Tag: Staff List

Something that’s been proven to work in business, is that people tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for inexpensive ways to grow your business online and increase user interaction on your site, then help your visitors get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

If your site is driven by the WordPress Content Management System, a simple way to help people get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your team, or your staff using a staff list plugin.

This tutorial shows you how to create a simple and easy-to-manage employee directory in your site.

How To Add A Staff List Directory To WordPress

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a free plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List – WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

Simple Staff List lets you easily staff.

The first step is to install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WP administration and go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your search results area.

Click on the Install Now button …

(WordPress Plugins  – Add Plugins screen)

Activate the plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After your plugin has been installed and activated, a new menu will display on the main WordPress menu called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the settings for the Simple Staff List plugin are configured and managed in the Staff Members menu.

Plugin Configuration

Depending on the size of your business and how you want to structure your employee directory, you can just start to add new staff members after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to assign youremployees into.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s start by setting up your directory groups. In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This loads the Groups screen …

(Groups settings area)

Note: Configuring groups works just like categories in WordPress …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add new groups by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your category name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section to set up a directory hierarchy
4. Description – Type in your category description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when done to create the new group …

(Groups settings area)

If you run a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for investors, project teams, faculties, etc.

Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested categories)

Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating each item …

To change Groups for specific entries, hover your mouse over a category title and select the Edit link …

The group will display in the Edit Group screen. Select a new group category from the Parent dropdown menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click the Update button to save your changes …

To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and choose the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  when done …

Continue adding group names in this section until you are done creating your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested groups to your directory)

After you have finished setting up your directory structure, the next step is to begin adding your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

From your WP admin menu, click on Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members Menu – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Staff Member area …

(Add New Staff Member section)

This section provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding and editing your staff member information and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter your staff member’s name
• Slug: Here you can change each staff members’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo here

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type your employee’s role
• Email: The employee’s email
• Phone Number: The staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type in your employee’s Facebook address into this field (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Add the person’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your employee here. Since this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatted content in this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: This section lets you assign a staff or team member to a specific group (see above to learn how to set up groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab …

(Screen options tab)

You will see options to enable additional features …

(Enable additional fields in screen options)

Now that you know what each section does, enter each staff member’s details …

(Staff directory fields)

After you have entered each staff member’s details, assign your item to a directory group in the Groups box located in the sidebar …

(Groups section)

Note: If you did not set up groups before adding new staff members, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu that lets you assign your new entry to a parent group. Enter your new directory category and click on the Add New Group button …

The new category will be created. Remember to tick the check box to assign your employee’s details to the group …

(Groups feature)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing new employee details. To edit a group item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

***

After filling in your team member’s details, click the Publish button …

Click View Post …

To make changes to your member profile, click on the Edit Staff Member link in your admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – admin toolbar)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using the admin toolbar here:

• Understanding Your WordPress Control Screen

Note: If ’page not found’ errors like the one shown in the screenshot below shows up, check that your site’s permalinks have been set up correctly …

(Not found error – Check your permalinks)

If you need help setting up permalinks, go here:

• Using Permalinks To Improve Your WordPress SEO

Keep adding more members to your staff directory directory as described above.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering employees into your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all the directory entries and details you have added related to each entry …

(Staff Members details)

If you need to edit an individual’s details, hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit if you need to make changes to the item’s Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to edit details like name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from your directory by clicking on the Trash link, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members details)

If you have many names to add, your list can get quite long.

You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find items if required …

(Search Staff Members search field)

You can specify which fields can display in this screen. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Staff Members Screen Options tab)

Tick or untick the checkboxes to show or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are shown per page. Click the Apply button when done to save your settings …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order that your employee profiles display on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order in your main admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To reorder your listings, click and drag the entry to the desired position …

(Reorder listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list)

Once you have added all of your employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory on your site.

Staff Members – Order

The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to specify the order that listings show on your directory page.

Click Staff Members > Order on your WordPress admin menu …

(Staff Members – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired position …

(Rearrange listings using drag and drop)

Your list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list entries)

Once you are done adding members’ details to your directory, the next step is to display your directory to your site visitors.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The Simple Staff List plugin also lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory items using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the layout and style of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Templates)

This brings up the Templates page …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, below is the Default Staff Loop Template …

(Default Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To display these fields, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] template tags, as shown below …

(Template tags added to Staff Loop Template)

Here is what your directory should now look like …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory but don’t want to mess with CSS code and template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members Menu – Usage)

This opens the Usage screen …

(Simple Staff List – Usage Shortcode section)

This screen displays all the shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.

A useful shortcode variation you can select, for example, to display only members of a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])

Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options in the menu …

(Staff Members – Options)

This opens the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable options)

This section lets you modify some of the labels used in the plugin

You can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and selecting Tools > Export …

(Export Staff Members information)

If you need help with the plugin, go to the plugin website.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a directory of your faculty. For example, here are some other plugins you can check out:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin helps you collect your team information and showcase it anywhere on your site in beautiful grids, columns and tables. This premium plugin features over a dozen presets and provides editors that make it easy to edit and update your directory.

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Responsive Templates)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin)

With the Staff Directory plugin, you can easily display a list of faculty/team/staff members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for churches, schools, etc.

This plugin also lets you add custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

For more details go here:

• Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Company Directory plugin lets you add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including list and single views, plus as fields like title, email, phone, image and staff bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each employee in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin also uses shortcodes.

For more details go here:

• Company Directory – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just a single person in a four-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

Employee Spotlight includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the device screen size.

Detailed information about  each employee can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from Employee Spotlight website)

To learn more about the plugin go here:

• Employee Spotlight – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Staffer

(Staffer)

This plugin uses custom post types for staff/employee management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an employee directory on your site …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)

Staffer works immediately with many popular WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Staffer – WordPress Plugin

If the directory plugins listed above aren’t what you’re looking for, just go online or visit the WordPress plugin directory and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
• Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add and create a simple employee directory to your WordPress site, so your site visitors can get to know you and the people in your organization better.

Images of models used to depict sample staff members were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

***