Keep main line on Common Area phone but allow Hot Desking?

Question

An Auto Receptionist answers the main number for our firm. It forwards to a Call Queue which has two members, the Common Area phones which are answered by the receptionists at our front desk.

If both of the receptionists have to be away at the same time (and for a while), one of the Executive Assistants will come down to the front desk to greet visitors and take calls for the main line - meaning they are now away from their own desk phone, not covering their manager's line, etc.

We tried enabling Hot Desking on the front desk Common Area phones so an Executive Assistant could sign in and receive calls to their own line (and especially to their manager's line) ...but doing so stopped the front desk phone from being able to receive the main phone number, which is not a workable solution.

While we have thought of other ways in which the Executive Assistant could cover their own calls / manager's calls (such as with the Zoom app on their mobile phone, or the Zoom app when signed into the computer at the front desk), we are still hoping to find a way to let them 'sign in' to the front desk phone but still have the main line show up, so they don't have to juggle multiple headsets (we don't have the kind that can handle multiple inputs) and/or cell phones.

We thought about adding the Executive Assistant to the Front Desk Call Queue when they are there, but that seems like an extra and unnecessary step, as it would require the help of a Zoom Call Queue manager or Zoom Admin - unless there was a way to automate it so that ANYONE who signed into that Common Area phone would be automatically added to the Call Queue, and automatically removed from it when they signed out.

Any ideas we haven't thought of? Thanks for helping us brainstorm on this one!

Eliot · Answer

hi @thombrooks_ctc

You could consider adding all executive assistants to the front desk call queue. When the executive assistant is at the front desk, they would use the zoom workplace client and opt in to the front desk call queue.

Initially set the executive assistants to opt out of receiving calls on the front desk call queue. When an executive assistant is temporarily assigned to the front desk, the executive assistant would opt in to receive front desk call queue calls. While opted in, the executive would receive both front desk call queue calls and whatever calls they would normally receive. When the temporary assignment is over, the executive assistant would opt out of the front desk call queue.

These are some zoom support article on calls queues and common areas.

Changing if queue members can opt in/out

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0062856

Changing call queue settings

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0065370

Managing Zoom Phone call queues

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0064844

Changing common area phone settings

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0067159

Did my response answer your question? If so, please don't forget to mark the reply as an accepted solution.

thanks, eliot