Teams & Collaboration

Teams are an optional feature in SignNXT that help you organize members and control document visibility. Use teams to group people by department, project, or function for better collaboration.

What Are Teams?

Teams are groups of workspace members who work together. Teams provide:

• Organization - Group members by department, project, or function
• Document visibility - Share documents with entire teams at once
• Team Lead oversight - Designate team managers with special permissions
• Collaboration - Enable team-based workflows

When to Use Teams

Use teams when you:

• Have multiple departments (Sales, HR, Legal, etc.)
• Work on distinct projects with dedicated teams
• Need to share documents with specific groups
• Want team managers to oversee their team's work

Don't need teams if you:

• Have a small workspace (2-5 people)
• Everyone works on the same things
• You're comfortable using shared folders instead
• Your workflow is simple and straightforward

Team Roles

When you assign someone to a team, you choose their team role:

Team Lead

Team Leads are team managers with oversight capabilities:

✅ Can do:

• View all documents with "Team" visibility
• Edit team documents (with full audit logging)
• Send team documents
• Oversee team member activity
• Manage team collaboration

❌ Cannot do:

• View private documents (even from team members)
• Edit documents from other teams
• Manage team membership (only Owner/Admin can)
• Access workspace settings

Best for: Team managers, department heads, project leads

Team Member

Team Members are regular members assigned to a team:

✅ Can do:

• Create documents assigned to their team
• View team documents (if shared with "Team" visibility)
• Collaborate with other team members
• Work on team projects

❌ Cannot do:

• View other team members' private documents
• Edit other team members' documents
• Manage team settings
• Invite team members

Best for: Regular team members, individual contributors

Creating Teams

Managing Teams

Viewing All Teams

To see all teams in your workspace:

1. Go to Settings > Team
2. Scroll to the Teams section
3. See list of all teams with member counts

Each team shows:

• Team name
• Description
• Number of members
• Actions menu (⋮)

Editing a Team

Deleting a Team

What happens when you delete a team:

• Team is permanently removed
• Documents remain intact (not deleted)
• Documents with "Team" visibility become private
• Former team members keep their workspace access

Assigning Members to Teams

During Invitation

When inviting a new member:

1. Open the Invite Member modal
2. Select a team from the Team dropdown
3. Choose their Team Role (Team Lead or Member)
4. Send the invitation

See Inviting Team Members for detailed instructions.

For Existing Members

To assign an existing member to a team:

Team-Based Document Visibility

Teams enable powerful document visibility controls.

Document Visibility Options

When creating a document, you can set visibility:

🔒 Private (Default)

• Only you, Owner, and Admins can see
• Team members cannot see it
• Most secure option

👥 Team

• All team members can see it
• Team Lead can edit it
• Owner and Admins can see it
• Other teams cannot see it

🌐 Workspace

• Everyone in workspace can see it
• Least restrictive option
• Use for company-wide documents

How Team Visibility Works

Example: Sales Team Document

1. Sarah (Sales Team Member) creates a document
2. She sets visibility to Team
3. Who can see it:
   • ✅ Sarah (creator)
   • ✅ All Sales Team members
   • ✅ Sales Team Lead
   • ✅ Workspace Owner
   • ✅ Workspace Admins
   • ❌ Marketing Team members
   • ❌ Other teams

Team Collaboration Workflows

Workflow 1: Department-Based Teams

Setup:

• Create teams for each department: Sales, Marketing, HR, Legal
• Assign department heads as Team Leads
• Assign employees as Team Members

Usage:

• Department documents set to "Team" visibility
• Department head oversees all department documents
• Cross-department collaboration via shared folders
• Sensitive documents kept private

Benefits:

• Clear organizational structure
• Department autonomy
• Proper oversight
• Privacy when needed

Workflow 2: Project-Based Teams

Setup:

• Create team for each major project: "Project Alpha", "Client XYZ"
• Assign project manager as Team Lead
• Assign project members as Team Members

Usage:

• All project documents set to "Team" visibility
• Project manager oversees progress
• Team members collaborate on documents
• Project documents isolated from other projects

Benefits:

• Project isolation
• Clear accountability
• Easy progress tracking
• Clean project closure (delete team when done)

Workflow 3: Hybrid Approach

Setup:

• Permanent teams for departments (Sales, HR)
• Temporary teams for projects (Project Alpha)
• Some members on multiple teams (via team changes)

Usage:

