Definition
Queues is a Setup page where administrators create and manage queues for holding records like Leads, Cases, and custom objects that have not yet been assigned to an individual owner. Queue members can view and accept records from the queue, and queue-based routing ensures fair workload distribution.
Real-World Example
The admin at QuickAssist Insurance creates a Queue called "Billing Support" for Cases related to billing issues. She adds 10 billing agents as queue members and configures a Case assignment rule to route all Cases with Type = "Billing" to this queue. Agents pick up Cases from the queue based on availability, and managers monitor the queue length to spot staffing issues.
Why Queues Matters
The Queues Setup page in Salesforce is where administrators create and manage the queue infrastructure that powers record routing across the organization. From this page, admins define queue names, specify which objects the queue supports (Cases, Leads, custom objects, etc.), and add members who can view and accept records from the queue. Queue membership can be granted to individual users, roles, roles and subordinates, public groups, partner users, and customer portal users, providing flexible access control. This setup page is also where queue email addresses are configured, which enable incoming email-to-case or email-to-lead routing directly into specific queues.
As organizations grow to dozens or hundreds of queues, the Queues Setup page becomes a critical governance checkpoint. Poorly managed queue configurations lead to orphaned queues with no active members, overlapping queues that confuse routing logic, and queues with inappropriate membership that violate data access policies. The Queues page works in concert with assignment rules, Omni-Channel routing configurations, and Flow-based routing to create a comprehensive work distribution system. Administrators should conduct quarterly queue audits to remove inactive queues, verify membership lists remain current as employees change roles, and ensure queue email addresses are still valid and monitored. Without this maintenance, the queue infrastructure decays and records begin falling into black holes where no active user can see them.
How Organizations Use Queues
- QuickAssist Insurance — QuickAssist's admin created 8 specialized case queues from the Queues Setup page: Billing Support, Claims Processing, Policy Changes, New Business, Complaints, Technical Issues, Agent Inquiries, and Escalations. Each queue is configured with role-based membership, so when agents move between departments, their queue access automatically updates without manual intervention.
- NorthStar Logistics — NorthStar's admin configured lead queues on the Queues page with queue email addresses tied to regional marketing campaigns. When leads email west-sales@northstar.com, Email-to-Lead creates a record directly in the West Region queue. The admin reviews queue utilization monthly and retired 3 unused queues that had accumulated 200 stale records.
- Elevate Education — Elevate's admin manages queues for a custom Student Inquiry object. From the Queues Setup page, she configured queues by department (Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advising) and added public groups as members to simplify access management. When a new advisor joins, they are added to the department group and automatically gain access to the relevant queue.