Learn - Groups: what they are for, and how Users get added

In this article we'll explain what Groups are, how they are created and managed, and how administrators can assign mandatory and optional learning to all Group members with just a few clicks.

• All Users are automatically added to the ‘All users’ Group, from which they cannot be removed
• Users are typically members of multiple Groups
• Users are assigned a Primary Group. This determines line management responsibility

Share mandatory and optional learning with Group members

Users are organised into Groups where they share attributes. For example, where they work, what they do, and any additional responsibilities they may have.

When a learner is added to a Group, they will be assigned all the mandatory and optional learning linked to that Group. When a learner is removed from a Group, they will be unassigned any mandatory and optional learning linked to that Group.

• Courses assigned to a Group are mandatory for all members of that Group
• When a Catalogue is assigned to a Group, all members of that Group will see the Catalogue and can browse the optional learning contained within it

How Groups are created

Groups are often created and populated automatically by the People-data feed. This is the most efficient way to populate Groups, as any changes made to the source data - for example to a Users role or responsibilities - can trigger a change in Group membership in Learn LMS (and therefore the learning they are assigned).

An administrator can also create a new Group manually. This might be necessary when the People-data feed doesn't contain the detail you need, for example for Fire wardens, First aiders, Buddies, and champions. Or perhaps the Users to be added to the Group don't exist in your HR data source at all - for example, for contractors and temporary workers. 

How Users are added to Groups

Where the People-data feed cannot automatically create and populate Groups, an administrator can manually create a new Group and manually add one or more Users to that Group.

However, when you're working at scale it's way more efficient to automate the process. If the right data doesn't exist at source for the People-data feed to automate Group membership, that's where Group rules come in.

An administrator can add a rule to a Group that specifies the condition(s) for membership. Any Users that match the condition will be added to the Group when the rules are checked overnight. It's also possible to configure a rule to remove Users who no longer match the rules specified for membership.

This allows you to automate training assignment based on the changing roles and responsibilities of your people. 

Get deeper learning in The Academy

A Learn LMS administrator can manually add users to Groups with just a few clicks, but when you're working at scale it's way more efficient to automate the process, and your data is key to that. View 'Automate learning assignment' for more detail. 

View the 'Create a learning pathway' Course to see how your site set-up and Group rules can be used to deliver a tailored and focused learning experience for your people.