What Are User Groups?
A User Group is a collection of employees who share the same scorecard setup. Every company has a default group (General), where all users are initially placed. The default user group cannot be deleted, but it can be edited.
User Groups define:
Which metrics are tracked
What expectations apply
How bonuses are calculated
User Groups are created at the company level, but can be customized by location if needed.
Note: A company user can only be assigned to a single user group - this will be set via a user group itself, or on the company user profile below their general details. The drop-down selection will allow a user to change the associated user group.
Why Create User Groups?
User Groups are a great way to designate different roles (field vs. commercial technicians, sales reps, call center staff) and set more specific performance expectations that match their job.
By using User Groups with Applause Scorecards, companies can:
Motivate employees by showing metrics that are relevant to their work.
Customize KPIs to reflect the real work being done by your team
Make managing scorecard settings easier for admins.
Without User Groups, every employee shares the same scorecard expectations—now you can tailor them by role.
How User Groups Affect Other Features
Introducing User Groups will affect other features. Employees assigned to a User Group will only see the metrics associated with that User Group. Admins will be able to see all metrics they’ve added and which ones are assigned to each User Group.
Mobile App: Employees will now have a complete view of their group’s metrics—covering performance expectations and bonus details—right within the app.
Leaderboards: Leaderboards will now show metrics enabled in a User Group. And will show leaderboards and competitions by User Group.
Admin Scorecard: Expectations and “meeting vs. not meeting” values now come from User Group settings. You can also filter the Admin Scorecard by User Group.
Creating & Managing User Groups
You can create User Groups in two places:
The new User Group tab on the Home page. This will live next to the Company users. It is here that a permissioned user will be able to create user groups for their company and add users to associated user groups.
Directly in Scorecard settings when viewing the company user groups. This will allow a user to create user groups while managing their settings and add users. Click on the blue number under “Total users” or the menu bar on the right to “View Users.” Then, add users.
To add users from the scorecard settings, when you click into a user group, simply click on the blue users count below the user group name. This will open the user slide over, where you can add users or remove them from the group.
To Remove Users
When you remove a user from any user group, it will default them back to the company default user group “General” (or whatever the company has renamed it to).
You cannot move a user from one user group to another; you have to either add them to the new group or remove them, and then go add them to the new group.
Deleting groups
User groups will be able to be deleted by anyone with the ability to manage company user group permissions. There will be a confirmation modal that warns the user of what they are doing.
Primary Locations
A primary location is an important component for User Groups and future location-based settings. A company user can only have a single primary location specified. This tells the system to use the user group associated with that location and ensures that if a company user is associated with multiple locations, we know which user group scorecard to use to determine focus metrics, expectations, and bonuses.
Locations are managed in the company user profile. If a user is only assigned to a single location, that will be their primary location by default. Users with no locations will not be able to receive auto bonuses.
How Primary Locations are Assigned:
If a user has one location, that will be their Primary Location
If multiple locations exist, admins will choose the Primary Location.
For existing customers, Applause will auto-assign based on last activity.
Editing User Groups per Location
To edit a user group within a specific location, users with the correct setting permissions will be able to override the company defaults for their location. A specific location may want to update this if they want to change the focus metrics, expectations, or bonus amounts for their location only.
To edit a location, navigate to Scorecard Settings, then select the location from the drop-down menu. There you will find all the available company user groups.
By default, all User Groups will have the company settings applied. Click on the user group you want to edit, and select “Customize,” which will unlock the scorecard.
From there, you will be able to edit the scorecard. The ability to edit by location will be behind permissions.
Editing User Groups per location is entirely optional and not required. For most companies, we anticipate that the User Groups at a company will represent what they want displayed at their locations as well. Larger companies with locations across the country might find this feature particularly useful.
Can I create a custom user group for my location?
A location will not be able to have its own unique user groups. User Groups are created at a company level, so creating a user group will provide all locations access.
However, a location can customize the user groups created at a company level to meet its location's specific needs. The only limitation is that the available metrics to customize at a location level will be dictated by metrics that are available at the company level.
Example: If the company's default user group only has access to 5 metrics. The location will not be able to add any new metrics outside of the 5 metrics.
The workaround for this would be to have a company user group that has as many metrics added to a user group, and then mark all those metrics as “not visible.” That will allow custom location overrides to have access to all metrics.
Key Takeaways
User Groups = tailored scorecards by role
Metrics, expectations, and bonuses flow directly from user group settings
Every user needs a primary location
Only Super Admins (or those with permissions) can manage User Groups
Locations can be customized, but new user groups can not be created for a specific location
If you have any further questions, please contact your Customer Success Manager.