Managing Google Groups: Adding and Removing Members
As part of our commitment to expanding self-service resources, this guide empowers staff members who are designated as Google Group managers to maintain their own distribution lists. Managing your group members directly ensures that new staff receive important communications immediately and that distribution lists remain accurate.
To manage a group, first navigate to the Google Groups web interface:
Open the Chrome web browser and go to groups.google.com.
On the left-hand sidebar or the main dashboard, click on My groups. This will display all groups where you have management or membership privileges.
Click the name of the group to open its settings.
On the left-hand menu, select Members.
Click the Add members button at the top of the page.
In the Group members field, type the email addresses of the staff members you wish to add.
(Optional) Enter a welcome message to notify the new members.
Ensure the "Add directly" toggle is enabled.
Click Add members.
If a staff member is in the group but not receiving emails, their subscription status may be incorrect. To fix this:
Go to the Members list for the group.
Locate the individual staff member.
Under the Subscription column, ensure it is set to Each email.
If it is set to "No email," they will not receive distribution list messages.
Action | Frequency | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Audit Member List | Quarterly | Ensure former staff or transferred employees are removed. |
Review Subscription Status | As Needed | Resolve issues where staff report they "aren't receiving emails". |
If you are a supervisor and do not see a group you are supposed to manage under "My groups," please contact IT to have your permissions updated.