Create Talk Groups

Create groups on an as-needed basis or in bulk with automation rules that use common people information.

Group administrators can create groups one at a time on an as-needed basis or generate multiple groups at once by creating customized automation rules.

Automate Group Creation

Automation rules allow you to add feed groups in bulk, based on rule definition criteria you set using attributes. After the rule and groups are created, the rule is saved. Groups are created with a membership access as closed but can be changed to open.

How to plan auto-generated groups

When planning your groups, consider the information about employees that you want to use in Talk, such as a person's job, job type, department, and location. For example, create a series of groups in Talk based on store locations, one group for each location. Create groups based on job type and department . Employees can belong to multiple groups based on these common attributes. Also, consider the types of analytics you want to see based on the attributes that map to your user groups.

When you generate multiple groups at a time using rules, group criteria are based on people information attributes that originate from your UKG-licensed parent product. Work with your Service Representative to map the people information attributes for employees in the parent product to Talk. The attributes will be pulled into Talk when data is synchronized between Talk and the parent product.

Note: You can create a maximum of 50 rules.

Guidelines

Note the following:

  • Before you start to create automated rules, specify up to ten attributes to use when defining rules. You can edit and remove any configured attributes if they are not currently used in a rule.
  • Rules are defined using the names and values of the attributes you specify. For example, if you select the attribute name Region and Region is mapped to the four values NorthEast, SouthEast, NorthWest, SouthWest, as long as at least one employee is associated with each value, then four groups will be created, named after those values.
  • For attribute values, you define a rule using one or more AND conditions. For example, if you have two conditions, one with the value Region matching (equals) NorthEast and one with the value Department matching Seafood, Deli, Checkout, and Grocery, four groups can be created with the syntax NorthEastDepartmentValue (NorthEastSeafood, NorthEastDeli, and so on). You can also select All attribute values. For example, select All Sites, then add a condition to create groups for users assigned to any of the site’s Machine Shop Departments.
  • Before the rule is created, you can preview a list of up to ten groups that may be created. You can add a prefix and/or suffix to all group names in the rule.
  • You cannot create more than five rules in one minute.
  • Any employee associated with an attribute used to define a rule is automatically added the groups created when the automated rule is run.
  • When changes are made to the people information attributes in the parent product, then any rules referencing those attributes will automatically rerun at the next synchronization and update the groups based on the changed information. When new values are added to attribute names or values, new groups are created matching the group rules. Conversely, when attribute names or values are deleted in the parent product, all associated rules and corresponding groups are deleted in Talk.
  • Updates to employee information, including auto-generated groups, occur in Talk after each synchronization between the parent product and Talk. When a new employee is added to the system and associated with a parent product's people information attributes, they are automatically assigned to auto-generated groups that use those attributes. Similarly, if an employee leaves the company or changes departments, the changes are reflected in the groups after the next synchronization.

To select attributes

Before creating a rule, you must first configure at least one and no more than ten attributes.

You do not have to configure all ten attributes now. You can return later to configure more available attributes (up to ten). For attributes that are configured but not currently used in rules, return to the Configure attribute dialog to deselect them (remove them from the list) or select another attribute to configure.

Caution: After you save a selection, you can only change the selection or remove a configured attribute if the attribute is not currently used in a rule.
Note: The standard/mandatory attributes first name, last name, phone number, and email ID cannot be used.
  1. Go to the Groups page.
  2. Do one of the following to open the Select Configure attributes dialog:
    • The first time you create any groups, click Automation group creation.
    • If you have already configured one or more attributes, click Group Rules Dashboard The Group Rule Dashboard icon to open the Automation rule page.to open the Automation Rules page. Click Configure attributes.
    Note: The first time you open this dialog, blank Attributes 1 through 5 display. Use these as templates to start configuring the attributes to use in your rules.
  3. In the Configure attributes dialog, click a drop-down list and select an attribute.

    Note the following:

    • Configure up to ten attributes.
    • Attributes with a check mark are already used in a rule and are unavailable.
    • To configure additional attributes, click Add an attribute.
    • When an attribute displays an X, then the attribute is not currently in use and can be edited. To edit an attribute, do the following:
      • Click the drop-down list and select a different attribute.
      • Click the X to deselect the attribute then select a different attribute if needed.
  4. Click Save and Proceed. The Define Rules to Create Groups view opens. See To define automation rules to create multiple groups.
    Note: Open the Configure attributes dialog at any time to review and edit the attributes.

