In previous phone systems, you might put someone on "hold" and shout down the hall or text another person in your office\department to pick the call as needed. In Microsoft Teams, this is available through a feature called Call Park.
Call Parking allows you to place an active call on a temporary cloud-based hold, generates a unique retrieval code, and lets either you or a colleague pick up that call from any device running Teams. Here is a quick guide on how to use it.
Step 1: How to Park an Active Call
When you are on a live call and need to park it:
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Look at the call controls toolbar at the top of your active call window.
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Click the More (...) button.
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Select Park call from the dropdown menu.
The moment you click this, the caller will be placed on hold and will hear hold music. Teams will instantly generate a unique numeric code (usually a 2-to-4 digit number, like 10 or 122) on your screen.
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Copy the code or jot it down. You can now safely close the active call window.
Step 2: Pass Along the Code
Because the call is parked in the cloud, anyone with access to that code can retrieve it. You can:
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Send the code to a specific colleague via a quick Teams chat.
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Post the code in a specific Teams channel asking an available expert to grab it.
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Use it yourself if you are simply moving from your desktop app to your mobile phone.
Step 3: How to Retrieve (Unpark) the Call
To pick up a parked call from any Teams interface:
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Open your main Calls tab in the Teams app.
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Look near your dial pad and click the Parked calls button.
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Type in the exact numeric code you were given.
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Click Pick up.
The call will instantly connect, taking the caller off hold.
What Happens If No One Picks Up?
Don't worry about leaving a client stranded in the cloud. Teams has a built-in safety net called a ring-back timeout. By default, if a parked call is not retrieved within 5 minutes, Teams will automatically ring your device back so you can handle the caller personally.