Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Three Musketeers, The Odyssey, X-Men — anywhere you look, literature and pop culture is filled with archetypes that help us understand who we are and how we interact with the world.
The same is true of your call routing strategy. Each of us follows a pattern in terms of how we serve our customers when we answer the phone.
Understanding your call routing archetype can help you prioritize how you set up your business phone. That’s why we’ve described several archetypes below — based on characteristics and goals that each strategy and team have in common. We’ve also outlined some specific ways to set up a call routing system with each archetype.
⌚ The Time Lord for conditional call routing
“As a master of precision, your business is a well-oiled machine.”
You’re the Time Lord if…
- Your business operates in shifts, like property management or IT services.
- You want to increase customer satisfaction by minimizing missed calls.
- You rely on systems, plans, and backup plans to get stuff done.
- You don’t want to miss calls if a team member is out of office or busy on another call.
- You don’t want customers calling your personal number after hours (or ever?).
- You might rely on an answering service or an emergency call center after hours.
What is a conditional call routing strategy?
Conditional call routing allows you to forward incoming calls from one phone number to another phone number in specific situations. You’ll set up conditional rules within your business phone system.
For example, you might forward calls when a line is busy or if a call is unanswered. You might also set up conditions for business hours call routing (such as call forwarding after-hours or on weekends).
A conditional call routing strategy works really well for a few types of businesses. The first case is for business owners who want to direct calls to or away from their personal cell phones (either to protect their boundaries or never miss urgent calls). It can also work well for businesses that want time of day routing, such as an answering service after-hours.
How to rule the world as The Time Lord
Time to get your routing rules and routing process in place, so you can keep everything running smoothly.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Forward calls to an answering service or an emergency number outside of business hours
✅ Let your users set their own shifts, so calls are only routed to people who are working.
✅ Use business hours settings to ensure off-hours calls don’t disturb your personal time.
✅ Set up an away voicemail greeting for after-hours calls to let customers know when they can expect to hear back (such as the next business day).
✅ Send an auto-reply text to calls received after hours with more information or a reminder of your business hours.
🚨 The Guardian for emergency/on-call routing
“Your business is on standby — because when customers really need you, they need you NOW.”
You’re The Guardian if…
- You run a 24/7 business or need an emergency line.
- You’re focused on minimizing missed calls, wait times, and hold times.
- You need after-hours calls to go to a different number (or voicemail).
- Urgent calls need to be prioritized and reach someone STAT.
- You don’t want your personal phone ringing all the time, but you need a fallback.
What is an emergency/on-call routing strategy?
With emergency/on-call routing, you ensure that urgent calls go to an available team member or employee, immediately. Whether it’s an after-hours customer issue or an emergency, this strategy helps you provide immediate assistance to your customers.
A single phone line usually isn’t enough for companies needing emergency or on-call routing. You have to direct phone calls to different people.
How to protect the galaxy as The Guardian
You don’t have time to lose, so make sure you have Plan A and Plan B set up so your customers can reach you with urgent calls.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Use conditional call forwarding to direct calls to an on-call employee or an external answering service, even outside of business hours.
✅ Use a phone menu with an option like “Press 1 for emergencies” to route the customer to a person or a team dedicated to urgent requests.
✅ If you miss a call or it goes to voicemail, send an auto-reply text reassuring the customer they’ll receive a speedy callback. You can also send a link to self-help resources or a service request form.
“All-for-one and one-for-all is your company’s motto.”
You’re The Musketeer if…
- Many people share the responsibility of answering phone calls (like a customer service team).
- To maximize agent productivity, your team juggles answering calls alongside other tasks.
- Calls are answered by a remote or distributed team.
- You prefer tools that support collaboration, such as shared inboxes.
- You want to increase your call response rates and ensure someone is always available.
What is a shared number routing strategy?
With shared numbers, incoming calls will ring every team member on the same phone number and anyone who’s available can answer the call. Shared number routing also allows multiple employees to answer calls from the same business number, at the same time.
Businesses can have multiple shared numbers, like a customer service team and a technical support team.
If you’re using a VoIP phone system like OpenPhone, you can answer calls from anywhere with a WiFi connection, which is especially helpful for remote and distributed teams.
How to have each other’s backs as The Musketeer
You’ll want to make sure it’s easy for everyone to access customer calls and texts. With visibility into each other’s activities, your team can collaborate without stepping on a teammate’s toes.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Set up shared numbers so multiple employees can call and text from the same number. Employees can see if a teammate is actively on a call or drafting a response.
✅ Set up a ring order to customize how incoming calls are handled, such as ringing the team in groups of two (or up to ten) or all at once.
✅ Use a shared inbox for SMS text messages so employees can collaboratively reply to customers.
✅ Integrate OpenPhone with your CRM, so call data is synced for additional transparency.
