Group hierarchy use case: retail store network
Mirror your store network as a tree — store, department, job. The store director manages the store group and, through it, every team; courses linked to the store reach every new hire.
Overview
A complete store
Each employee belongs to one job group, inside a department, inside a store. Members move up the tree and training flows down: the store director follows everyone, and store-wide courses reach every department.
Organisation · who manages whom
top group + up to 6 levels below
Store – Rennes
Store director
Checkout department
Department manager
Fresh produce department
Department manager
Baker
Team leader
Fishmonger sales assistant
Team leader
Drive department
Department manager
What each level carries
1Store
Store director
Group manager of the store only
Store courses
Linked to the store: every department receives them
2Department
Department manager
Follows the jobs below
Department courses
Checkout, fresh produce, drive, logistics…
3Job
Job courses
Baker, fishmonger sales assistant…
Example: Hugo, a baker, is a direct member of Baker and an indirect member of Fresh produce department and Store – Rennes.
Groups to create
The 3 levels to create
One tree per store. Each level carries the managers and the training that belong to it.
| Level | Example groups | How it is built | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Store | Store – Rennes, Store – Nantes | One top group per store, with no parent group | The store director’s scope; store-wide courses for every new hire |
| 2Department | Checkout, Fresh produce, Drive, Logistics | Attached to the store with Parent group | Department courses and the department manager’s follow-up |
| 3Job | Baker, Fishmonger sales assistant | Attached to its department | Job-specific training |
- At scale, build it automatically. Past a few dozen groups, load the tree from an HR file, a script or the connector rather than by hand.
- One store, one tree. A group has a single parent, so a job group belongs to one department of one store.
Set-up
Set it up in 5 steps
Design
Map the tree
List the stores, their departments and the jobs in each. Decide which courses belong to each level.
Build
Create the stores, then attach each level
One top group per store; select the store as Parent group on each department, and the department on each job. For many stores, load the links with the connector’s group hierarchies flow or the API.
Appoint
Appoint the store director
As group manager of the store group only, with a List of permitted courses or List of permitted categories.
Link
Link training at the right level
Store-wide courses on the store group: new staff in any department receive them. Department and job courses lower down.
Check
Check the result
Open the organisational chart of a store and expand each level; filter a report on the store to see every department.
Expected result
Each store director follows every employee in the store, and new hires receive the store’s courses as soon as they join a department.
Rules
The 5 rules to remember
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| A group has one parent, up to 7 levels (top group + 6 below) | Each job group sits under one department of one store |
| Members move up, training and visibility flow down | Hugo is counted as an indirect member of Fresh produce department and Store – Rennes — never copied. A course linked to Store – Rennes reaches every department |
| A manager sees their group and everything below it | Never the levels above or neighbouring branches: the Checkout manager does not see the bakers. Reports and Data Lab filters on Store – Rennes include every department and job |
| A manager’s rights add up across all their groups | Appoint the store director on the store only, with a list of permitted courses |
| Emails go to the managers of the direct group | Emails about Hugo go to the Baker team leader; the store director follows him but does not receive them |
Appendix
How it works in detail
The settings and screens you need for the set-up. The examples use the store above.
Create the hierarchy
Go to Groups › Create a group, or click the pencil icon of an existing group. In the Hierarchy section, choose the Parent group, or add several Child groups at once from the parent. Click Save.
When you create a group, Hierarchy and Configuration appear on one page; when you edit one, each is a collapsible section.
- Both groups must belong to the same company, and a group cannot be its own parent or loop back on itself.
- When you move a group that has sub-groups, the 7-level limit is checked on the whole branch.
- Through the API, one call replaces the parent and the full list of children — an empty list removes all children. Another call changes only the parent; sending no parent detaches the group and keeps its children.
- The connector’s group hierarchies flow links existing groups matched by name. It never creates a group and never removes a link missing from the file.
› Groups › Edit group
Name
Perimeter
Group members of a child group will become indirect members of their parent group.
Parent group
Child groups
Allowed IP address range
Illustration · editing “Fresh produce department”: its parent is “Store – Rennes” and its child groups are listed below it.
Manager rights
- Group managers follow and manage the members of this group and of its sub-groups.
- Course permissions set which courses they can register members to and follow: None, All courses, Only visible courses (courses visible to the manager), List of permitted courses, or List of permitted categories (every course in these categories).
- Learning path permissions work the same way: None, All learning paths, or List of permitted learning paths.
- Emails about a member go only to the managers of the group the member belongs to directly, and only when their course permissions cover the course. Managers of parent groups follow these members but do not receive the emails.
- A manager’s permissions add up across every group they manage: All courses on one group applies to every member they manage, sub-groups included. To limit a manager, appoint them only on the sub-group, with a list.
- Platform-wide rights, such as creating and editing users or groups, are set in Settings › Permissions › Group managers.
Learn more
Choose which courses the group managers will be allowed to manage
Choose which learning paths group managers will be allowed to manage
Illustration · the managers of “Fresh produce department” can manage Only visible courses and All learning paths.
