

In the side panel, click General Settings.

6

View or edit the Language from the Language drop-down.

7

View or edit the Time Zone from the Time Zone drop-down.

8

View or edit the Caller ID.

Caller ID is used when call forwarding is enabled and calls are forwarded out of this hunt group.

9

Click Save.

Edit hunt group phone numbers

Edit phone numbers, alternative numbers, and assign distinctive ring patterns for hunt groups.

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group to edit.

5

In the side panel, click Phone Number.

6

Edit the Phone Number and Extension.

If you've left the extension field blank when creating the hunt group, the system automatically assigns the last four digits of the phone number as an extension for this hunt group.

7

Enable the Allow agents to use hunt group number as caller ID to allow the agents to use the hunt group number as the caller ID.

There’s a restriction that both the hunt group's location and the agent’s location must have the same PSTN provider, country, and zone (this applies only to locations in India). If it’s different, then the hunt group caller ID doesn't display to the agent. This restriction helps to prevent call failure, potential billing issues, and ensures adherence to country-specific telecom regulations.

Examples of invalid cross-location number usage:

  • Agent in U.S. location using UK location hunt group number.

  • Agent in San Jose, California location with PSTN provider 1 using Richardson, Texas hunt group number with PSTN provider 2.

8

Search and add Alternative Numbers.

You can have up to 10 alternative numbers.

9

Enable or disable Distinctive Ringing Pattern.

10

Click Save.

Configure agent settings for user

Before you begin

  • The Control Hub administrator enables the phone number to use as the outgoing phone number for the agents in the call queue/hunt group.

  • On enabling the phone number, the administrator can set the agents outgoing phone number with the specific queue/hunt group CLID as per Persistent Configuration.

  • The agents can also set a Temporary CLID Configuration by using the FAC code #80 to use the call queue/hunt group phone number as the CLID displayed for the outgoing call or #81 for outgoing default caller ID as the phone number displayed as CLID.
1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Management > Users.

3

Select a user that you want to configure the agent setting for.

4

Click Calling and go to the Agent Settings section.

5

Click the Agent Caller ID.

You can set the agent caller ID to either the agent's own caller ID or a specific call queue or hunt group.

6

Configure the agent call queue or hunt group ID from the following options:

  • Configured Caller ID—The caller ID which is already configured to the agent.

  • Call queue or hunt group caller ID—Search by number or queue name and select the call queue or hunt group Caller ID from the drop-down.

    When the agent you’ve selected isn’t part of the call queue or hunt group, by default, this option is disabled.

    There’s a restriction that both the call queue's or hunt group's location and the agent’s location must have the same PSTN provider, country, and zone (this applies only to locations in India). If it’s different, then the call queue or hunt group caller ID doesn't display to the agent. This restriction helps to prevent call failure, potential billing issues, and ensures adherence to country-specific telecom regulations.

    Examples of invalid cross-location number usage:

    • Agent in U.S. location using UK location call queue or hunt group number.

    • Agent in San Jose, California location with PSTN provider 1 using Richardson, Texas call queue or hunt group number with PSTN provider 2.

Configure call forwarding for a hunt group

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select a hunt group to edit.

5

In the side panel, click Call Forwarding.

6

Toggle the Call Forwarding feature on.

7

Choose from one of the following options:

  • Always Forward Calls—Always forward calls to a designated number.
  • Selectively Forward Calls—Forward calls to a designated number, depending on criteria rules.

    If you choose Selectively Forward Calls, you need to have at least one rule for forwarding applied for call forwarding to be active.

8

Assign the number you want to forward calls to. If you have chosen Always Forward Calls, click Save.

When choosing Always Forward or Selectively Forward, check the Send to Voicemail check box to forward all calls to an internal voicemail. The Send to Voicemail check box is disabled when an external number is entered.

9

For Selectively Forward Calls, create a rule by clicking Add When to Forward or Add When Not to Forward.

10

Create a Rule Name.

11

For When to Forward, select a Business Schedule and Holiday Schedule from the drop-down menu.

It's mandatory to create a new rule specific to holidays.

12

For Forward To, select at least one option from Default Phone Number or add a Different Phone Number.

13

For Calls From, select Any Number or Selected Numbers with at least one option from the following:

  • Any Number—Forwards all calls in the specified rule.

  • Any Private Numbers—Forwards calls from private numbers.

