Best practices for segmenting your users into groups

Here's a basic fact: one-size-fits-all messaging never works. When everything is labeled as "high priority" for all, employees tend to tune out. But when they log in and see content tailored to their location, department, and role, they start to see the intranet not just as background noise, but as a helpful and valuable resource. 

It's all about targeting. To connect with your employees effectively and ensure they find themselves on the right pages and in the right communities, start by dividing your users into clear and purposeful groups.

To make this easy, we recommend a 3-Pillar Strategy.

Pillar 1: Foundation

Where they fit

These are the basics. Every employee falls into a location and a department. You need these groups to handle the logistics of your company. 

Consider all the foundational aspects that define an employee's daily reality: the legal entity they are contracted to, the time zone they wake up in, the building they swipe into, and the cost center they bill to:

  • Geography (The "Where"): Groups based on physical presence (Region, Country, City). This is for logistics, safety, and local culture.
  • Hierarchy (The "What"): Groups based on function (Division, Department, Team). This is for operational news and strategy.
  • Entity (The "Who"): Groups based on legal structure (Subsidiaries, Brands). This is for compliance and benefits.

Example structural groups:

Segment type Example naming convention Content examples
Global / All ALL_Global News for everyone; pages for everyone (Global HR, IT). CEO Strategy, Crisis Comms.
Region LOC_Region_EMEA Regional Town Halls, EU GDPR Policy updates.
Country LOC_Country_Germany German Tax Doc updates, Public Holiday closures, Location: Germany page subscription.
City / Site LOC_City_Berlin HQ Elevator Repair, Food Truck schedule, Fire Drill, Office: Berlin page subscription.
City / Site LOC_City_Remote Home Office Stipend, Virtual Coffee Roulettes, VPN Troubleshooting, Remote Workers community.
Plant / Factory LOC_Plant_Ohio Line 3 Maintenance Schedule, Station Audit, Plant Shutdown Dates, Factory: Ohio page.
Store Location LOC_Store_OxfordSt Mall Opening Hours, Local Stock Delivery, Store KPI Dashboard, Store: London page.
Subsidiary ORG_Comp_AcmeLogistics Logistics Brand Update, Warehouse Safety Protocol, Subsidiary homepage, Subsidiary theme.
Division ORG_Div_Sales Quarterly Revenue Targets, Competitor Battlecards, All Sales page.
Department ORG_Dept_HR Internal HR Team Offsite, New Recruiting Tool Training, HR Team community.
Department ORG_Dept_IT Server Maintenance Schedule, Ticket Triage Protocol, IT Operations team community.

Pillar 2: Context

Who they are

This is where you make the intranet feel personal. An employee isn't just "a French Salesperson." They are a New Hire, a Manager, or a Deskless Worker.

Look beyond a user's department and consider the context of their employment:

  • The Moments (Lifecycle): Groups based on time. These capture employees at critical milestones (New Hires, Anniversaries) where engagement is naturally highest.
  • The Responsibilities (Role): Groups based on job function. These target specific duties (Managers, Safety Wardens) rather than just job titles.
  • The Context (Work Style): Groups based on how they work (Deskless, Contractor). This ensures you don't spam desk-bound employees with factory safety alerts.

Example context groups:

Segment type Example naming convention Logic for IT (The Attribute) Target content examples
New Hires LIFE_NewHires_30d StartDate = Last 30 Days CEO Welcome Video, Onboarding Checklist, Where to find IT help, Onboarding community, Global Onboarding page.
Managers ROLE_Managers DirectReports > 0 Performance Review Guidelines, Budget Approval Deadlines, Global Managers community.
Senior Leaders ROLE_Leadership JobLevel = VP, C-Suite, or Director Board Meeting Prep, Strategic Steering Comm, Crisis Response, Global Leadership community.
Store Managers ROLE_StoreMgr = Store Manager Opening/Closing Procedures, Cash Handling Protocols, Visual Merchandising Guides, Global Store Managers page.
Ambassadors ROLE_Champions Manual List or CustomAttribute = Champion Sneak Peek of new Intranet features, Content contribution tips, Champions community.
Frontline TYPE_Deskless WorkerType = Shift/Kiosk OR No Company Laptop Shift Swapping rules, Safety Incident Reporting (Mobile First), targeted hero teasers.
Interns TYPE_Interns JobTitle contains Intern Intern Social Events, Mentorship Program Sign-up, Global Interns community.

In this strategy, we assume these context groups are Global (e.g., "All New Hires" worldwide).

  • Why? Because for most content (like "Learn our Company Values" or "Leadership Strategy 2024"), you want to reach everyone in that bucket, regardless of where they live. This also fosters a sense of belonging across borders.
  • Need to go deeper? If you eventually find you need a specific local version (e.g., "German New Hires"), you can add that later.

Pillar 3: Operations

What they can do

These groups determine what your employees can do on the intranet. The Haiilo platform features an open permission system, allowing you to build roles by mixing specific permissions (like "Create pages" or "Manage integrations"). However, the users who need these roles are often scattered across the organization—a Content Editor might sit in HR, while another sits in Engineering.

Consider who needs to take specific actions on your intranet, whether it be for content creation or platform administration:

  • The Governance (Permissions): Groups that exist solely to grant access rights. This automates the onboarding and offboarding of your power users.

Example operational groups:

Segment type Example naming convention Logic for IT (The Attribute)
Platform Admins SYS_Admins Security Group: Restrict to Comms Leads.
High-Level Editors SYS_High_Editors Manual List: People trained to post global news, e.g., via the Studio.
Content Editors SYS_Editors Manual List: People trained to post local news, e.g., on pages.
IT Admins SYS_IT_Admins Security Group: Restrict to IT Leads.
All Users SYS_AllUsers Filter: All active accounts (exclude service accts).

Take a look at our example roles to see clear permissions you can assign to different roles!

A note on collaborating with IT

When you have your "wish list" of groups (similar to the example tables above), it's best to partner with your IT team to sync users and groups from a directory into your platform. This helps automate group creation and user assignment.

Make sure these groups are either already in your directory or can be created easily. When reaching out to IT, explain the reasoning behind the groups. You're not just requesting a list of names; you're outlining the criteria that qualify someone as a member. This way, IT will see that you're designing a system, not just asking for a favor.

Your Action Items for IT: When you meet with your IT colleagues, bring your layers and ask these two key questions:

  1. "Can we map these specific criteria?" Walk them through your logic (e.g., "For the LIFE_NewHires group, can we create a rule that automatically includes anyone whose Start Date was in the last 30 days?").
  2. "Can we spot-check the membership?" Before going live, ask to verify a few key groups. For example, check the LOC_City_NewYork group. Does the member count match the number of people in that office? If not, it helps you identify if the source data needs a quick cleanup.

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