Forum Discussion
Whats the best Practise for on-call duty via teams external calling?
Hey community,
I'm a bit in a struggle when setting up our Teams Operator Connect Phone system.
We have an Auto attendence which is offering different menus (Press 1..., etc)
We're planning on setting up a twentyfour x seven on-call duty where customers can call and are getting redirected to the mobile phones of our technician.
I saw the option to forward to one number, but there isn't an option to forward to multiple numbers.
How do you guys solve such a scenario, where you have to wake up colleagues mid night?
We are changing shifts weekly, always 2 guys, sometimes 3 ppl. on shift.
Thank in advance,
Schnittlauch
1 Reply
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?
