Whats the best Practise for on-call duty via teams external calling?

Hi Schnittlauch,

This is a very common scenario in Teams Phone, and you’re right — the Auto Attendant can only forward to a single number, so it can’t natively rotate between several personal mobile numbers.

The good news is:

There is a supported way to handle a twentyfour / seven rotating on‑call schedule with 2–3 people per shift.

✔ Recommended Solution: Use a Call Queue with “Agent Opt‑In/Opt‑Out”

Instead of forwarding directly from the Auto Attendant to individual mobile numbers, you create:

One Call Queue (CQ)

Add all, let's say, 10 technicians as agents (since the accurate numeber of the techinicans is not known)

Turn on Agent Opt‑In/Opt‑Out

The technicians who are “on duty” simply opt in to the queue

(and the rest stay opted out)

The queue will then route calls only to the people who are currently opted in.

This works perfectly for weekly rotating on‑call teams.

Why this works best

✔ No need to update Auto Attendant every week

You don’t have to replace phone numbers or edit routing rules all the time.

✔ Multiple technicians can be available at once

If you have 2 or 3 people on shift, they all just toggle themselves “in”.

✔ Technicians receive calls on their mobile Teams app

Teams rings like a normal mobile call, even while the phone is locked.

✔ Fully supported by Microsoft

This is exactly how rotating on‑call scheduling is expected to be implemented.

How to set it up

1. In Teams Admin Center → Voice → Call queues

Create a queue such as CQ-OnCall.

Enable:

✔ Agents can opt in/out of this queue

✔ Presence-based routing

Routing method: Round robin or Serial

Add all technicians as queue agents.

2. In the Auto Attendant

Point your on‑call menu option to the new CQ-OnCall queue.

3. How technicians join their shift

On desktop or mobile Teams:

Calls → Settings → Queues → Toggle ON (Join queue)

They toggle OFF after their shift ends.

Only the agents who are opted in will receive calls.

Optional: After-hours or holiday routing

If needed, you can configure:

Time-based routing

Holiday schedules

Night/weekend announcements

All inside the Auto Attendant.

Summary

Because Auto Attendants can only forward to one number, you cannot use them directly for multi-person rotating duty shifts. But using a Call Queue with agent opt-in/out gives you a clean, flexible, and fully supported solution for weekly on‑call rotations with 2–3 people at a time.

Could this be the solution for your needs?