✅ AI-powered call summaries make it easy for your team to review calls, in case a different agent needs to return a call.
🤖 The Gatekeeper for IVR call routing
“Efficiency and self-service are the best use of everyone’s time.”
You’re The Gatekeeper if…
- You have a high volume of calls, and it doesn’t make sense for an employee to route them all manually.
- You want to automate basic call handling, like having an audio recording that includes answers to FAQs like your business hours.
- You believe in letting customers route their own calls (without getting stuck in an endless phone menu).
- You have specialized teams for different departments (customer service, sales, billing, etc).
- You want to route calls based on expertise to improve first call resolution and customer service efficiency.
What is IVR call routing?
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) call routing uses a phone menu to direct callers to the right person or department. Instead of a human answering and routing every call, or callers getting automatically routed based on conditions like availability, customers make selections from the menu (“Press 1 for customer service, press 2 for sales…).
Each option can be directed to a single person or an entire team. IVR handles call management and frees up your team for more high-value work.
It’s important that your IVR call routing strategies are simple. No customer wants to sit through a lengthy phone menu; they want to talk to someone as fast as possible.
How to keep the chaos out as The Gatekeeper
Ready to let your customers take charge of their call experience? Make sure your IVR call flow is easy to navigate so customers reach the right person.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Set up custom call menus within OpenPhone’s IVR system so callers reach the person with the right skill set.
✅ Add multiple layers of call menus. For example, the first menu offers departments, and then after your customer makes a selection (“Press 2”) they hear names within a department.
✅ Offer self-service options of FAQs, such as a recording of your business hours or company address.
✅ Use a call flow to send after-hours calls directly to voicemail, so customers don’t listen to the phone menu.
✅ Record custom greetings and menu prompts, so your business sounds polished and professional (and not robotic).
✅ Record an audio to play if customers select no option from the menu (such as prompting them to leave a voicemail).
📍 The GPS Guru for geo-based routing
“With location-specific calls, call routing must be the ultimate navigator.”
You’re The GPS Guru if…
- Your business has multiple locations, and you want customers to reach the nearest one automatically.
- You want to deliver a consistent customer experience across all locations.
- You provide services in specific geographic areas and need to route calls accordingly.
- You have location-specific variations in business hours (like by time zone) or services.
What is geo-based routing?
If you have multiple locations, you want to make sure your customers reach the right local team. A single phone number makes it tricky to route calls to the appropriate agent. Geo-based routing directs calls based on the customer’s location.
Geo-based routing can happen in a few ways. Call routing software algorithms might direct the caller by area code (automatically) or zip code (with caller input). Geo-based routing can also happen when customers dial location-specific phone numbers.
How to keep things on the right path as the GPS Guru
You need your inbound call routing to be as location-specific as possible, so your customers connect with a specific agent and receive the right information.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Set up separate phone numbers for different locations so calls reach the right agent, without the hassle.
✅ Local presence dialing gives your business a local phone number, even if you operate in multiple locations or are headquartered elsewhere.
✅ Use automated call routing to connect customers to the right rep or branch.
✅ Calls to any number can be answered by a centralized team, ready to answer location-specific questions.
🎭 The Shape-Shifter for shift-based routing
“Your business runs in shifts, and your calls need to keep up!”
You’re The Shape-Shifter if…
- Your business operates on a rotating shift schedule (such as field services or customer support).
- You need seamless re-routing between shifts to avoid missed calls.
- You don’t want calls to go to voicemail just because a team member’s shift has ended.
- You prioritize continuous call coverage without gaps.
- Calls should be routed based on agent availability.
What is shift-based call routing?
Shift-based call routing sends calls only to team members who are working.
Rather than ringing every member of a team, shift-based call routing relies on the employee’s working hours. That way, employees’ phones don’t ring when they’re not working, and customers reach the right people during the shift.
This is perfect for businesses with rotating shifts. It also works for companies with a single shift, but employees rotate the responsibility of answering customer calls throughout the day. For example, some employees may answer calls in the morning, and a different team may answer calls in the afternoon.
How to take any form as The Shape-Shifter
Keep your employees’ phones peaceful outside of their working hours, while also routing customers to the right person.
Here’s what you can do in OpenPhone:
✅ Employees set their own shifts that supersede business hours. Only employees “on shift” will receive incoming calls.
✅ Use conditional call forwarding to send calls to a backup number or answering service if a customer calls while employees are in the middle of a shift change.
✅ Automated call handling prevents missed calls and keeps customer service running smoothly.
Let OpenPhone be your call routing superpower
Inbound call handling strategies vary widely by business needs. The routing methods that make sense for your team depend largely on your call volume, your available team, and the kind of business you have..
Now that you know your archetype, it’s time to put some strategies in place. Use the tips above to set up effective call routing in OpenPhone.
Not an OpenPhone customer yet? Try OpenPhone for free for seven days.
