The Groups Functionality is an important part of collecting users together to inform your Call Flows.
Groups can be found under the Users section of your smrtPhone Admin dashboard. From the User section you can:
See your existing Users + Groups
Create a Group by clicking on the "+ Add Group" button in the upper right
Open a Group to view the members of it
Add Users to a Group by dragging their record under the User column into the Group
Delete Users from a Group by clicking the X next to their name inside the Group.
Delete a Group by clicking it open and selecting "Delete Group"
Rename a Group by clicking it open and selecting "Rename Group"
Reorder Users within a Group by dragging and dropping (see below)
How to Organize and Structure your Groups
It's entirely up to you how you want to collect your Users together for strategic purposes. Examples we have seen include:
Functional expertise (Billing, Customer Support, Acquisitions, Sales, etc.)
Location - by country, state, or locality
Employee type (Salaried, hourly, senior leadership, etc.)
We recommend you think about the types of incoming texts and calls you receive and create Groups to match them. Users can belong to multiple Groups. Groups can have one user or many.
Using Groups in Call Flows and why User order might matter
You can set a Call Flow for an incoming call to ring not just one user, but everyone in a Group.
If you choose a Group, the order of Users within a Group makes a difference depending on which applets you use. If you use the Dial Applet and do not select Simultaneous Ring (where every group member's account rings at the same time) the Call Flow will start in the order of the Users within the Group, and run through them in that order.
Groups also come into play in Call Flows when it comes to Voicemails - you can have the termination of an inbound call be a voicemail to an individual User or a Group. If you select Group, the voicemail will drop into the Group voicemail box - found in a subsection of your Inbox.
The same holds true for incoming text messages via SMS Flows. If you have the message coming in on a specific number assigned to a Group rather than an individual, the text message will appear in the Group Inbox.
Group Inbox text messages and voicemails will be accessible and visible for all members of the group.
Why Groups Can Save Future Work
A helpful hint when creating Groups and using them in Call Flows and SMS Flows is to plan for the future. Because Groups can have one user, you can prepare for growth or unforeseen circumstances by using the Group in the Call Flow versus the one individual User.
If the incoming Flow is set to a Group, when you add someone to the team, you only have to update the Group membership and add the User there. You won't have to edit all associated Call Flows. Or, if an employee leaves, you can replace them within the Group, rather than hunt down all Flows that are associated with their individual User.
It ends up being quite practical to use Groups in Call Flows, even if there is only one member of the Group for a while.