Who Sees What? A Guide to Hierarchy Permissions
In a growing team, it's crucial to ensure the right people have the right access to information. With Smackdab's Hierarchy, you have precise control over what your users can see, do, and manage across your entire organization.
Access is managed using Policy Groups (think of them as permission playbooks) or custom permissions assigned to each block in your hierarchy. This guide will walk you through how to set everything up, giving you the confidence that your data is always in the right hands.
Two Paths to Your Hierarchy Command Center
First things first, let's get to your hierarchy settings. Smackdab offers two convenient access points:
1. Quick Access from Your CRM Settings
For everyday management and viewing within the CRM:
Navigate to Settings from the main menu.
Click on Administration, then select Hierarchy.
From here, you can see the current structure and manage its settings.
2. Full Control in the Admin Portal
To manage the entire organization-wide structure:
Click your User icon in the top-right corner of the header.
Select Administrator from the dropdown menu to open the Smackdab Admin Portal.
In the left menu, click on Hierarchy to start building out your master org chart.
Your Visual Playground: The Hierarchy Canvas
The Hierarchy Canvas is your interactive, drag-and-drop command center for visually building and representing your organization. It's where you'll bring your team structure and its permissions to life!
Use the canvas to configure:
Your complete organizational layout
Branches, departments, and teams
Specific positions and roles
Permission boundaries to control access
Reporting lines
Pro-Tip: Working with a large structure? Use the Zoom In/Out and Fit to Screen controls to navigate your canvas like a pro!
How to Grant and Manage Access
Controlling permissions is done by assigning a Policy Group or setting custom rules for each block on your canvas.
Default Top-Level Access
Your Organization’s Main Block (the very top of your hierarchy) comes pre-set with the Global Administrator Policy Group. This is the master key to your kingdom, with high-level permissions to:
Manage company-wide information
Handle all billing
Create, edit, and delete entire branches
Note: This core policy group is system-defined and cannot be changed.
Assigning Access to Other Blocks
Every other block in your hierarchy (like a Region, Department, or Team) needs a policy group to define what users assigned to it can do.
To set up or change access:
Simply click the Policy Group button on any hierarchy block.
A window will appear showing the currently assigned policy group.
From here, you can choose a different policy group from the list or assign custom permissions for that specific block.
Hot Tip: Creating custom permissions is a great way to override a policy group's default rules for a specific block without changing the original policy group itself!
The Rules of the Road: How Permissions Flow
Permissions are designed to be intuitive, flowing down from the top. Here’s how it works:
Inheritance is Key: All child blocks automatically inherit the permissions from their parent block. So, if you set permissions for a "Sales" department, any new "Sales Team" block you create inside it will automatically get the same access.
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Branch vs. Organization Rules:
If a permission block is part of a branch, it must be assigned a branch-level policy group.
If a block is not part of a branch, you can assign an organization-level policy group.
What the User Sees
Once you assign a user to a block, they instantly gain the access defined by that block's policy group or custom permissions.
If a user is assigned to multiple blocks (e.g., they are on two different teams), they can seamlessly switch between these roles in Smackdab. Their access and capabilities will automatically adjust based on the permissions of the role they are currently viewing. It's that smart!
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