Group hierarchy use case: themes across countries
Use the tree for topics rather than the org chart. A course or reminder sent to a topic’s top group reaches every country, level or role below it.
Overview
Topic trees across countries
Here top groups stand for topics — a certification, a programme, a follow-up campaign — not departments. Each topic lists its countries, levels or job roles as child groups.
Certification · Crane operators
top group + up to 6 levels below
Crane operators
HSE lead
Level 1 – France
Country trainer
Level 1 – UK
Country trainer
Level 2 – UK
Country trainer
Other topic trees
Programme
Programme top group
Top group
About 15 job roles
One child group per role
Follow-up
Never logged in
Top group
One group per country
Reminders by country
Country follow-up
<Country> group
Top group
Required path not completed
Child group
Example: Samuel is a direct member of Level 2 – UK and an indirect member of Crane operators.
Groups to create
The topic trees to create
One top group per topic, with the countries, levels or roles as child groups.
| Topic | Top group | Child groups | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certification | Crane operators | Level 1 / Level 2, by country | One certification course for every level and country |
| Programme | Programme top group | About 15 job roles | One programme, followed role by role |
| Follow-up | Never logged in | One group per country | One reminder to every country |
| Follow-up | <Country> group | Required path not completed | Follow-up inside a country |
- Act once at the top. Link the course to the topic group, or contact its members from the 3-dot menu.
- Decide early which tree a group belongs to. A group has one parent: a country group used in a topic tree cannot also sit in an org-chart tree.
Set-up
Set it up in 5 steps
Design
Pick the topics
One top group per certification, programme or campaign.
Create
Create the topic groups
Top groups first, with no parent group.
Attach
Attach countries, levels or roles
Select the topic as Parent group on each sub-audience.
Send
Act once at the top
Link the course to the topic group, or contact its members from the 3-dot menu.
Follow
Follow up by country
On the Manage group page, filter the members by child group.
Expected result
One action on the topic reaches every country, and each country stays visible on its own.
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) | A country group used in a topic tree cannot also sit in an org-chart tree |
| Members move up, training and visibility flow down | Samuel is counted as an indirect member of Crane operators — never copied. A course linked to Crane operators reaches every level and country |
| A manager sees their group and everything below it | Never the levels above or neighbouring branches: the Level 1 – France trainer does not see the UK groups. Reports and Data Lab filters on Crane operators include every child group |
| A manager’s rights add up across all their groups | Appoint country trainers on their own child groups, not on the topic |
| Emails go to the managers of the direct group | Emails about Samuel go to the Level 2 – UK managers; the HSE lead 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 topic trees 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 “Level 2 – UK”: its parent is “Crane operators”.
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 “Level 2 – UK” can manage List of permitted courses and List of permitted 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 — Crane operators for the HSE lead — 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 a topic group and its country groups become top groups themselves. Check the organisational chart afterwards.
Check the result
Groups page. Only top-level groups show by default — here the topic groups. Search looks at every level.
› Groups
| Group ↑ | Hierarchy | Number of users ↑ | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
Crane operators (4)
Internal |
- | 56 | |
Never logged in (8)
Internal |
- | 143 | |
Programme top group (15)
Internal |
- | 310 |
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 “Crane operators”; 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: the topic group holds no one itself, while the learners sit in its country and level groups.
› Groups › Organisational chart
Internal • Contains 4 groups
Crane operators
Level 1 – France
Level 1 – UK
Level 2 – UK
Direct vs indirect: a card counts direct members only. “Crane operators” shows 0, yet 56 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 “Crane operators” with its first level expanded (first cards shown).
Manage group page. The member list of Crane operators shows the members of every level and country group, with the badge Indirect member.
› Groups › Manage group
Edit group configuration
Configuration
Type: Visible
Smart rule conditions: 0
Child groups: 4
See organisational chart
Linked to group
2 courses
0 learning paths
0 goals
User activities
112 ongoing courses
3 pending corrections
General statistics
56
Group members
64
Completed courses
40m
Average time spent
88 %
Average score
| User ↑ | Connection time ↑ | Progress ↑ | Score ↑ | Last login date ↑ | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBPierre Blanc | 1 h 25 | 02/11/2026 | ||||
| JCJames Carter | 2 h 00 | 04/11/2026 | ||||
| LFLena Fischer | 55m | 29/10/2026 | ||||
| SOSamuel Okafor | 30m | 28/10/2026 |
Child groups
User status
Minimum time spent
Progress
Score
Illustration · the Manage group page of “Crane operators” on the All members tab.
Reports and learner home page. In lists, reports and the Data Lab, filtering on Crane operators includes every child group; in the Data Lab, Group by: Group shows each person under their direct group. On the learner home page, Samuel’s Groups widget shows Level 2 – UK and Crane operators.
Troubleshooting
Common issues and fixes
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| A country group cannot be added to the topic tree | It already has another parent. Decide which tree it belongs to, or create a separate group for the other use. |
| A manager cannot see another branch | Managers see their group and the groups below it only — the Level 1 – France trainer does not see Level 2 – UK. 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. |
| Country or level groups 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 country groups become top groups | Expected: child groups move up under the deleted group’s parent. Re-attach them if needed. |
| A topic lead 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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