Suspending a User in Google Apps

This post is part of Google Apps Admin Awareness Month, our month-long series where we spotlight a different tip for Google Apps administrators every day in July. Have a tip to share with your peers or have you always wondered how to do something in Google Apps? Let us know on Twitter @bettercloud.

User Deprovisioning
Organizations of all sizes experience employee turnover and managing this turnover is vitally important to the security of your domain.

When an employee leaves your organization, you should immediately suspend their account. Google allows you to suspend a user’s account through the Control Panel. To do so, find the user in the Organization & Users tab. Once viewing the individual profile, select “Suspend User.” You can also bulk transfer document ownership of assets through the Control Panel to ensure vital data is not lost.

However, deprovisioning a user involves far more than just suspending an account and transferring data. Properly deprovisioning a user is a complicated and lengthy process and an in-depth deprovisioning workflow can help you navigate the myriad steps involved.

Advanced User Deprovisioning
To navigate the deprovisioning process, you should consider installing a third-party management tool like FlashPanel, which we launched in the Google Apps Marketplace just this week.

FlashPanel’s user deprovisioning workflow gives you detailed step-by-step instructions and even allows you to assign an account executor – leaving more time in your schedule to handle more complicated domain management tasks.

FlashPanel’s step-by-step workflow suggests hiding the outgoing user to ensure their information does not appear in the account directory nor type ahead, changing the account password, setting an auto-reply, archiving the user and suspending the account. The workflow even lets you create a customized checklist of steps to take when an employee departs. For example, you could add “Retrieve Office Key” or “Ask for ID Badge” to the list.

FlashPanel’s deprovisioning workflow makes the process nearly foolproof.

Why Do I Need Advanced Deprovisioning Workflows?
Having a consistent deprovisioning process in place not only helps you control and manage departing user accounts, but also makes the offboarding process more efficient and secure.

To install FlashPanel, visit www.flashpanel.com/marketplace

About Google Apps Admin Awareness Month

At BetterCloud, we’ve seen first hand the impact Google Apps can have on a business: extreme cost cutting, streamlined management processes, enhanced collaboration and mobility and much more.

During our time as an independent software provider focused 100% on the Google Apps platform, we’ve interacted with thousands of organizations using Google Apps and realized that so many helpful features of the platform go unused by administrators.

This July, we’re devoting the BetterCloud blog to educating Google Apps administrators on the wide array of tips, tricks and features available in the platform. These features not only add crucial functionality, but save you time and effort!