There’s no such thing as a perfect User Group

We know that when people are united by data, anything is possible. Our amazing Tableau Community recognises this and are helping people see and understand their data across the world. An incredible group of enthusiastic leaders have created and nurtured over 500 Tableau User Groups (TUGs), globally. These TUGs help people harness their creativity and passion for data analysis, and build formidable relationships with like minded data people. But like any project with passionate people behind it - whilst in the throes of a global pandemic - we know it might not always be an easy ride! 

We spoke to five of our Tableau User Group leaders to uncover the different ways that they approach running their User Groups and how they put the Community at the forefront of our organization.

• Football TUG: Eva Murray, James Smith, and Oscar Hall
• Data + Women Germany TUG: Heidi Kalbe 
• Netherlands TUG: Jim De Clercq

First things first: what exactly is a TUG?

It’s a Tableau User Group, and prior to 2020 and the Coronavirus pandemic, TUG leaders would source venues and speakers, and organise events where attendees could meet in person to share skills, learn more about Tableau and learn from each other, whilst enjoying pizza and beer! Heidi explains that although things have been a little different recently, as we have entered a virtual world, the core principles remain the same. 

‘A TUG is a space for like minded people - who are passionate about the same thing - to gather, share their successes, issues, wins and losses. Whether a speaker or an attendee, you’ll benefit from it either way’ Heidi says. 

She also recognises the benefits of hosting the meetings virtually - you can reach more people and organise more events. 

‘TUGs provide that conference feeling throughout the year and the networking is a huge part of it - virtually, this is harder - but the value is there’ adds Jim.

‘The talks are important, but the networking is major. It’s the added opportunity to put a face to a name too’ agrees James from the Football TUG. 

How do they work? 

TUGs meet in their markets across the globe at least four times a year to remain active and keep their communities engaged. Each TUG is unique and works slightly differently depending on its leaders, which can range between one and six individuals, and the community it serves. 

Eva, who discovered TUGs through her neighbour and now leads the Football TUG alongside Oscar and James, says ‘It should be done in working hours. A talk and pizza won’t always get sign off so there should be a training component and networking to make it hands on’.

Jim added that, ‘in the Netherlands, our events start at 4 pm to combine work time and a little bit of personal time - this is what works for our attendees’. 

‘TUG’s are not Sales Events’ he explains. ‘Our speakers cover technical tips and tricks - and while Tableau Partners can be great to support here, we have to be careful it’s not a sales pitch’. Eva agrees, ‘Partners or people with a vested interest are great - we just have to temper expectations. Tableau brings people together, but you get perspectives beyond just Tableau - at a TUG you hear what’s going on in the industry’. 

How has the pandemic affected TUG meetups? 

Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic has changed things, our TUG leaders also recognise that there have been some positives to come from it. ‘‘Venue finding can be a lot of work so doing things virtually has helped’ admits Jim, ‘it’s made things a bit easier and we’re now international too!’. 

Heidi agrees and explains that they can have ‘world tour’ speakers from across the globe presenting at their meetups, although she acknowledges what’s missing is the networking and face to face contact, 

‘As a leader, I’ve been struggling with the idea as to whether I’m having any impact at all. It’s easier to gauge the atmosphere in the room during in-person meetings but this is impossible online. This part is tricky and I do worry whether I’m serving my attendees with the right sort of content’. 

The TUG leaders agreed that they’ve been able to shorten their events and can be more flexible with the times that they host them - they can even hold TUG meetups over lunch now! 

They don’t always run smoothly

We’ve all had our fair share of Zoom fails this last year and our TUGs are no exception! ‘Of course, I forgot to hit the record button’ exclaims Eva after explaining that another benefit of Zoom meetups is that attendees can tune into the recording whenever they want to, ‘but there’s an upside to every downside, and what I love is the little emoji responses from attendees during the meeting!’

Heidi tells us about her first meetup, ‘I had a power fail in the middle of my event. I managed to fix this and then, of course, my computer then started updating. The attendees then got to watch my update live’. 

Oscar wanted to help showcase the innovation in the Community and explained that TUGs provide the space for members of the Tableau Community, and panelists from outside of the organization, to speak about exciting topics that can help advance the knowledge of its members and can lead to bigger things, such as new careers. 

Although this does require hard work from the leaders, ‘It has become a bit of a slog to find speakers’ admits Oscar, ‘so we’ve reduced our meetings to make them quarterly and which has made things much more manageable’. ‘We often work with the Tableau Marketing Team to find speakers for our upcoming events’ says Jim. Whilst TUGs are led by the community, they are supported by the Tableau Community Team - we’re always here to try and help!. 

How do we sign up?

From speaking to these leaders, it’s clear that our Community truly is our biggest differentiator at Tableau; it nurtures powerful connections and conversations because of the passion of its leaders who give up their time to help others understand their data. Find out more about these TUGs here.