How to create and manage Automated teams

Automated teams let you group users based on dynamic rules that update automatically whenever employee data changes. Unlike manual teams, which require you to add or remove members yourself, automated teams stay in sync with your user data. This makes them a powerful, hands-off option for keeping teams accurate over time.

With automated teams, you can set inclusion rules (who should be added) and exclusion rules (who should be left out). Rules can be based on data like group belonging, location, job title, or number of direct reports. You can also combine multiple rules and choose whether users need to meet all rules or just one to qualify.

If you’re looking for other team types, check out: 

• How to create and manage Quick teams
• How to create and manage Manual teams

• You want to automatically group leaders, managers, or employees by role or reporting structure
• You need regional or department-specific teams that update as people join, move, or leave
• You’re running campaigns that apply to a clearly defined segment of your workforce
• You want to minimize manual updates by relying on synced data instead
• You’re managing a large, distributed workforce where team structures change often

Creating Automated teams

1. Go to Users & teams in the admin menu
2. Select the Teams tab
3. Click Create team and choose Automated team
4. Enter a team name and optional description, then click Save

Setting up rules

1. In the Inclusion rules section, click Add inclusion rule
   • Choose the appropriate criteria such as Group, Location, Job title (exact or similar match), or Direct reports (e.g., more than 5)
   • If using more than 1 condition, select whether users must meet ALL rules or ANY rule to be included
2. (Optional) In the Exclusion rules section, click Add exclusion rule
   • Apply criteria to remove users who otherwise meet inclusion rules (e.g., exclude Remote employees from a Location or Group)
   • Like inclusion rules, you can require ALL or ANY condition to be met
3. Review the user records matching rules at the top of the page to see how many users will be included in the team
4. Click Save to finalize your Automated team

Note: When using the group belonging rule (User is in group), the group selection includes all enabled Quick teams.

Managing Automated teams

• Update team membership by changing the inclusion/exclusion rules applied (select Configure rules inside the team)
• Changes reflect after the next data sync from HRIS or CSV upload
• If a user matches both inclusion and exclusion rules, the exclusion takes priority
• Deleting an Automated team will remove it from all selection and filtering menus

• Leverage the "User is in group" to create larger groupings that connect multiple Quick teams and reflect your organizational structure (e.g. all or multiple departments, all of multiple business units, etc.)
• Use exclusion rules to fine-tune broad teams (e.g., include all locations but exclude interns or contractors)
• Start small with one or two rules, then layer on more as needed
• Use “similar to” matching for job titles when data is inconsistent (e.g., “Sales” could include “Sales Team”)
• Preview the user count before saving to confirm the team looks right
• Automated teams are ideal for ongoing programs or audiences that change frequently

Q: Can I manually add or remove members from an automated team?
A: No. Membership is controlled by rules and source data. Update the rules or user data to adjust membership.

Q: What happens if a user changes departments?
A: Their team membership will update automatically at the next sync, based on the inclusion/exclusion rules they match.

Q: Can I use automated teams and Quick teams at the same time?
A: Yes. Automated teams even let you build custom groupings using existing Quick teams, giving you more flexibility to reflect your organization’s structure and adapt to changes over time.

Q: How do “ALL” and “ANY” rules work?
A: “ALL” means users must meet every rule condition to be included or excluded. “ANY” means meeting just one is enough.

Q: What if my job titles aren’t consistent?
A: Use the “similar to” option for partial matches, so “Sales” will also capture “Sales Team.”

Problem: No users appear in my automated team

• Check your inclusion rules and make sure they match existing user data
• Try switching from ALL to ANY if the rules are too strict
• Confirm that data fields (job title, group, location) are filled in and mapped correctly (HRIS)

Problem: Too many users are included

• Refine your rules by combining multiple conditions
• Add exclusion rules to filter out exceptions
• Review whether you’re using ANY instead of ALL in your inclusion rules

Problem: A user should be in the team but isn’t

• Verify their data matches the rule conditions for that team
• Update the user record if needed, via HRIS sync or CSV upload
• If multiple rules apply, check whether an exclusion rule is removing them

Problem: Team membership isn’t updating after changes

• Ensure your HRIS integration or CSV upload has synced successfully and completely
• Refresh your browser and recheck the user list
• If the sync is delayed, membership will update once the next data refresh occurs