Creating Groups

Administrators and authorized users can create comprehensive collaboration spaces that support diverse organizational needs through flexible group configuration options. Group creation enables the establishment of communities organized around projects, departments, interests, business opportunities, and specialized collaboration requirements with granular privacy controls and membership management.

The group creation process provides extensive customization options including privacy levels, membership rules, feature enablement, task management integration, and organizational information that support various use cases from public communities to confidential project teams and cross-organizational business collaboration.

Requirements

To create groups, users must be assigned a security role with the following permissions:

All Entities, Group (system): Read and Create Tab Settings, Groups: On or Hidden App Settings: Assigned an App with the Groups Tab Other Settings, Social Collaboration: Enabled

Note: If Social Collaboration is disabled, the Groups tab will be hidden and group creation will not be available.

Accessing Group Creation

Navigation to Group Creation Interface

1. Navigate to Groups Module

1. Click the Groups tab in your application navigation
2. Click Create a Group to initiate the group creation process
3. The New Group dialog will display comprehensive configuration options

Basic Group Configuration

Essential Group Properties

2. Configure Fundamental Group Settings

Name: Enter a descriptive name for the group that clearly identifies its purpose and target audience. This name will be visible to users based on the group's privacy settings and appears in group listings and search results.

Unique Name: The system automatically populates this field based on the Name you provided. You may enter a different unique identifier that is not already used by another group. This unique name serves as the group's internal identifier for system references.

Summary: Enter a concise summary of the group's purpose and focus. This summary appears in the group directory and provides users with quick context about the group's objectives and target membership.

Description: Provide a comprehensive description of the group that explains its purpose, goals, activities, and member expectations. This description appears in the group's About section and helps users understand whether the group aligns with their interests and needs.

Privacy and Access Configuration

Group Type and Visibility Settings

3. Configure Group Privacy and Access Controls

Select the appropriate group type based on your privacy requirements and collaboration needs:

Public Group Options

Public Group - Auto-Join:

• Visibility: Anyone can view the group, see its members, and read posts
• Membership: Users can join the group immediately without requiring approval
• Use Cases: Open communities, public discussions, broad organizational communication
• Access Control: Complete transparency with immediate participation capability

Public Group - Request to Join:

• Visibility: Anyone can view the group, see its members, and read posts
• Membership: Users must request permission to join and receive approval from group owners or managers
• Use Cases: Moderated communities, quality-controlled discussions, selective participation
• Access Control: Open visibility with managed membership growth

Closed Group Options

Closed Group - Anyone Can Find:

• Visibility: Anyone can find the group and view its member list
• Content Access: Only group members can view posts and participate in discussions
• Use Cases: Semi-private collaboration, department teams, project groups
• Access Control: Public discovery with member-only content access

Closed Group - Specific Users Can Find:

• Visibility: Only designated users, Security Roles, or User Groups can find the group and view its members
• Content Access: Only group members can view posts and participate in discussions
• Configuration: Use the lookup field to search and select specific users, Security Roles, or User Groups who can discover the group
• Use Cases: Controlled-access collaboration, sensitive project teams, partner-specific groups
• Access Control: Restricted discovery and member-only content access

Secret Group

Secret Group:

• Visibility: Only group members can view the group, its member list, and all content
• Access: Complete privacy with no external visibility or discovery
• Use Cases: Confidential projects, executive teams, sensitive business collaborations, partner-vendor opportunity teams
• Access Control: Maximum privacy with member-only access to all group elements

Administrative and Feature Configuration

Group Management Settings

4. Configure Group Status and Administrative Options

Status: Select the operational status of the group:

• Active: Group is operational and accessible to members based on privacy settings
• Inactive: Group is temporarily suspended while maintaining member relationships and content

Task Management Integration:

• Tasks Enabled: Check this option to enable comprehensive task management within the group
• Functionality: Enables task creation, assignment, tracking, and management directly within the group context
• Use Cases: Project collaboration, workflow management, opportunity tracking, deliverable coordination

Member Invitation Controls:

• Allow Members to Invite Others: Enable this option to permit existing group members to invite additional users to join the group
• Permission Management: When enabled, members can send invitations that require approval based on group type settings
• Growth Control: Supports member-driven community growth while maintaining appropriate access controls

Group Ownership and Administration

5. Configure Group Leadership

Owner Assignment: Designate the group owner who has complete administrative control over the group, including member management, settings configuration, content moderation, and group lifecycle management.

Owner Search: Use the lookup functionality to search for and select the appropriate user to serve as the group owner based on organizational role and responsibility alignment.

Additional Group Information

Supplementary Configuration Options

6. Configure Optional Group Details

Language Settings: Select the primary language for the group, which affects interface elements and communication within the group context.

Website Integration: Optionally include a website URL that provides additional resources, context, or information related to the group's purpose and activities.

Geographic Information:

• Single Location Indicator: Check "This group is based in a single geographic location" if the group represents a location-specific community or team
• Informational Purpose: This setting provides organizational context and member information but does not affect group functionality or access controls
• Use Cases: Regional teams, office-specific groups, location-based collaboration

Group Creation Finalization

Implementing Group Configuration

7. Create and Launch the Group

Review Configuration: Verify all settings align with the intended group purpose, privacy requirements, and organizational policies before creation.

Create Group: Click Create to establish the group with the configured settings and make it available based on the selected privacy and access controls.

Post-Creation Setup: After creation, the group owner can begin adding initial members, creating introductory content, establishing group guidelines, and configuring additional features as needed.

Strategic Group Planning

Use Case Alignment and Configuration Strategy

Project-Based Groups: For temporary project collaboration, consider Closed or Secret groups with task management enabled and specific user access to maintain focus and security while enabling effective collaboration.

Department and Team Groups: Utilize Closed groups with broader organizational access to support ongoing communication and resource sharing while maintaining appropriate content privacy.

Business Opportunity Collaboration: Create Secret groups for partner-vendor opportunity teams with task management enabled to support confidential business development and deal coordination.

Community Building: Use Public groups with appropriate membership controls to foster broader engagement while managing growth and participation quality.

Security and Access Planning

Confidentiality Assessment: Evaluate content sensitivity, member privacy requirements, and organizational security policies to select appropriate group privacy levels and access controls.

Member Management Strategy: Plan membership growth, approval workflows, and administrative responsibilities to ensure sustainable group management and appropriate access control maintenance.

Integration Considerations: Consider how groups will integrate with existing organizational workflows, communication patterns, and collaboration tools to maximize effectiveness and user adoption.

Best Practices for Group Creation

Planning and Design Strategy

Purpose Definition: Clearly define group objectives, target membership, expected activities, and success criteria before beginning the creation process to ensure appropriate configuration choices.

Privacy Level Selection: Choose group privacy settings based on content sensitivity, member requirements, and organizational policies while considering the balance between accessibility and security.

Feature Planning: Enable appropriate features such as task management and member invitations based on anticipated group activities and collaboration requirements.

Implementation Considerations

Owner Selection: Choose group owners who have appropriate authority, availability, and commitment to manage the group effectively throughout its lifecycle.

Launch Strategy: Plan initial content, member recruitment, and activity promotion to establish group momentum and encourage sustained participation from the outset.

Growth Management: Consider membership growth patterns and administrative capacity when configuring invitation permissions and membership approval processes.

Creating Groups provides essential community building capabilities that enable diverse collaboration scenarios through flexible, secure, and user-friendly group establishment processes that support organizational objectives and user community needs across various business contexts and collaboration requirements.

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