FOLLOW ME STRATEGIES

Ring All

The Ring All strategy is designed to ensure incoming calls are answered as quickly as possible by any available contact in your Follow Me List.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: When a call comes in, your extension will ring for the duration of the Initial Ring Time setting.
2. Simultaneous Ringing: If the call is not answered during the initial period, all other numbers on your Follow Me List will ring simultaneously for the specified follow-up ring time.
3. Continued Ringing on Your Extension: If your extension is the first number on the list, it will continue to ring along with the others during the simultaneous ringing phase.

Best Use Case: Use the Ring All strategy when your top priority is to have the call answered by anyone on your list as quickly as possible, regardless of who picks up.

Ring All (Old)

The Ring All (Old) strategy is a legacy ringing method that separates the call to your extension from the call to your Follow Me List. It uses a two-step approach rather than a continuous ringing process.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: Your extension will ring first for the duration of the Initial Ring Time.
2. Call Termination and Restart: If the call is not answered during this time, the initial call is terminated, and a new call is initiated to the numbers in your Follow Me List.
3. Simultaneous Ringing: All numbers on the Follow Me List will then ring simultaneously for the specified ring time.
4. Your Extension Will Not Ring Again: If your extension is part of the Follow Me List, it will not continue ringing once the new call is started.

Important Note: Because this strategy ends the first call before starting the second, there may be a slight delay between the two phases. Voicemail settings and call behavior may also differ compared to other strategies.

Best Use Case: Use the Ring All (Old) strategy only if required for compatibility with specific legacy systems or workflows. For most use cases, the newer Ring All strategy is recommended for smoother call handling.

Hunt

The Hunt strategy rings the numbers in your Follow Me List one at a time, in the order they are listed, giving each contact a chance to answer the call before moving on to the next.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: Your extension will ring first for the duration of the Initial Ring Time.
2. Sequential Ringing: If the call is not answered, the system will ring the next number on your Follow Me List, one at a time, following the order of the list. Each number will ring for its assigned time before moving on.
3. No Overlapping: Only one number rings at a time. If no one answers, the call continues to the next contact in the sequence until the list is exhausted or the call is answered.

Best Use Case: Use the Hunt strategy when you want to try reaching specific people in a defined order, such as escalating from yourself to a backup contact, then to a supervisor.

Hunt Additive

The Hunt (Additive) strategy builds on the standard Hunt method by progressively adding one more contact from the Follow Me List each time the call is not answered. This creates a growing group of simultaneous ring targets.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: Your extension will ring first for the duration of the Initial Ring Time.
2. Progressive Ringing: If the call is not answered:
   • The system rings the 1st number on the Follow Me List.
   • If still not answered, it rings the 1st and 2nd numbers together.
   • Then the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and so on...
   • This process continues, adding one number each time, until the call is answered or the list is exhausted.
3. Cumulative Ring Groups: Each new step includes all previously tried numbers, increasing the chance of reaching someone as the call progresses.

Best Use Case: Use the Hunt (Additive) strategy when you want to escalate call urgency gradually, starting with individuals and building toward ringing multiple people at once. It balances order and responsiveness, making it suitable for teams where priority contacts are defined but group coverage is still needed.

Monitor Primary - with Ring All or Hunt

The Monitor Primary option modifies the behavior of the Ring All or Hunt strategies by prioritizing the real-time status of your primary extension before any ringing begins.

How It Works:

1. Initial Behavior: When Monitor Primary is enabled, the selected ring strategy (either Ring All or Hunt) continues to function as described in its standard form.
2. Extension Status Check: Before applying the ringing sequence, the system checks the status of your extension:
   • If your extension is busy, on a call, or set to Do Not Disturb (DND), the incoming call will be immediately sent to your voicemail.
   • The Follow Me List will not be used in this case.
3. Overrides Call Forwarding: Any Call Forward settings on your extension will be ignored while Monitor Primary is active.

Best Use Case: Enable Monitor Primary when you want your phone system to respect your extension’s real-time availability and voicemail preferences, even while using Ring All or Hunt strategies. This is ideal for users who need more control over when and how calls are escalated to others.

First Available

The First Available strategy is designed to minimize call ringing by directing the call to only one available person at a time — the first one who can take the call — after your extension is tried.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: Your extension will ring first for the duration of the Initial Ring Time.
2. First Available Contact: If the call is not answered:
   • The system will check your Follow Me List in order.
   • It will ring only the first extension that is available to take a call.
3. Availability Check: An extension is considered available if:
   • It is not currently on a call, or
   • It has call waiting enabled (even if already on a call).
4. No Simultaneous Ringing: Unlike other strategies, only one extension will ring at a time — the first one that qualifies as available. The rest of the list is ignored once someone qualifies.

Best Use Case: Use the First Available strategy when you want to minimize disruption and ring only one person at a time, while still ensuring calls are answered efficiently. It’s especially useful for teams where multiple people are capable of answering, but simultaneous ringing isn't ideal.

First Not on Phone

The First Not on Phone strategy ensures that calls are only routed to users who are completely free, avoiding those who are already on a call — even if they have call waiting enabled.

How It Works:

1. Initial Ring Time: Your extension will ring first for the duration of the Initial Ring Time.
2. First Unoccupied Extension: If the call is not answered:
   • The system checks your Follow Me List in order.
   • It will ring only the first extension that is not currently on the phone.
3. Strict Availability Rule:
   • If an extension is on a call, it is not considered available, even if it has call waiting enabled.
   • The system will skip over that extension and continue down the list to find the next fully available one.
4. No Simultaneous Ringing: As with the First Available strategy, only one extension will ring — the first one that meets the availability condition.

Best Use Case: Use the First Not on Phone strategy when you want to ensure that calls go only to users who are completely free to answer, and avoid ringing those who are currently busy, even if their phone allows call waiting. This strategy is ideal for environments where uninterrupted call handling is a priority.