Learn - Primary Groups: define line manager hierarchy

In this article, we'll explain how Primary Groups are used to manage line manager hierarchy in Learn LMS.

Users are typically members of many Groups in Learn. Of those Groups, one will be identified as their Primary Group. Primary Groups are typically created and managed by the People-data Feed, based on your source HR data. For example, if your source data identifies that a Users' manager has changed then the People-data feed will automatically switch that User's Primary Group to the new manager. 

• Primary Groups are commonly named after the manager
• A User can have one Primary Group only
• Managers will see members of their Primary Group in their Manager Dashboard
• Users must have at least an LMS role of ‘Manager’ to be assigned as manager of a Group

Watch the video below for a tour of Primary Groups in Learn LMS.

When is a Group, a Primary Group?

For a manager to see their team in the manager dashboard, Learn must be configured detailed below. For this example, we'll look at the User 'Jerry Bird'. Jerrys manager is Trisha Jones.

1 - Team members must exist in a Group 

Browse to a User and select 'Group member' from the administration menu. Here, you'll see listed all the groups of which the user is a member. This User, Jerry Bird, is a member of 5 Groups:

Note that for two groups, the tick cannot be unselected, as would usually be the case. One of those Groups is the All Users Group, of which every User in Learn must be a member. Membership of this Group is controlled by the Automated People-data feed:

The other Group is 'Trisha Jones'. This Group is Jerrys Primary Group. A Users Primary Group can be changed in one place only, as explained in the next step.

2 - The Group must be identified as the team members' Primary Group

Browse to the 'Details' area of a User profile. In the Organisational Information area, note the menu in which the Users Primary Group is identified: 

Here, the Group called 'Trisha Jones' is selected as being Jerrys Primary Group. In this example, the Primary Group is named after the manager (as is typically the case). 

If Jerry's manager changes, an administrator can change the selection in this menu. However, if an automated People-data feed is in place, then the change must be made in the source data. Your HR data is the source of truth so if a change is made in Learn LMS, it will be overwritten when the People-data feed next runs.

3 - A Manager must be specified for the Group

Looking at the Group called 'Trisha Jones' we can see the Manager is the User called Trisha Jones. Therefore Trisha will see in the Manager Dashboard, any Users who have the Group 'Trisha Jones' specified as being their Primary Group:

An administrator can change the selection in this menu. However, if an automated People-data feed is in place, then the change must be made in the source data. Your HR data is the source of truth so if a change is made in Learn LMS, it will be overwritten when the People-data feed next runs.

It's also possible to configure a senior manager view for the Manager dashboard. With this view a senior managers will see in their dashboard activity for all below them in the hierarchy.  hierarchy for areas of responsiblity.

For more information about the Manager role, view LMS Roles and Responsibilities.

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.