Groups - Static: Create, Edit and Delete

Article Links: Introduction | Static and Dynamic Group Comparison | Create a Static Group | Edit a Static Group | Delete a Static Group |  Import Users in a Static Group |

INTRODUCTION

Groups allow you to schedule and deliver cross-functional training when you are unable to assign training to an organization unit.

They are generally a collection of users that are spread across your organization that has the same training need.

You know you need a group when you have multiple employees that need the same training and they are assigned to different organization units across the company. Not everyone in those organization units has the same training need.

Groups are not a part of your organization structure; they are in addition to your structure.
Note: The Express LMS is a basic feature LMS and does not include Groups.

Features of Groups:

Groups have the following characteristics:

• You can create an unlimited number of groups.
• Groups can have an unlimited number of users.
• Users can belong to an unlimited number of groups.
• You can assign training to groups.
• Users "inherit" any training assigned to the groups they are added to.
• You can run reports on groups.
• Deleting a group DOES NOT delete completion records for users nor does it delete the user record.  This is because a group is not a part of your organization's structure.

Examples of Groups:

Examples of groups that may require task or job-specific training are:

New Hires • Forklift Operator • Emergency Responders • Leadership or Management • Supervisory • First Aid Training • Shift Training (1st, 2nd 3rd) • Hourly Employees • Salary Employees • Compliance Training •

In each of these examples, the employees that require task or job-specific training may be spread across your organization.

An LMS Administrator can create a group, add the employees that need the training, and then assign, track and report on training for that group.

Employees can be added and removed from the group at any time. This means that you don't have to make assignments individually which can become cumbersome to manage and report on.

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STATIC AND DYNAMIC GROUP COMPARISON

Static Groups 

A static group is a group in which users are added or removed manually from the group by the LMS Administrator.  You can also change group membership by editing the user record.  Refer to the User Record: Additional Functions article to learn how to manage an individual user's group memberships from their user record.

Dynamic Groups 

A dynamic group is a group in which users are added or removed automatically from the group.  Users will be added or removed automatically from the group by setting dynamic user rules in the group record which matches data contained in the user record. Below are a few examples of when you would be likely to create a dynamic group.  

• Compliance training required, i.e. MSHA, OSHA, DOT or some other compliance training
• Hourly vs. Salary
• Job title
• Sequential Qualifications. Automatically assign multiple qualifications that require completion in a specific order. For example First Aid Training - Beginning, First Aid Training - Intermediate, First Aid Training, Advanced 
• State of residence.  For example, employees in California may have a different safety training requirement than employees located in other states due to state-specific law
• And more..... options available will be described in the Create a Dynamic Group article below

If your company uses HR sync, you may be able to include the specific data in the synchronization file. Please contact our support team at support@convergencetraining.com to confirm what can and cannot be included in the synchronization file.

Refer to the Groups - Dynamic: Create, Edit, and Delete article to learn how to create and manage a dynamic group.

Refer to the Groups: Sample Dynamic User Rules article to view some of the most common examples for creating a Dynamic Group.

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CREATE A STATIC GROUP

Follow these steps to create a static group:

1. Click the Administration tab at the top of the screen.
2. Click Organization, then Groups on the left menu bar.
3. Click the New button at the top of the Manage Groups screen.
4. Click the Select button to the right of the Location field.
   1. Click the Look for field drop-down list.
   2. Select the desired organization unit in the Look for field from the list of available selections which may include: Region, Site, Department, or Team.
   3. Search and locate the desired location by entering all or part of the organization name in the search field.
   4. Click the check box to the left of the desired location that appears in the Available Records table.
   5. Click the Select button to complete your Location selection.
   6. You will be returned to the Create Groups screen.
5. Complete the Name field (denoted in red).
6. Complete any optional fields as desired (denoted in black).  Most optional fields are self-explanatory.  The following optional fields are explained as follows:
   1. External ID:  Leave this field blank.  This field will be automatically populated when the LMS has been set up to synchronize with your Human Resources system (AKA HR Sync). Do not change the value of this field unless directed to by a support team representative. Changing the value in the field will cause the import data from your HR system to populate incorrectly in the LMS.
   2. Description: Enter a description of the group.
   3. Notification E-mail: When the Training Completed notification is turned on, the notification will be sent to the email address listed in this field.  The LMS will attempt to send this notification to any email address in the Notification Email field listed in the Team record first.  If no email address is entered in the Notification Email filed on the Team record, the LMS will attempt to send an email to the Notification Email address entered for successively larger organizational units.  If the LMS cannot find an email address entered in any Notification Email field at any organization level it will not send the Training Completed notification.
   4. Supervisor: Selecting a supervisor will allow you to filter by the supervisor on two reports: Qualification Completion Matrix by Supervisor and the Activity Due Date reports. This is helpful when you have a supervisor that manages multiple teams or departments.  Instead of having to remember which departments and teams they supervise, you can filter by the supervisor and all employees for which they supervise will appear on the report.
7. Click the Save button. The screen will refresh and a “Users in this Group” list box will appear.
8. Follow the steps below to add users to the group.
9. Click the Select button to the right of the Users in this Group field.
10. You can add users to the group using either (or a combination) of the following methods:
    1. User: The Look for Drop Down defaults to User. Users can be selected by one or more of the following methods:
       Select users on the screen: Click the checkbox that appears in the far left column header and then select the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group box. Keep in mind that only will select the users listed on this screen. If there are multiple pages, select the next page and repeat this step until all users are selected. 
       Search and select one user: Enter the user name in the search field to the right of the Look for field to search and locate a user. Check the user check box and select the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group 
       Select one or more users: Check the checkbox to the left of each user name and click the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group box 
    2. Organization Unit: Select any of the organization units from the Look For Drop Down list and then:
       1. Select the green linked number in the Users, Teams or Department column.
       2. A list of users that have been added to that organization unit will appear.
       3. Check the checkbox to the left of all desired users to be added to this group.
       4. Click the right arrow to move the items checked to the Selected Records table.
       5. Click the Return to Previous View button.
    3. Repeat steps A and/or B until all users have been added to the group.
    4. Click the Select button to complete your User selection and return to the Create Groups screen. The users selected will appear in the “Users in this Group” list box.
11. Click the Save button located on the menu bar.
12. Click the Close button after the Changes Saved confirmation appears.
13. You will be returned to the Manage Groups screen.

