Call flow is the most important part of your NEWT Business phone set up. A call flow is the path you direct your customers down when they dial your number.

You may choose to have the call answered with our Automated Attendant (where the caller chooses from a menu) or live answer right away. Either way, the call will need to be directed to an extension to be answered or follow a sequence of events to a “termination point” if calls are not answered. NEWT provides many options for you, to deliver the best call-handling experience for your customers and staff, based on your unique customer experience needs.

 So first, you’ll choose the call-handling experience you want, then set up the configuration for it on an extension, and then point the telephone number to the extension through the automated attendant menu options or directly.

Call Handling Options - Extension Set up

Direct to Extension (Live Answer)- If sending your calls directly to a single extension, it can be configured to handle time of day scheduling and what to do with the calls after hours or when the operator is not available, by setting up a “dial sequence” of events. 

Call Groups - A call group (also called a ring group) is a call-handling strategy that directs inbound calls to a predetermined “group” of extensions. Call groups are often used to ring all the phones in a particular department at once. Then anyone in the group can answer the call. Different than queues, this means callers will be more likely to reach a live person quickly without sitting on hold in a queue, waiting. Ring groups can seriously decrease caller wait time and reduce abandon rates. This can be a good option if your call volume-to-staff ratio is generally low or equal. You can build up to 9 Groups in the NEWT system. 

Basic Call Queue – A call queue is particularly effective for business functions like sales or technical support. This can be a good option if you only require 1 queue and your call volume to staff ratio is, at times, higher. The queue will allow the call to hold “in queue” and wait for an agent to pick up the call. One Basic Call Queue is included in the PBX feature set and is a simple build with pre-loaded music on hold, while a caller waits for an agent to answer. Agents can sign in and out of queues utilizing our preset log in/out code or a preset “agent key” button on their desk phone, allowing them to take calls from the queue. There are no additional features included, such as monitoring and coaching or reporting, agent skill sets or status controls. * For these more advanced queue features, or if you require more than one queue, please refer to our ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) program.