• Department documents: Team visibility
• Project documents: Team visibility
• Company-wide: Workspace visibility
• Sensitive: Private

Benefits:

• Flexibility
• Scales with growth
• Adapts to changing needs

Team Lead Responsibilities

If you're designated as a Team Lead, you have special responsibilities:

1. Document Oversight

• Review team documents regularly
• Ensure quality and compliance
• Help team members with document issues
• Monitor document status and progress

2. Team Collaboration

• Facilitate team communication
• Coordinate document workflows
• Resolve conflicts or issues
• Share best practices

3. Quality Control

• Review documents before sending (if needed)
• Ensure proper formatting and content
• Verify signer information
• Check for errors or omissions

4. Reporting

• Track team document activity
• Report progress to management
• Identify bottlenecks or issues
• Suggest process improvements

Best Practices

1. Keep Teams Simple

Start with basic structure:

✅ Good:

• Sales Team
• Marketing Team
• Operations Team

❌ Avoid:

• Sales Team - East Region - Q1 2025
• Marketing Team - Social Media - Instagram
• Operations Team - Logistics - Warehouse A

Keep it simple. Use shared folders for more granular organization.

2. Clear Team Names

Use descriptive, consistent names:

✅ Good:

• "Sales Team"
• "HR Department"
• "Project Alpha"

❌ Avoid:

• "Team 1"
• "The Group"
• "Misc"

3. Assign Team Leads Carefully

Choose Team Leads who:

• Are trusted and experienced
• Understand the business
• Have good judgment
• Will use oversight responsibly
• Communicate well

4. Review Team Structure Regularly

Quarterly review:

• Are teams still relevant?
• Do team assignments make sense?
• Should any teams be merged or split?
• Are Team Leads still appropriate?

5. Document Your Team Strategy

Create a simple guide:

Our Team Structure:
- Sales Team: All sales reps + manager
- Marketing Team: Marketing staff + director
- Operations Team: Operations staff + manager

Team Lead Responsibilities:
- Review team documents daily
- Help team members with issues
- Report weekly to management

Document Visibility Guidelines:
- Private: Sensitive or personal documents
- Team: Standard team documents
- Workspace: Company-wide announcements

Teams vs Shared Folders

Both teams and shared folders enable collaboration. When should you use each?

Use Teams When:

• You want to organize members by group
• You need Team Lead oversight
• You want automatic document visibility by team
• You have clear organizational structure

Use Shared Folders When:

• You want to organize documents by topic/project
• You need fine-grained access control
• You want cross-team collaboration
• You prefer folder-based organization

Use Both:

• Teams for member organization
• Shared folders for document organization
• Team documents in team-specific shared folders
• Best of both worlds

Troubleshooting

"I don't see the Teams section"

The Teams section is always visible in Settings > Team, even if you have no teams.

If you don't see it:

• Make sure you're on the Team tab (not Profile or Workspace)
• Scroll down - it's below Team Members
• Refresh the page

"I can't create a team"

Only Owners and Admins can create teams. If you're a regular Member:

• Contact your Owner or an Admin
• Ask them to create the team
• Or ask them to promote you to Admin (if appropriate)

"Team members can't see team documents"

Check these things:

1. Document visibility - Is it set to "Team"?
2. Correct team - Is the document assigned to the right team?
3. Member assignment - Is the member actually on that team?
4. Refresh - Have them refresh the page

"Team Lead can't edit team documents"

Team Leads can only edit documents with "Team" or "Workspace" visibility. They cannot edit:

• Private documents (even from their team)
• Documents from other teams
• Documents not assigned to any team

"Can a member be on multiple teams?"

No, each member can only be on one team at a time. However:

• They can access documents from multiple teams via shared folders
• You can change their team assignment anytime
• Owners and Admins see all documents regardless of team

Security Considerations

Team Lead Audit Logging

All Team Lead actions are fully audited:

• When they view a team member's document
• When they edit a team member's document
• When they send a team member's document
• IP address and timestamp recorded

This ensures accountability and transparency.

Document Visibility Changes

When you change a document's visibility:

• From Private to Team: Team members gain access immediately
• From Team to Private: Team members lose access immediately
• From Team to Workspace: Everyone gains access
• All changes are logged in audit trail

Team Deletion Impact

Deleting a team affects document visibility:

• Documents with "Team" visibility become private
• Only creator, Owner, and Admins can see them
• Consider changing visibility before deleting team

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