  • Any Unavailable Numbers—Forwards calls from unavailable numbers.

  • Add Specific Numbers—Forwards calls from up to 12 numbers that you define.

14

For Calls To, calls are forwarded when a call is received by a number or alternate number in your organization that you define.

15

Click Save.

The rules created for the selectively forward calls are processed based on the following criteria:

  • The rules are sorted in the table by rule name character. Example: 00_rule, 01_rule, and so on.

  • The "Not to Forward" rule always takes precedence over the "Forward" rule.

  • The rules are processed based on the order they are listed in the table.

  • You can create multiple rules. However, if a rule is satisfied, the system no longer checks the next rule. If you want the specific rule to check first, we suggest that you update the rule name with numbers. For example: If you want the holiday rule to check before the business closed hours rule, then name the rule as 01-Holiday and 02-Closed.

To know more about the basic functionality and examples of the selectively forward call, see Configure Call Forwarding Selective for Webex Calling.

What to do next

Once a rule is created, you can enable or disable a rule using the toggle beside the rule in the table. You can also change or delete a rule at any time by clicking Edit or to delete.

Add or delete users, workspaces, and virtual lines in an existing hunt group

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group to edit.

5

In the side panel, click Agents.

6

Click the Add User or Workspace or Virtual Line drop-down and select the users, workspaces, or virtual lines that you want to add.

You can delete hunt group members by clicking .

7

Click Save.

Edit hunt group call routing pattern

Change the pattern of your existing hunt group from the options available.

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group to edit.

5

In the side panel, click Call Routing Pattern.

6

Edit the following options:

If you change your call routing pattern from a pattern that accommodates 1,000 hunt group members to a pattern that only accommodates 100 or 50 members, only the first 100 or 50 members are kept. You're asked to confirm this when you make the change.

  • Circular (Max 1,000 agents)—This option cycles through all members after the last member that took a call. It sends calls to the next available hunt group member.
  • Top Down (Max 1,000 agents)—Sends the call through the queue of members in order, starting from the top each time.
  • Longest Idle (Max 1,000 agents)—Sends calls to the member that has been idle the longest. If they don't answer, proceed to the next member who has been idle second longest, and so on, until the call is answered.
  • Weighted (Max 100 agents)—Sends call to idle members based on the percentages you assign to each member of the hunt group (up to 100%).
  • Simultaneous (Max 50 agents)—Sends calls to all members in a hunt group at once.
7

Click Add User or Workspace or Virtual Line to edit the list of agents.

8

Click Save.

Edit hunt group call routing options

1

Sign in to Control Hub.

2

Go to Services > Calling > Features.

3

Go to the Hunt Group card and click Manage.

4

On the Hunt Group page, select the hunt group to edit.

5

In the side panel, click Call Routing Options.

6

Use the toggles to set each of these features on or off.

  • Advance after set number of rings—When turned on, a hunt group member won't receive a notification that a call is queued to them when on a call, and advances to the next member after a select number of rings. When turned off, a member receives a notification that a call is queued, but advances to the next member after a select number of rings.

  • Advance when busy—The hunt group won't ring members when they are on another call, and advances to the next member in the hunt group. If the member has call waiting enabled and the call is advanced to them, then the call waits until the member becomes idle again.

  • Forward after a set of rings—Unanswered calls after the defined number of rings forward to a designated number.

  • Divert calls when all agents unreachable—Unanswered calls divert to a defined phone number. This could apply to phone calls that aren't answered due to a network outage.

  • Divert calls when all agents are busy or if the hunt group is busy—When you enable this setting, you can also define a number for the call forward destination. Unanswered calls are forwarded to the defined number when the hunt group is busy. This could apply to calls that aren’t answered because all hunt group agents are busy, or if the hunt group busy option is enabled. You can also check the “Send to voicemail" box to divert calls.

  • Enable hunt group busy—Enabling the Enable hunt group busy option sets the hunt group status to busy, and all new calls receive the busy treatment. Calls must be routed to the appropriate destination when all agents are busy or hunt group busy is turned on.​ By default, the Enable hunt group busy is turned off.

    Only an administrator can enable or disable hunt group busy. If an administrator configures agents to control hunt group busy, then agents can also enable or disable hunt group busy using FAC codes.

  • Allow agents to change the hunt group’s busy status—Lets agents change the hunt group’s busy status.