Hunt Groups
Ring a team of people when one of your phone numbers is called — all at once, one at a time, or by skill.
Created: September 16, 2026
Updated: September 16, 2026
Overview
A hunt group is a named set of team members that rings when a caller dials one of the phone numbers (DIDs) attached to the group. Members answer on their softphone in the VINSI dashboard or on their desk phone. If nobody answers before the ring timeout, the caller goes to the group's voicemail.
Hunt groups are managed in CRM → Admin → Phone Settings → Hunt Groups. Only organization administrators can create or change them.
Hunt Groups vs. Queues
| Hunt Group | Queue | |
|---|---|---|
| When nobody answers | Caller goes to voicemail after the ring timeout | Caller waits on hold (music, position announcements) until an agent is free |
| Best for | Small teams, front desks, departments | Contact centers, support and sales lines with call volume |
| Agent status | — | Available / Unavailable with reason codes, wrap-up, dispositions |
| Reporting | Call logs | Live wallboard, service level, agent and queue reports |
A phone number can go to either a hunt group or a queue, not both. See Call Queues for the queue setup guide.
Before You Start
- Members need a phone. Each member should have a softphone and/or a desk phone set up in Phone Settings → Member Phones (use the + Add Phone button at the bottom).
- You need a phone number. Buy or port a number in Phone Numbers. Numbers already assigned to a single member, a desk phone line, a fax line, or an AI phone agent can't be attached to a hunt group — their own routing takes the call first.
- For skills routing, create your skills first (see Skills-Based Routing).
Create a Hunt Group
- Go to CRM → Admin → Phone Settings and open the Hunt Groups tab.
- Click + New Hunt Group at the bottom of the panel. The hunt group editor opens.
- Enter a Group name (for example Front Desk or Warehouse).
- Choose the Strategy and Ring timeout (5–120 seconds).
- Choose what Show on member phones displays while ringing: the caller's number/name (default) or the hunt group name — useful when members belong to several groups and need to know which line is ringing.
- Check the members who should ring.
- Check the DIDs that use this group.
- Set Business Hours, the after-hours destination, and voicemail options.
- Click Create Group. Calls to the attached numbers ring the group right away.
Ring Strategy
| Strategy | How it rings |
|---|---|
| Ring All | Every member rings at the same time. First to answer gets the call. |
| Linear | One member at a time, always in the same order. |
| Round Robin | One at a time, rotating who rings first so calls are spread evenly. |
| Longest Idle | The member who has gone the longest without a call rings first. |
| Skills | Members with the highest rating for the chosen skill ring first; the next rating tier rings after the ring timeout. Members already on a call are skipped. |
Members
The member list shows each person's extension. Members ring on whichever devices they have — softphone, desk phone, or both (controlled per member in Member Phones). A member who has turned off inbound calls won't ring.
Phone Numbers (DIDs)
Check every number that should ring this group. Several numbers can share one group. A number already in another hunt group shows (in <group name>) — checking it moves it here when you save. Your organization's main line is marked Default and is pre-checked on new groups.
Business Hours
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Use main business hours | Follows the organization-wide hours set on the Phone Settings → Settings tab. |
| Custom hours for this group | Pick a start time, end time, and days for this group only (organization time zone). |
| Always ring (24/7) | Ignores hours entirely. |
Outside business hours, calls go to Voicemail (using the group's greeting) or an AI Phone Agent.
After-hours routing to an AI Phone Agent currently works only when the hunt group's number is your organization's default (main) line. On other numbers, calls keep ringing the group.
Voicemail
- Greeting — open the voicemail greeting editor from the hunt group, type the greeting, pick a voice, preview it, and save. It plays when nobody answers or after hours.
- Notification email — who is emailed when a voicemail is left. Add extra addresses in the CC list (type an email and press Enter).
- Voicemails also appear in Phone Settings → Voicemails for administrators.
Skills-Based Routing
Skills let a group ring the best-qualified people first — for example, Spanish speakers for a Spanish line.
- Open Phone Settings → Skills and click + New Skill at the bottom. Name it (e.g. Spanish) and click Add skill.
- Go to Member Phones, click a member's Skills button, add the skill, and choose a proficiency:
Proficiency Ring order Primary Rings first Secondary Rings when no Primary member answers Training Rings last - Edit the hunt group, set Strategy to Skills, and pick the skill under Rank members by skill.
In the Skills tab, click N members rated under a skill to see who is rated and at what level. Leaving Rank members by skill empty rings everyone, so a group is never left without people to ring.
Edit, Search & Delete
- Click any hunt group card to open it, change settings, and click Save Changes.
- Use the search box at the top right to find a group by name.
- Click Delete Group in the editor to remove a group. Its numbers go back to the organization's default ring behavior.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| A number isn't listed under DIDs | It's assigned to a member, a desk phone, a fax line, or an AI agent. Remove that assignment first. |
| A member's phone doesn't ring | Check the member has a softphone or desk phone in Member Phones, the softphone is open and connected, and inbound calls aren't turned off for them. |
| Skills group rings everyone | No skill is selected, or nobody is rated for it yet. |
| Calls go straight to voicemail | The group is outside its business hours, or no members are reachable. |