Why do we need to merge records?
The Game Management System has existed for over 5 years and over this period, many individuals have created duplicate records (either themselves or on their behalf). RFU Staff and Club administrators with the appropriate permission levels can merge records in GMS.
Records can be merged via the ‘People’ tab in GMS. Search for the records you would like to merge and choose ‘merge’ from the ‘more’ dropdown in the top right of the page.
Key things to remember when merging:
Do’s:
- Ensure that the records are the same people, this can be done by recognising the fields that would be reasonably expected to be the same: first name, last name and date of birth.
- Parents may not have a date of birth against their account, so it is best to ensure they are different records before completing such as searching for the home address to find the right person.
- Take notice of any items that may have come from the request for the merge, such as: a request to keep a particular ID, the correct email is kept and if there is multiple addresses or if the old address is on one profile and the current address on another.
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Communicate with the individual that their profile has been merged and attached to a single RFU ID.
Once merged the users will now have 2 or more usernames on their one account, as this information merges over with everything else. Users must log in with the username that their role and permission level has been assigned to. If a user has no permission level or role then they can just ignore the surplus username and log in per usual.
Don’t:
- Make sure you don’t rush into the Merge, records that have been merged are very difficult to ‘undo’ and can have data security implications should this be done.
- Question yourself as to whether the matching fields could be different people, same name and DOB may not constitute enough of a match.
- If there is an opportunity to confirm what you are merging, then you should do this- i.e. the most reliable way for processing a merge is when a user asks for two accounts to merged into their “main account,” usually the most up to date profile.
Please note there are some restrictions when merging some peoples accounts. This includes DBS clearance and player registration. A record will be required to be retained where an active DBS exists and an active Player Registration role will need to be retained in line with competition integrity requirements.
Please submit a ticket for these merges on the Help Portal requesting the merge with the account’s information such as full name, DOB, email address and where possible, the RFU ID.