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EDIT A STATIC GROUP

Edit a group when you want to change the name of the group, add or remove users from the group, change the location, name of the supervisor of the group, etc.
Note:  Refer to the Users: Create, Edit Delete article to learn how to manage an individual user's group memberships from their user record.

Follow these steps to edit a static group:

1. Click the Administration tab at the top of the screen.
2. Select Organization, then the Groups link on the left menu bar.
3. Search and locate the group following the directions provided in the Using Search article.
4. Click the Edit button to the left of the desired group name.
5. Make the desired changes to any required or optional field on the Edit Group screen.
6. To remove users from the group:
   1. Click the Select button to the right of the Users in this Group field.
   2. Click the checkbox to the left of one or more users in the Selected Records table.
   3. Click the left arrow to move them to the Available Records table.
7. To add additional users to the group:
   1. Click the Select button to the right of the Users in this Group field. You can add users to the group using either (or a combination) of the following methods:
   2. User:  The Look for Drop Down defaults to User. Users can be selected by one or more of the following methods:
      Select users on the screen: Click the checkbox that appears in the far left column header and then select the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group box. Keep in mind that only will select the users listed on this screen. If there are multiple pages, select the next page and repeat this step until all users are selected. 
      Search and select one user: Enter the user name in the search field to the right of the Look for the field to search and locate a user. Check the user check box and select the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group 
      Select one or more users: Check the checkbox to the left of each user name and click the right arrow to the right of the list to populate the Selected Records group box 
   3. Organization Unit: Select any of the organization units from the Look For Drop Down list and then:
      1. Select the green linked number in the Users, Teams or Department column.
      2. A list of users that have been added to that organization unit will appear.
      3. Check the checkbox to the left of all desired users to be added to this group.
      4. Click the right arrow to move the items checked to the Selected Records table.
      5. Click the Return to Previous View button.
   4. Repeat steps B and/or C until all users have been added to the group.
   5. Click the Select button to complete your User selection and return to the Create Groups screen. The users selected will appear in the “Users in this Group” list box.
8. Click the Save button located on the menu bar.
9. Click the Close button after the Changes Saved confirmation appears.
10. You will be returned to the Manage Groups screen.

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DELETE A STATIC GROUP

Unlike regions/districts, sites, departments, teams, and users, you can delete a group without affecting a user’s completion record or deleting the user from the system. You can delete a group any time you no longer need the group.  Keep in mind that the assignment to the group will no longer apply to those added to the group but the completion record will be maintained.

Follow these steps to delete a group:

1. Click the Administration tab at the top of the screen.
2. Select Organization, then the Groups link on the left menu bar.
3. Search and locate the group following the directions provided in the Using Search article.
4. Click the red Delete button to the left of the desired group name.
   Note: If the red Delete button is inactive, you have been assigned the Admin security role and will be unable to delete groups. You must have a Master security role to delete groups. Contact your Master Administrator and ask them to delete the group or determine if you can have permissions added to your security role to delete the group.
5. Click the YES button on the Confirm Delete screen.
6. Click OK on the Delete Succeeded confirmation screen. The group will be deleted from the LMS.

When a group is deleted in error, email support@convergencetraining.com. Support can generally restore the deleted group. If deleting groups is part of a larger re-organization effort, contact support@convergencetraining.com. They may be able to provide assistance to automate the reorganization.

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Import Users in a Static Group

Follow these steps to import users to a new or existing static group.
Note: You cannot import users to a dynamic group. Dynamic groups depend on rules to populate users. Once the rule is established, any user will be automatically added to the group as long as the user record includes the data the rule applies to.

1. Create or edit the desired static group.
2. Scroll down to the Users In this Group section.
   
3. Click the Export button.
4. Open the spreadsheet and save it to your local or network drive.
5. The spreadsheet will include all users within your security role's target location. For example, if your security role target is limited to a region, everyone user within the region will appear on the spreadsheet.
6. Take the following steps:
   1. Mark "x" in Column A to add a user to the group.
   2. Remove "x" in Column A to remove a user from the group.
7. Save the spreadsheet.
8. Return to the LMS and edit the static group you want to import the users to.
9. Scroll down to the Users in this Group section.
   
10. Click the Import button.
11. Locate and double click on the saved spreadsheet.
12. A confirmation screen will appear indicating the number of users that will be added and removed from the group.
13. Click the Yes button on the Confirmation screen.
14. The Users in this Group tab will be populated with the users added from the spreadsheet.
15. Click the Save button.
16. Click the Close button.

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