Managing multiple teams, departments, or regions shouldn't mean jumping between separate administrative views. Because user privileges can only be assigned to a single target group at a time, creating an umbrella-like structure (parent group with nested subgroups) allows administrators, managers, and supervisors to gain a seamless, waterfall view of all entities they oversee simultaneously.

This article provides an overview of why umbrella structures are beneficial and step-by-step instructions for setting them up across your Teams, Content Groups, Learning Initiative (LI) Groups, and Facility Groups.

Overview: The "Waterfall View" Benefit

When an organization scales, managers often oversee multiple sub-teams rather than just one. Without a parent-child group hierarchy, assigning access requires managing privileges individually for every single subgroup.

By implementing an umbrella structure:

• Streamlined Privileges: You can assign a manager privileges to the top-level parent (umbrella) group, which automatically cascades access down to all nested subgroups.

• Comprehensive Reporting: Gain rolled-up visibility into progress, content, initiatives, and facility usage across the entire department without toggling between separate dashboards.

Key Group Types & Application

This umbrella structure can be applied across four main group categories within your platform:

1. Teams: Grouping functional departments together (e.g., nesting Support, Client Services, and Client Success under a parent Client Success Organization team).

2. Content Groups: Bundling specific libraries, courses, or resource collections so supervisors can manage training visibility for multiple subgroups at once.

3. Learning Initiative (LI) Groups: Organizing targeted campaigns, compliance programs, or onboarding tracks that span multiple sub-departments.

4. Facility Groups: Grouping physical locations, regional offices, or training centers under a single regional umbrella.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Create an Umbrella Structure

Follow these steps to establish your parent groups and nest your subgroups successfully.

Step 1: Establish the Parent (Umbrella) Team

Parent Team Creation:

1. Select Administration from the main drop-down menu.
2. Click People followed by Teams.
3. Locate and select the applicable team.
4. Select New Team in the upper-right corner.
5. Enter the Team's name, description.
6. Click Create New Team.

Step 2: Nest Subgroups Under the Parent

Subgroup Team Creation:

1. Select Administration from the main drop-down menu.
2. Click People followed by Teams.
3. Locate and select the applicable team.
4. Select New Team in the upper-right corner.
5. Enter the Team's name, description.
6. In the Parent Team dropdown, select the Team created in the previous step.
7. Click Create New Team.

Step 3: Content, Facility, and Learning Initiative Groups

Content Groups

Content Groups are used to create custom libraries for your teams. This allows for the upload of internally created materials like videos and documents.

1. Select the main menu dropdown and click Administration
2. Select Learning on the sidebar menu, then Content Groups
3. In the upper right-hand corner, click new content group
4. Enter the Client’s name for the title and description, then select create
5. Repeat the steps 2-4 for subgroups while selecting the parent team when applicable. 

Learning Initiative Groups

Learning Initiative Groups store individual client Learning Initiatives. Learning Initiatives are content bundles closely representing learning tracks. Within each Learning Initiative, an administrator has the ability to create multiple stages (or phases) which contain a set of courses. Additionally, a Learning Initiative can be configured to reset at specific intervals (annually, monthly, etc.) depending on the requirements of your training regimen. Organizations utilize this feature to build curriculums for areas such as onboarding, new manager training, or annual compliance training. 

1. Select Administration from the main menu dropdown. 
2. On the administrative navigation menu, select Learning followed by Learning Initiatives. 
3. In the upper right corner, select Add Learning Initiative Group.
4. Enter the Client Name in the title field and Save. 
5. Repeat the steps 2-4 for subgroups while selecting the parent team when applicable. 

Facility Groups

Facility groups allow Client Admin to manage upcoming classroom sessions and the locations these sessions will take place in.

1. From your homepage select Administration from the main menu
2. Click Learning from the admin menu and then Facility
3. Select Actions and New Facility Group.
4. Enter the Client Name  in the title field and Save.
5. Repeat the steps 2-4 for subgroups while selecting the parent team when applicable. 

Step 4: Assign Privileges for Cascading Access

Once your hierarchy is established, assign the manager's permissions:

1. Navigate to your user management or privilege settings.

2. Select the manager or supervisor (e.g., Jane).

3. Assign her administrative or management role, selecting the parent umbrella group as the target group.

4. Save the permissions. Because of the nested structure, her privileges will now waterfall down to cover all underlying subgroups automatically.

Best Practices

• Consistent Naming Conventions: Use clear prefixes or naming patterns (e.g., CS - Support, CS - Client Services) to keep your group lists organized and easy to audit.

• Regular Audits: Review your group hierarchies quarterly to ensure personnel changes or department restructures are accurately reflected in the parent-child relationships.