To define automation rules to create multiple groups

Before you define a rule, ensure you have configured at least one attribute. See To select attributes.

Note: You can create a maximum of 50 rules.
  1. Go to the Groups page.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Click Create > Automation Rules.
    • Click Group Rules DashboardAutomation rule page icon.to open the Automation Rules page, then click Create Rule.

    The Define Rules to Create Groups view opens.

  3. For Rule Name, enter a unique name.
  4. For Use Attribute, select Name or Value.
  5. For Define Rule, specify the rule definition, depending on the attributes selected:
    Note: The group name format reflects the order you select names and values.
    Name Attribute
    1. Click the Value drop-down list on the right and select an attribute name. The name you select is added below. Select up to ten names.
    2. Remove a selected name from the list by clicking its X.
    Value Attribute
    1. Click the left drop-down list and select an attribute.
    2. Click the middle drop-down list and select Matches (the default) or Either.
    3. Click the right drop-down list to select the attribute values you want to include (up to a maximum of 50). For matching rules, click All to include all available values for the attribute. The values are added below. Remove a value from the list by clicking its X.
    4. Click Add Conditions to refine the rule criteria. Add up to three conditions. To remove a condition, click Delete .
  6. Click Update Preview List to see a preview of the group names to be generated.
    • The Preview Sample Group List shows up to ten potential group names. The total number of potential groups is shown.
    • All Talk group names must be unique.
    • Hover over a group name to see more details about the group. This is helpful to compare groups that have similar names and definitions.
  7. (Optional) For Group Name Format, specify the following:
    1. Enter the Prefix and/or Suffix text you want added to all group names.
    2. Click Update Preview List to see your changes reflected in the group name preview.
  8. Set the permissions for all rule groups by selecting or clearing one or more Group Settings. By default, all are selected. These can be edited on a group-by-group basis after you execute the rule.
    • Allow users to post in this group
    • Allow users to like and comment on admin posts
    • Show group posts in the activity
  9. Do one of the following:
    • Click Save Draft to save a copy of the rule. Draft rules can be edited from the Automation Rules page before you finish creating the rule. After a rule is executed, it cannot be edited.
    • Click Create and Execute. The rule is created, added to the Automation Rules page, and will be run at the next synchronization. Groups are created and populated.

    You can view and edit the groups from the Groups page. Edit the description and add an image for the group. Change the group permission settings including whether to allow users to post in the group, like and comment on admin posts, and show group posts in the Feed. See Configure Talk Groups.

Manual (Single) Group Creation

You can create one chat or feed group at a time.

Note:

The following procedure describes how to create groups manually in the Admin Dashboard. You can also create groups in the Talk desktop. To open the Create Group panel in the desktop, do the following:

  • Feed groups: From the Groups page, click Create Groups above the group list and select Create Group.
  • Chat groups: Click Chat Talk chat icon . In the Chat panel, click New Message > Group Message > Create Group.
  1. In the Admin Dashboard, go to the Groups page and click Create > Groups Manually. If no groups have yet been added to Talk, click Create groups manually.
  2. To select the type of group to create, click either Chat Group or Feed Group. The group type cannot be edited after you create the group.
  3. For Group Image(optional), click Add Group Image to navigate to and select an image file you want to display for your group profile in Talk. Choose a file with the recommended size of 200 x 200 pixels.
  4. For Group Name, enter a unique name for the group.
  5. For Description, enter a short description, maximum 200 characters.
  6. For Group Access, select one of the following membership levels:
    • Open (default). The group will be visible to all users and any user can join. For Feed Groups, select Default Group to automatically add all users to the group.
    • Closed. The group is visible to all users but requires admin approval to join.
    • Private. The group is hidden and requires an invite from the admin to join.
  7. For Feed Groups only, set the group permissions by selecting or clearing one or more Group Settings. By default, all are selected.
    • Allow users to post in this group
    • Allow users to like and comment on admin posts
    • Show group posts in the activity
  8. Click Create. The group is added to Talk.
    Note: You can also create feed and chat groups in the Talk desktop. To open a feed group, go to the Groups page.