Shared Inbox

[Berens]

Hello all!

I have been doing some research on how to successfully share an inbox. This inbox will be used for new sales request. 

Here is what we currently have set up:

info@our-domain -  this inbox is where we receive several new request per day, we return from this email. 95% of our business is done through this email

josh@our-domain  - only receive emails if this particular address is given

zach@our-domain  - only receive emails if this particular address is given

Is it possible for Josh and Zach to login into their individual email but still see emails for the "info@our-domain" and have access to respond to them?

Thank you for your help!

[icrew]

Hi @Berens :

Yes, there are two ways:

1) Delegate access to the info@our-domain inbox to Josh and Zach--see https://support.google.com/mail/answer/138350?hl=en for how to do that.

2) Make info@our-domain into a "Collaborative Inbox" type of Google Group instead of its own account. See https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/167430?hl=en for details on that.

As you can see from that article, both options have pros and cons, so there isn't really a "right" answer.

Hope that helps,

Ian

[bill_pier3]

I'll just add a bit to Ian's well written reply:

• Delegated access does require that Josh and Zack, when already signed-in to their own accounts, will have to click their avatar and select the delegated account (info@), which will open a new tab to the Gmail for the info@our-domain account. Of course, they can opt to keep this delegated Gmail tab open, along side their own account Gmail tab, (i.e., no email for info@... gets delivered to their own account Gmail).
  • Since you've indicated that this delegated account is for Sales email, I suspect there won't be attachments very often if at all; the delegated access allows for Josh and Zack to see the Gmail page, but not Drive storage. The best solution for storing data files in this situation would be to use a Shared Drive.
  • Josh and Zack will also need to agree on Gmail management of the delegated account; i.e., they will need to agree on Labels, Filter, and possibly Star uses, so that their hands don't get crossed, or so to speak, while both managing the same Gmail for Sales.

• The Collaborative Inbox solution does have some advantages, and disadvantages:
  • email compose editing is done in the Groups interface and, though functional, it is not the same as Gmail compose, which may or may not be significant;
  • addressing replies and forwarding need to be carefully edited, as the design is oriented to Group communication;
  • if another person to assist Josh and Zack is required, then their account is simply added to the Group;
  • any Shared folder or Shared Drive is made to the Group, so all members in the Collab. Inbox Group always have the same share access;
  • the Collab. Inbox Group has built-in features that facilitate shared email collaboration, like assigning an email to a specific person, marking it complete, easily assigning Labels, etc.

Bill

[christiannewman]

@bill_pier3 Josh/Zack can also write emails from the Gmail interface and simply cc the group to keep it updated if needed (or simply CC each other directly).

One other major advantage of the group approach is that it can pass info emails into their own Gmail inboxes, which enables them to work on mobile, using whatever workflows work best for them as individuals.

With a delegated Gmail account, you can only access it on the web. It also complicates file sharing.

Generally speaking, I prefer to go with the Groups approach whenever possible as it's more flexible, and doesn't require purchase of an additional license.

[Berens]

Thank you for all the advice! 

It seems like creating a group might be the best long term solution. Is there a way to convert the existing info@our-domain email address into the "group" email address? I seem to be struggling to do this

Thank you

[bill_pier3]

Workspace Learning Center: Make a group a Collaborative Inbox 

[christiannewman]

As soon as you delete (or rename) the info account, info will be (almost, sometimes takes a few minutes) immediately available to assign to a group.

What you can’t (easily) do is import existing gmail conversations into the group conversation history; the group conversation history will be a clean slate… unless you want to follow the process outlined in this Reddit post (note: I haven’t tested it myself).

[icrew]

@christiannewman The "Got Your Back" tool from Jay Lee, the creator of GAM, makes it reasonably convenient to export emails from a Gmail account and import them into a Group--check out https://github.com/GAM-team/got-your-back/wiki#performing-a-backup and https://github.com/GAM-team/got-your-back/wiki#--action-restore-group for the details. 

Cheers,

Ian

[christiannewman]

Even better!

[WalterK]

This is the most important message on this topic.

I tried to make a group for our export team, but in real life it makes a lot of confusions.  Answering to clients and sending responses in general is quite a mess. You always need to remember to check or uncheck the receivers. Not all the answers are shown within the group, so other members cannot see if the case is already handled, and the further correspondence goes, Google is duplicating addresses, so it creates a big mess on the inbox. 

[DragApp]

Hi @Berens, there are three main ways to do this: 

1. Google Groups Collaborative Inbox
With Google Workspace you can create and manage shared inboxes through Google Groups. They are mailing lists that can be accessed and managed by multiple users, allowing teams and organizations to collaborate on email tasks and maintain a consistent brand voice and image in their communication.

2. Gmail’s native delegation
Email delegation in Gmail allows users to grant access to their email account to other people, allowing them to send and manage emails on their behalf.

3. Gmail shared inbox add-ons
There are Chrome Extensions that were built specifically to turn Gmail into a collaboration tool. In a few clicks, Drag turns Gmail into a Shared Inbox. It introduces collaborative features from within Gmail – allowing teams to work together on emails in real time.

Here is the explainer and step-by-step on each of the options. Good luck. 

[bill_pier3]

I tried asking a question in Chat on your website, but immediately I was asked for an email address -- very off-putting!

I also tried to find tech info about Drag that an Admin would want, but I was unsuccessful.

Briefly, is Drag product a Chrome extension or a full-fledged Workspace Marketplace add-on for Gmail?

[DragApp]

Hey Bill, thanks for being so prompt on reviewing the initial post. 

I hope that the team has now replied to your chat, but in response to your questions: 

1. Drag is a Chrome extension. This enables us to build our features directly into your existing Gmail interface and avoid jumping between multiple applications (we do also have a marketplace add-on and a standalone mobile app also). 

Here's an article that explains, and here is our main help center that will provide any technical questions that you may have. 

I hope this is helpful.