Carnegie Mellon University

How to Use Google Groups for Business

Google Groups for Business allows you to:

  • Create a distribution list

  • Send email and calendar events to groups

  • Share a calendar with a group
  • Host group discussions

  • Maintain a single location for group conversations

  • Set permissions on Google applications such as Google Drive content

While groups are similar to a shared mailbox, they offer more robust work assignment features such as email assignment capabilities. Complete the steps below to get started with Google Groups!

Step 1: Request a Group

  1. Open the Google Groups Creation form. 
  2. Complete the form.
  3. Click Submit. Note: You will receive an email with more information once the Google Group has been created.

Step 2: Decide how you'll use your group.

Google Groups provides group owners with many different options for use. This includes the following:

Think of a Collaborative Inbox as a more robust version of a Google Mail shared mailbox, but without the calendar.

Features

  • Assign or unassign a conversation
  • Mark a conversation as completed
  • Assign who can moderate metadata
  • Mark a conversation as duplicate
  • Mark a conversation as no action is needed
  • Apply labels for organization
  • Have up to 1,000 members.

Example Use Case

Could be used as a customer support mailbox or to distribute work across teams.


SETTINGS

Use a Google Group as a distribution list, which works similarly to an Exchange Distribution List or Mailman, but with more options.

Features

  • Email the group email address directly from any email client or from within the Google groups interface.
  • Invite groups to Google Calendar events.

Example Use Case

Could be used to communicate with your entire department, inviting them to events or sharing important updates.


SETTINGS
A forum is a website used to host virtual conversations. Think of it as a discussion board or bulletin board. Forums are searchable and include threads so members can read replies to posts.

Features

  • Post questions
  • Reply to the group
  • Threaded discussions
  • Add a moderator to control forum posts

Example Use Case

Set your group up as a forum and allow individuals to post questions for your team to answer. Make the Google Group available to the campus community and use the group for Q & A.


SETTINGS

Grant access to your group to everyone in the university and allow folks to join your group. Then send regular news updates to the members.

Features

  • Email large groups all at once
  • Invite large groups to events all at once

Example Use Case

Newsletter sign-ups for upcoming training sessions or professional updates.


SETTINGS

You can also use a Google Group to set permissions to apps such as Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Features

  • Email large groups all at once
  • Invite large groups to events all at once
  • Grant access to Google Drive all at once
  • Grant access to Google Drive apps (e.g., Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drawings, Maps, Sites, Jamboard, etc.).

Example Use Case

Need to work with a cross-functional team? Create a Google Group and email, send invitations, share files, and more with a single click.


SETTINGS

Step 3: Set Up Your Group

  1. Visit Google Groups.
  2. Log in with your Andrew userID and password, then authenticate with DUO when prompted.
  3. Click My Groups, then click the name of the group you would like to change.
  4. Click Group Settings (left).
  5. Update the following sections as desired, then click Save changes to apply updates.
Apply the following settings as desired:
  • Group name - this is the name that will display when you send mail from the group.
  • Group description - use this field to add a description of the group, including its purpose and membership.
  • Welcome message - include a welcome message that new members will receive when they are added to the group.
  • Enable additional Google Groups features  - enable a Collaborative Inbox and manage group mail with others.
  • Shared labels - enable this feature to use Google Mail labels within Google Groups.
  • Allow external members - this defaults to off, but you can enable this feature if you work with those outside the university.
  • Permissions - set permission levels for the following:
    • Who can view conversations
    • Who can post
    • Who can view members

Note: Select Group owners, Group managers, Group members, the Entire (CMU) organization, or Anyone on the web (Not Recommended). Select the lowest level that should be granted each permission.

Apply the following settings as desired:
  • Identification required for new members - allows new members to select to display either the organization name or their name, just the organization name, or just their name.
  • Who can contact group owners - identify the lowest permission level that can contact group owners. Select Group owners, Group managers, Group members, the Entire (CMU) organization, or Anyone on the web (Not Recommended).
  • Who can view member email addresses - identify the lowest permission level that can contact group owners. Select Group owners, Group managers, Group members, or the Entire (CMU) organization. 
Apply the following settings as desired:
  • Allow Email Posting - enable this if you would like members to be able to post to the group via email. 
  • Allow web posting - enable this if you would like members to be able to post to the group via their browser
  • Conversation history - enable this to save all messages sent to the group and keep them available in the group inbox.
  • Permissions
    • Who can reply privately to authors
    • Who can attach files
    • Who can moderate content
    • Who can moderate metadata
    • Who can post as group 
    • Note: Select Group owners, Group managers, Group members, the Entire (CMU) organization, or Anyone on the web (Not Recommended). Choose the lowest level that should be granted each permission.
  • Default sender - select the default sender of messages and choose either the author’s address or the group address.
  • Message moderation - choose not to moderate messages, moderate messages from non-members, or moderate messages from all members to control content posting to the group.
  • New member restrictions - choose to allow new member posting, moderate new member posting, or restrict new members from posting to the group.
  • Spam message handling - choose to reject all spam messages, moderate and notify moderators, moderate without notifying moderators, or post suspicious messages to the group to manage spam messages.
  • Rejected message notification - choose to notify senders when posts are rejected. Note: Helpful when testing posting permissions.
  • Include default rejected message response - click this checkbox and enter a default reply that will be sent to posters when their message is rejected.
Apply the following settings as desired:
  • Subject prefix - automatically add text before the subject, such as the group name.
  • Email footer - include a standard Google Groups footer or enter your own custom footer.
  • Group email language - select the preferred language for group email.
  • Auto replies - set up auto-responses to posts from members inside the organization, non-members inside the organization, members outside the organization, and non-members outside the organization.
  • Post replies to - send replies to group posts to group members, group managers, group owners, message author, a specific recipient, or a custom address.
  • Conversation mode - choose to thread posts by subject.
Apply the following settings as desired:
  • Permissions
    • Who can manage members
    • Who can modify custom roles
  • Custom roles - create and edit your custom permissions.

Step 4: Work with Google Groups