Documentation

Using Teams

The Teams feature in Transfur allows organizations to create and manage smaller groups within their organization. Teams provide a way to organize volunteers, assign resources, and coordinate activities more effectively. This feature is particularly useful for larger organizations that operate across multiple regions or have specialized groups focusing on different aspects of animal rescue.

Table of Contents

  1. Core Concepts
  2. Getting Started
  3. Team Management
  4. Team Member Roles
  5. Team Features
  6. API Reference
  7. Best Practices

Core Concepts

What is a Team?

A team is a subset of your organization's members who work together on specific tasks or in specific regions. Each team can have:

  • Its own members with specific roles
  • Assigned animals
  • Transport requests
  • Foster requests
  • Activity tracking

Team Hierarchy

Organization
  ├── Team A (e.g., "North Region")
  │   ├── Team Owner
  │   ├── Team Admins
  │   └── Team Members
  ├── Team B (e.g., "Foster Care Specialists")
  │   ├── Team Owner
  │   ├── Team Admins
  │   └── Team Members
  └── Team C (e.g., "Transport Coordinators")
      ├── Team Owner
      ├── Team Admins
      └── Team Members

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  1. Organization Role: You must be an organization owner or admin to create and manage teams
  2. Feature Access: Teams feature must be enabled for your organization
  3. Active Subscription: Teams are available on premium plans

Accessing Teams Management

  1. Navigate to your organization dashboard
  2. Click on Settings in the navigation menu
  3. Select Teams from the settings menu
  4. You'll see the Teams management interface

Team Management

Creating a Team

  1. Click the "Create Team" button
  2. Fill in the team details:
    • Team Name: A descriptive name for your team
    • Description: What this team focuses on
  3. Click "Create" to save the team

Editing Team Information

  1. Click on a team card to open the team details
  2. Navigate to the Settings tab
  3. Update the team information:
    • Name
    • Description
  4. Click "Save Changes"

Deleting a Team

  1. Open the team details dialog
  2. Go to the Settings tab
  3. Click "Delete Team"
  4. Confirm the deletion

⚠️ Warning: Deleting a team will remove all team associations but will not delete the actual data (animals, requests, etc.)

Team Member Roles

Role Hierarchy

  1. Team Owner

    • Full control over the team
    • Can add/remove members
    • Can change member roles
    • Can delete the team
    • Can modify all team settings

  2. Team Admin

    • Can add/remove members (except owners)
    • Can change member roles (except owners)
    • Can modify team settings
    • Cannot delete the team

  3. Team Member

    • Can view team information
    • Can access team resources
    • Cannot modify team settings
    • Cannot manage other members

Managing Team Members

Adding Members

  1. Open the team details dialog
  2. Go to the Members tab
  3. Click "Add Member"
  4. Search for organization members
  5. Select the member and their role
  6. Click "Add to Team"

Changing Member Roles

  1. In the Members tab, find the member
  2. Click the menu (⋮) button next to their name
  3. Select the new role:
    • Make Owner
    • Make Admin
    • Make Member

Removing Members

  1. In the Members tab, find the member
  2. Click the menu (⋮) button
  3. Select "Remove from Team"

Team Features

Animal Assignment

Teams can have animals assigned to them for focused care and management:

  1. Navigate to an animal's detail page
  2. Look for the "Team Assignment" section
  3. Select the team from the dropdown
  4. The animal will now appear in that team's dashboard

Transport Request Assignment

Transport requests can be assigned to specific teams:

  1. When creating or editing a transport request
  2. Select the responsible team
  3. Team members will see these requests in their team view

Foster Request Management

Teams can manage their own foster requests:

  1. Foster requests can be filtered by team
  2. Team members can coordinate foster placements
  3. Foster volunteers can be associated with specific teams

Team Banner Customization

  1. Go to team settings in Manage Team Settings
  2. Click the Banner tab and add a custom banner
  3. The banner appears on the team's page

Activity Tracking

Each team has an activity feed showing:

  • New members added
  • Animals assigned/unassigned
  • Transport requests created
  • Foster matches made
  • Team settings changes

Email Communications

Team admins can send emails to all team volunteers:

  1. Go to the team page
  2. Click "Email Volunteers"
  3. Compose your message
  4. Select recipients (all members or specific roles)
  5. Send the email

Best Practices

Team Organization

  1. Geographic Teams: Create teams based on regions for efficient transport coordination

    • Example: "North County Team", "South Region Team"

  2. Functional Teams: Create teams based on specialization

    • Example: "Foster Care Team", "Medical Team", "Transport Team"

  3. Mixed Approach: Combine geographic and functional organization

    • Example: "North County Foster Team", "South Region Transport Team"

Communication

  1. Regular Updates: Use the team email feature for weekly updates
  2. Activity Monitoring: Check the team activity feed regularly
  3. Clear Descriptions: Ensure team purposes are clearly defined

Access Control

  1. Limit Owners: Have only 1-2 team owners for clear leadership
  2. Admin Balance: 2-3 admins per 10 team members
  3. Regular Reviews: Periodically review team membership and roles

Data Management

  1. Animal Assignment: Assign animals to teams based on:

    • Geographic proximity
    • Team expertise
    • Available resources

  2. Request Routing: Route transport/foster requests to appropriate teams

  3. Performance Tracking: Monitor team metrics:

    • Number of transports completed
    • Foster placements made
    • Response times

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. "Feature not available"

    • Ensure Teams feature is enabled for your organization
    • Check your subscription plan

  2. "Cannot add member"

    • Verify the person is a member of your organization first
    • Check that they're not already in the team

  3. "Cannot change role"

    • Ensure you have appropriate permissions (team owner/admin)
    • Cannot change the last owner's role

Permission Errors

  • Organization owners and admins can manage all teams
  • Team owners can manage their specific team
  • Team admins can manage members but not delete the team
  • Regular members have read-only access

Integration with Other Features

Transport Management

  • Assign transport requests to specific teams
  • Team members see their assigned transports in the team dashboard
  • Coordinate handoffs between team regions

Foster Management

  • Teams can manage their own foster network
  • Foster volunteers can be team-specific
  • Coordinate foster placements within team regions

Animal Management

  • Animals can be assigned to teams for specialized care
  • Teams can track their animals' progress
  • Transfer animals between teams as needed

Reporting

  • View team-specific statistics
  • Track team performance metrics
  • Generate reports by team

Future Enhancements

Planned features for the Teams system include:

  1. Team Chat: Built-in messaging for team members
  2. Team Calendars: Shared calendars for team events
  3. Resource Sharing: Equipment and supply management by team
  4. Advanced Permissions: More granular permission controls
  5. Team Templates: Pre-configured team structures
  6. Cross-team Collaboration: Tools for teams to work together

Conclusion

The Teams feature provides powerful organizational tools for managing your rescue operations. By effectively using teams, you can:

  • Improve coordination and communication
  • Delegate responsibilities clearly
  • Track performance by group
  • Scale your operations efficiently

For additional support or feature requests, please contact the Transfur support team.