Using Groups to manage access

Jake Gustafson

Hello, I'm looking for some best practices and/or use cases for using Groups. My understanding is that a User Group can be created in Smartsheet, where users are added/removed to manage access. So, if I give User Group (Leaders) edit access to multiple Workspaces, that when a new person gets hired/promoted to that position, they can be added to the group and gain access to all the necessary Workspaces that their colleagues have access to, rather than having to give individual access to each Workspace, which may require connecting with an Owner/Admin or some SME in that area.

The two Community items that I'd seen are as follows, but outside of that I'm a little uncertain of the functionality. Currently, my organization does not have this in use and we're trying to understand it more to see if it will behave as I'm describing it above and if it won't require a ton of maintenance.

Admin Center: Manage and use Smartsheet contact groups | Smartsheet Learning Center

Groups | Smartsheet Learning Center

Thanks in advance. Certainly, open to connecting with anyone willing to share their experiences (good or bad).

Frank S.

@Jake Gustafson

Good afternoon.

I'll keep this simple. Use Groups, use groups, use groups as much as possible.

Now the rest of the story.

By grouping similar users into Groups, you can add them to a group and not have to manage what assets they have permission to use. Additionally, adding and removing users by a group is far cleaner if you have an organization with lots of assets.

I have established the best practice of only using groups whenever possible and manage hundreds of users. If you look at specific assets, there are typically only individuals shared to sheets if they are admins, and our shares are limited to under 5 individuals but with many groups based on need.

Using groups will save you many headaches later on and improve the overall user experience.

I hope this helps.

Frank S.

@Jake Gustafson

Good afternoon.

I'll keep this simple. Use Groups, use groups, use groups as much as possible.

Now the rest of the story.

By grouping similar users into Groups, you can add them to a group and not have to manage what assets they have permission to use. Additionally, adding and removing users by a group is far cleaner if you have an organization with lots of assets.

I have established the best practice of only using groups whenever possible and manage hundreds of users. If you look at specific assets, there are typically only individuals shared to sheets if they are admins, and our shares are limited to under 5 individuals but with many groups based on need.

Using groups will save you many headaches later on and improve the overall user experience.

I hope this helps.

PeggyLang

@Jake Gustafson @Frank S.

THANK you for the question @Jake Gustafson and THANK YOU for the answer @Frank S.

I have a situation where 83 worksheets are shared to the same individuals (external partner). We have had a request twice now to add 'so and so' to the access of these same 83 worksheets. If we had employed sharing to a group at the outset adding (or removing) members of the group would be a . . . possibly . . . 30 second task?? As opposed to going to EACH of the 83 worksheets and adding individuals.

I will clean up te 83 worksheets and use 'groups' MORE.