Administration: How to Create a New Hierarchy

Build Your Organization: How to Create a New Hierarchy in Smackdab!

Creating and managing hierarchies in Smackdab allows organizations to structure their teams, roles, and permissions in a clear, logical, and highly scalable way. This guide will outline how to create a new hierarchy, access the hierarchy interface, and effectively use key blocks such as branches, departments, regions, and positions.

Accessing the Hierarchy

Smackdab provides two distinct levels of access for managing your organization's hierarchy structures.

User-Level Hierarchy

To manage hierarchy settings within the CRM interface:

1. Go to Settings from the main menu.

2. Select Administration, then click on Hierarchy.

3. Here, you can view the current structure, add users, or adjust user relationships as needed.

Organization-Level Hierarchy

To manage the hierarchy at an administrative level:

1. Click the User icon at the top right of the CRM header.

2. Select Administrator from the dropdown.

3. In the Admin Portal, open the Hierarchy module to configure the organization-wide structure.

Creating a New Hierarchy

To add a new block to your hierarchy:

1. Click the + Add Block button available on any existing block or on the connecting lines between two blocks.

2. A dropdown will appear showing all valid block types you can create based on where you clicked.

This contextual addition ensures that only logically supported blocks are created within the hierarchy, maintaining the integrity of your organizational structure.

Hierarchy Canvas

The Hierarchy Canvas is a visual, drag-and-drop interface specifically designed to help you organize your hierarchy. It supports:

• Organizational structure layout

• Branches and departments

• Positions and roles

• Permission boundaries

• Team and reporting structures

Use Zoom In/Out and Fit to Screen controls to easily navigate larger or more complex structures.

Understanding Hierarchy Blocks

Organization’s Main Block

The Organization Block is the topmost level in your hierarchy. All other blocks—including permission blocks, branches, and departments—are structured beneath it. This serves as the foundational framework for your entire organizational layout.

Features:

• Single Instance Only: Each organization has one Organization Block by default. You cannot create additional Organization Blocks.

• Edit Organization Details: Update the organization's name and description as needed.

• Default Policy Group: This block is automatically assigned the Global Administrator policy group, which cannot be changed.

Permission Blocks

Permission Blocks are used to define access boundaries by attaching policy groups that determine what users within that block can view or manage. These blocks can be added under several structural levels, including the Organization Block, Region, Sub-Region, Branch, Department, Sub-Department, Team, or Position blocks.

Features:

• Create New: Add a new permission block by entering a name, an optional description, and selecting a policy group.

• Policy Group Selection:

  • If the permission block is not nested under a branch (either directly or indirectly), you can assign organization-level policy groups (default or custom).

  • If the permission block is nested under a branch, only branch-level policy groups associated with that branch will be available.

• Edit Details: You can update the name and description of the permission block, as well as modify its assigned policy group.

Branch Block

A Branch Block represents a specific office location or internal division, such as a city-based office, within your organization’s hierarchy. Branches cannot be created directly from the Hierarchy module. However, any branches created via the Admin Portal are automatically reflected within the hierarchy structure.

To add a new branch, navigate to the Branches section in the Admin Portal and define its parent block within the hierarchy during setup.

For additional guidance on branch creation and editing, refer to the Branches Module documentation.

Region Block

Region Blocks are used to group multiple branches or sub-regions based on geographic or operational areas. These blocks help in organizing large-scale structures efficiently.

Region Blocks can only be created under:

• The Organization Block, or

• A Permission Block that is not nested under a Branch or Position Block.

You cannot add a Region Block under a Branch or Position Block.

Features:

• Create Region: Add a region by providing a name.

• Edit Region: Update the name and description as needed.

• Inherited Permissions: Region Blocks automatically inherit the policy group of their parent permission block.

• Edit Policy Group: The policy group assigned to a region can be updated.

Sub-Region Block

Sub-Region Blocks provide a more detailed breakdown within a Region, allowing you to group branches or other structures more precisely.

Sub-regions can only be created under:

• A Region Block, or

• A Permission Block that resides under a Region Block.

Features:

• Create Sub-Region: Enter a name to add a new sub-region.

• Inherited Permissions: Sub-regions inherit their permissions from the parent permission block by default.

• Edit Sub-Region: You can update the name and description.

• Edit Policy Group: Modify the policy group assigned to the sub-region if needed.

Department Block

A Department Block represents a functional area within a branch, such as Sales, Marketing, or Support. These blocks help define internal teams within your branch operations and can only be created under a branch structure, including the branch’s main block, a permission block, or a position block.

Features:

• Create Department: Add a department by entering its name and assigning it to a parent block under the branch.

• Policy Group: Permissions are inherited from the department’s immediate parent permission block.

• Edit Department: Update the department’s name or description as needed.

• Edit Policy Group: You can assign a different policy group or configure custom permissions specific to this department without altering the original policy group.

Sub-Department Block

Sub-Department Blocks provide more detailed structuring within a department, allowing for clearer segmentation of teams or functions. These blocks can only be added within an existing department, whether it’s the department’s main block, a permission block, a position block, or even another sub-department.

Features:

• Create Sub-Department: Add a new sub-department by entering a name and selecting a parent block.

• Policy Group: Inherits permissions from the direct parent permission block by default.

• Edit Sub-Department: Modify the sub-department’s name or description.

• Edit Policy Group: Reassign or override the assigned policy group without impacting the original group.

Team Block

A Team Block represents a group of users working collaboratively within a branch. Team blocks offer flexibility and can be added under a variety of structures, including the branch’s main block, permission block, department, sub-department, or position block.

By default, each Team Block inherits the permissions from its direct parent permission block.

Features:

• Create Team: Enter the team name and place it under the appropriate parent block within the branch.

• Policy Group: Automatically inherits from the immediate parent permission block.

• Edit Team: Update the name or description of the team.

• Edit Policy Group: Customize or change the policy group for this specific team without impacting the source policy group.

Team Settings:

You can configure additional options for each team:

• Share All Team Records with Team Members: Toggle Yes/No to allow full record visibility among team members.

• Access Level (visible only if sharing is enabled): Choose between:

  • View Only: Members can only view shared records.

  • Manage Records: Members can view, edit, and manage shared records.

• Allow Deletion of Records by Non-Owners: Toggle Yes/No to allow team members who are not record owners to delete shared records.

Position Block

A Position Block represents a specific role or job title within the organizational hierarchy. These blocks can be placed under any existing structure, including the organization’s main block, region, sub-region, branch, permission block, or even another position block.

Features:

• Create Position: Enter the name of the position and assign it to the appropriate parent block.

• Policy Group: The position will automatically inherit permissions from its direct parent permission block.

• Edit Position: Update the name or description of the position as needed.

• Edit Policy Group: Modify or override the assigned policy group for this position without impacting the original policy group.