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Creating and Managing Groups

Updated

Use groups to organize people in Awardco so you can manage visibility, membership, and group-based communication more easily.

 

Note: Awardco Connection is currently in early access and is not yet generally available. If you would like early access to Groups, please reach out to your Awardco point of contact. Broader availability is planned for later.

 

 

  1. Why Use Groups?
  2. Before You Start
  3. Navigating to Groups
    1. Group Tab
    2. Group Settings
  4. Creating a New Group
    1. Settings Tab
    2. Members Tab
  5. Manage Group Settings in the Group Page
  6. Adding the “My Pages” Widget on the Homepage
  7. What People Can See and Do With Groups
  8. Implications and Things to Consider
  9. FAQ

 

Why Use Groups?

Groups help you organize employees by team, department, location, or other rules you choose. They can also help employees gather around shared interests or communities, such as a Women ERG, Pickleball Club, or Book Club. Groups can also have their own group pages. To learn more about group pages, refer to the “Creating and Managing Group Pages” article. 

 

Before You Start

Before you create a group, it helps to know a few key settings:

  • Groups can be public or private with membership being open or managed.
  • You can add members directly, use metadata rules to build a group automatically, or upload a CSV file in bulk.
  • You can also exclude specific people from a group.
  • You can assign group owners to help manage the group.
  • You can choose whether owners can send announcements to the group.
  • You can choose whether members are allowed to leave the group.

 

Navigating to Groups

To navigate to Groups, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Awardco platform.
  2. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
  3. From the left navigation menu, click “Users” then “Groups.”

 

Group Tab

In this main tab, you will see the groups created, their name, who created them, and the creation date. Groups can also be edited and deleted in this tab. 

 

Group Settings

In this settings tab, you will see the following settings:

Connection Page:

  • Enabling this setting adds the Connection page to the user navigation, where users can browse group pages across the organization. Disabling it hides the page and its navigation item.

Labels:

  • Group Pages Label controls the heading name on the homepage widget and the Connection page.

Private Groups:

  • Enabling this setting will allow all users to create private groups to use in recognitions. Disabling the setting will prevent additional groups from being created, but won't affect existing groups.

 

Creating a New Group

There are two ways to create a group, depending on your permissions.

For administrators with permissions:

To create a group, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Awardco platform.
  2. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
  3. From the left navigation menu, click “Users” then “Groups.”
  4. Select “+ Create Group.”
  5. Enter the group name.

For users creating private groups:

If your company has enabled private groups, users can create their own private groups from the Connections tab on their profile. This flow uses a simplified version of the group setup experience.

 

Settings Tab

In this settings tab, you will see the following settings:

Display:

  • Group Name
  • Image: Best results come from square images.

Configuration: 

  • Visibility: Who can see the group. Private only allows members to see this group. Public allows anyone to view this group.
  • Membership: Who can join the group. Managed means limited membership. Open allows anyone to join this group.
  • Allow members to leave: selecting this option allows members to leave the group if they wish.
  • Allow owners to send announcements: selecting this option allows any owner, besides just the super admin who created the group, to send a group announcement. 

Owners:

  • Select user to include: this shares group ownership so that individuals can manage group members, owners, and the display settings.

Page:

  • Toggling this feature on allows there to be a specific page for this group. Refer to the “Creating and Managing Group Pages” article for more group page information.
  • Please note that only groups created by super admins can have pages. Groups created by users can’t have pages.

 

Members Tab

Members:

  • Select “View All Members” to see who is a part of the group.

Select Users to Include: 

  • Users can be added individually with “Individual User.”
  • Users can be added by metadata.
    • Note: this uses ‘and,’ not ‘or,’ logic. In other words, if you select the NY Office and HR department, this will be the users in the HR department at the NY Office, not all users in HR and in the NY Office. 
  • Can add by bulk (employee ID or email) with a CSV file upload.
  • Note: Group creators and owners are not automatically included as members. They must still be added to the group. 

Select Users to Exclude:

  • Add users who should be excluded from the group. Excluded users will always be left out, even if they match an inclusion rule.
    • Individuals who self-exclude will show up in this list as well as those manually excluded.
  • Can exclude by bulk (employee ID or email) with a CSV file upload.

 

Manage Group Settings in the Group Page

You can adjust group settings at any time in the Group Page. On the homepage, go to the “My Pages” widget and select the group you are a part of. Reference the “Adding the My Pages Widget on the Homepage” information on how to add the “My Pages” widget to the homepage. From there, select the “Manage Group” button. 

Manageable group settings include:

  • Display settings with name and image.
  • Users in the group.
  • Owners of the group.

 

Adding the “My Pages” Widget on the Homepage

The “My Pages” widget appears in a dedicated homepage widget for maximum visibility. From the widget, employees can click to quickly access the pages for the groups they are a part of.

Setting up the “My Pages” widget:

  1. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
  2. From the left navigation menu, click “Customize” then “Homepage Editor.”
  3. On the left-hand or right-hand side of the homepage editor, click “Add Content” and add “My Pages.”
  4. Add the “My Pages” widget to the mobile homepage layout as well, making sure it is visible and easy to access.

NOTE: It is recommended to move this widget closer to the top of your homepage. Ensure you preview the widget placement on the mobile homepage as well.

For more detailed instructions on customizing your layout, please refer to our Homepage Editor support article.

 

What People Can See and Do With Groups

Groups can appear in employee user profiles, which helps people see the groups a person belongs to. Groups can also be used in announcements, which makes them helpful for targeted communication. If your company turns the setting on, users can create their own private groups. Groups are also eligible for recognition, so an individual can recognize all members of a public group. 

 

Implications and Things to Consider

As you plan and maintain your groups, keep these points in mind:

  • Decide early whether the group should be public or private and how the membership will be, since that affects who can view and join it.
  • Plan how you will manage membership over time. You can add or remove individual users, update metadata-based rules, and exclude people who should stay out of the group even if they would otherwise match the rules.
  • If you allow members to leave a group, be prepared for the exclude list to grow over time.
  • Assign one or more owners when you want to share group management responsibilities, and confirm before launch whether owners should be allowed to send announcements.
  • Groups are not supported in Awardco reports at this time.
  • To test groups and pages, hold off on adding members until you are ready to launch the group.
  • You can use groups in recognition with up to 25,000 members. Private groups are not eligible for group recognitions.

 

FAQ

Can a group be public or private?

Yes. Groups can be set to public or private.

Can group owners help manage a group?

Yes. Admins can assign group owners to delegate management of the group.

How do owners manage the group members without Super Admin Access?

If the group has a page, any group owner can edit it. Group owners can also update group settings, including display, members, and owners, on that page.

Can members leave a group?

Yes, if that setting is turned on for the group.

Can users create their own groups?

They can create their own private groups if your company has enabled that setting.

Where do groups appear for employees?

Group pages can appear in user profiles, the “My Pages” widget on the homepage, and the Connection page.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.

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