❖ Heads up! This article is only intended for Site Managers.
If you have volunteers expressing an interest in participating in a group, then you might be wondering if you should recommend a Team or create a User Group. Both are very helpful features that work best in different situations. Let's look at how they're different and when you should choose one over the other!
A Team is a chance for volunteers to create and manage their own groups. They can build their Team when responding to Needs/Opportunities that have team signup enabled! Teams are created in response to a Need/Opportunity. They can be formed by the volunteers forming the team, or when someone submits a Team response on their behalf.
Users can assign a Team Leader to help manage their Team.
Recommend Teams when:
Volunteers want to participate in your Needs/Opportunities with coworkers, family, friends, etc.
Volunteers want to participate with that same Team in the future.
A User Group is created by a Site Manager. User Groups help you quickly identify users on your site that have shared interests or skill sets. You can assign a User Group Leader, but you are still the one managing the User Groups. It's also a great tool for filtering and reporting on users within those groups! User Groups can exist outside of a Need/Opportunity response.
Create a User Group when:
You have court-mandated Needs/Opportunities that require discretion and privacy.
You want to share specific or private Needs/Opportunities with only specific volunteers. Just know that you always have the option to share private Needs/Opportunities with specific volunteers, but this is one tool that can help keep things organized!
You want to quickly assign specific Needs/Opportunities to a group of qualified users.
You need to report on a specific group of volunteers.
You want to quickly send an email blast to a select group of volunteers.
When you want users in a user group to track their engagement and hours with their user group resume.
If | Then |
You want to allow volunteers to sign up for Needs/Opportunities with coworkers, family, or friends... | Recommend responding to a Need/Opportunity as a Team! |
If you want volunteers to manage their rosters, Need/Opportunity responses, or track contributions for their group... | Recommend responding to a Need/Opportunity as a Team! |
If you want a way for volunteers to participate in Needs/Opportunities with the same group in the future... | Recommend responding to a Need/Opportunity as a Team! |
If you want to create groups for individuals who share similar backgrounds, interests, or skill sets... | Create a User Group! |
If you want to group volunteers based on geographical location; the company they work for; or the church or school they attend... | Create a User Group! |
If you want to share private Needs/Opportunities or court-mandated Needs/Opportunities with select volunteers... | Create a User Group! |
Which is Best?
Ultimately, which feature is best depends on your particular use and need. However, you can follow the questions in the flow chart to see which one we recommend:
