Merging Duplicate Stakeholder Profiles in Lobster
When adding a new stakeholder, Lobster check if a stakeholder profile by the same name exists. We do this to avoid creating duplicate profiles. However, sometimes you may have already added a stakeholder to your organisations Lobster, before we add the same person to Lobsters data. When this happens, it’s a good idea to to merge the profiles. Note that this feature is available only to Lobster administrators.
Here’s how to proceed:
Open the stakeholder profile you want to merge with the duplicate profile.
In the right margin, you will find the Merge menu. From the menu, choose the duplicate stakeholder profile by name and clink the Merge-button.
Next you will see the merge view showing the data of both profiles.
Next Review Critical Information
Before merging profiles, carefully review the information in both profiles. When you initiate a merge, certain details may be crossed out, indicating they will not be retained. Ensure that no critical information is in these crossed-out sections before proceeding with the merge.
Understand What Will Be Transferred
When merging two stakeholder profiles, the following items from the profile that will be merged as the disappearing profile will be transferred to the remaining profile:
- TODOs
- Actions
- Projects
- Followings
Know What Will Not Be Transferred
To avoid creating duplicate data, the following elements will not be transferred from the disappearing profile to the remaining profile:
- Tags
- Connections
- Professional Connections
- Organisations
- Audits
- Edit History
- Profile Pictures
Merging Restrictions
There are specific restrictions on merging profiles:
- Lobster Username Association: If a stakeholder profile is linked to a Lobster username or if Lobster provides the stakeholder profile, the profile cannot be deleted or merged with another local profile.
- Merging Local Profiles: You can, however, merge a local profile’s information with a stakeholder profile in Lobster’s data or with a Lobster user profile.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively merge stakeholder profiles while preserving essential information and maintaining the integrity of your data in Lobster.