Choosing Your Workgroup & Organization

Author: Reid Lemker | Date Created: May 5, 2025 | Date Updated: June 3, 2025

What this is

This article defines Workgroups and Organizations in HMIS and will help you to choose the correct ones before entering client data in HMIS.

Workgroups

A Workgroup is a way of organizing groups of users that perform similar roles. Workgroups determine what you can see, do, and access in HMIS.

Depending on your role, you will have access to one or more of the following workgroups:

HMIS Users (default role)
Emergency Shelter Staff (includes the Facilities workspace)
Shelter Reservation Team (for teams that reserve shelter beds for emergency shelters)
Coordinated Entry Assessors (for conducting Coordinated Entry assessments)
Priority List Managers (for overseeing Coordinated Entry systems)

Some users will have only one Workgroup available, while others will have multiple. If you do have multiple Workgroup options, always remember to select the correct Workgroup before you do any data entry in HMIS!

Organization

An Organization is the agency or part of an agency for which a user is entering data. The selected organization governs which programs/projects for which you can enter data, and what client transaction data is visible.

As with Workgroups, you may have only one option available, while others will have multiple. If you do have multiple Organization options, always remember to select the correct Organization before you do any data entry in HMIS!

Selecting your Workgroup & Organization

Click the icon with your initials in the upper-right corner of the page to access your Settings menu:

Under Account Settings, select the Workgroup and Organization for the task you are about to begin:

Click Apply and exit the Settings menu.

Questions? Email the Helpdesk: MNHMIS@icalliances.org