In Configuration, choose what the group’s managers can manage:
- Courses: None, All courses, Only visible courses, List of permitted courses, List of permitted categories.
- Learning paths: None, All learning paths, List of permitted learning paths.
Platform-wide rights, such as creating users or groups, are set in Settings › Permissions › Group managers.
In their own Groups list, a manager sees only the top groups they manage — Store – Rennes for the store director — and opens the tree from there.
Move or delete a group
- Adding a parent or a child group re-runs the automatic registrations for everyone in the group and its sub-groups: the courses linked to the group itself and those of the new parent. Only active registrations are checked, so people removed from a course by hand are registered again and receive the usual emails — from the screen or the API alike.
- Detaching a group unregisters no one: learners keep the courses they received through the former parent.
- Deleting a group moves its child groups up under its parent: delete Fresh produce department and Baker and Fishmonger sales assistant move up under Store – Rennes. Check the organisational chart afterwards.
Check the result
Groups page. Only top-level groups show by default — here the stores — with the hierarchy icon and the number of groups below them. Search looks at every level.
› Groups
| Group ↑ | Hierarchy | Number of users ↑ | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
Store – Rennes (7)
Internal |
- | 76 | |
Store – Nantes (6)
Internal |
- | 64 | |
Head office – Training team
Internal · 1 smart rule condition |
- | 12 |
Search
Hierarchy
Perimeter
Creation date
Custom fields
User - Department
User - Job
User - Location
Illustration · the Groups page. The hierarchy icon shows how many groups sit below “Store – Rennes”; the right-hand panel holds the filters.
Organisational chart. Shows the tree from any group. Search it by group name and download it as an image. Each card counts the group’s direct members: Store – Rennes shows its few direct members, while most staff sit in its departments and jobs.
› Groups › Organisational chart
Internal • Contains 7 groups
Store – Rennes
Checkout department
Fresh produce department
Drive department
Direct vs indirect: a card counts direct members only. “Store – Rennes” shows 3, yet 76 people sit in its tree: the members of its child groups count as its indirect members, listed on its Manage group page.
Search
Creation date
Custom fields
User - Department
User - Job
User - Location
See all custom fields ▾
Illustration · the organisational chart of “Store – Rennes” with its first level expanded.
Manage group page. The member list of Store – Rennes also shows the members of its departments and jobs, with the badge Indirect member: they are counted through their sub-group, not added to the store.
› Groups › Manage group
Edit group configuration
Configuration
Type: Visible
Smart rule conditions: 0
Child groups: 7
See organisational chart
Linked to group
4 courses
1 learning path
0 goals
User activities
210 ongoing courses
2 pending corrections
General statistics
76
Group members
42
Completed courses
18m30
Average time spent
74 %
Average score
| User ↑ | Connection time ↑ | Progress ↑ | Score ↑ | Last login date ↑ | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMClaire Martin▲▲ | 2 h 10 | 03/11/2026 | ||||
| PSPaul Simon | 1 h 05 | 02/11/2026 | ||||
| HLHugo Lefèvre | 25m | 28/10/2026 | ||||
| IMInès Moreau | 1 h 40 | 04/11/2026 |
Child groups
User status
Minimum time spent
Progress
Score
Illustration · the Manage group page of “Store – Rennes” on the All members tab.
Reports and learner home page. In lists, reports and the Data Lab, filtering on Store – Rennes includes every department and job; in the Data Lab, Group by: Group shows each person under their direct group. On the learner home page, the Groups widget shows the learner’s own groups and the groups above them: Hugo sees Baker, Fresh produce department and Store – Rennes.
Troubleshooting
Common issues and fixes
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| A store director cannot see a department’s staff | The department is not attached to the store. Edit it, select the store as Parent group and check the organisational chart. |
| A manager cannot see another branch | Managers see their group and the groups below it only — the Checkout manager does not see Fresh produce. Appoint them on each group they need to follow. |
| Learners removed from a course are registered again | Expected after adding a parent or a child group: automatic registrations re-run and only active registrations are checked. Check registrations after any change to the tree. |
| Departments or jobs are missing from the Groups list | Only top-level groups show by default. Use the search, which looks at every level, or open the parent’s tree. |
| Sub-group members do not match a parent’s smart rules | Expected: a parent’s smart rules only filter its own direct members; sub-group members are always indirect members. |
| After deleting a group, its jobs sit directly under the store | Expected: child groups move up under the deleted group’s parent. Re-attach them if needed. |
| A store director does not receive emails about a learner | Emails go to the managers of the learner’s direct group. Also appoint them on that group if they need the emails. |
| A manager manages more courses than expected | Their rights add up across all their groups. Appoint them only where they need it, with a List of permitted courses. |
| A manager’s Data Lab does not load | Their tree contains hundreds of groups: contact Support. |
| No level can be added | The 7-level limit is reached: merge levels. |
Start from an outcome, not a setting.
Want help setting up this use case on your platform? Our team can review your group tree with you.
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