What are the ways to provide/give the access to users Mailbox, OneDrive and SharePoint data when they leave the organization ?

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What are the ways to provide/give the access to users Mailbox, OneDrive and SharePoint data when they leave the organization ?

Vinod Survase 4,811

What are the ways to provide/give the access to users Mailbox, OneDrive and SharePoint data when they leave the organization ?

I wanted to understand the ways how we can give access to managers/any other people in the Team when an employee leaves an organization on all data workloads Mailbox, OneDrive and SharePoint.

Leon Pavesic 85 Reputation points

2023-06-21T11:55:37.01+00:00
When an employee leaves an organization, there are several ways to provide access to their Mailbox, OneDrive, and SharePoint data to managers or other relevant individuals. Here are some common methods:

Direct Access Grant:

Granting direct access to the departing employee's account to the manager or relevant personnel. This can involve sharing the credentials or temporarily changing the password. However, this method carries security risks and is generally not recommended.

Account Takeover:

Transferring the ownership of the departing employee's account to their manager or another designated user. This involves changing the account ownership and updating relevant permissions accordingly. This approach provides seamless access to all data workloads associated with the account.

Delegate Access:

Configuring delegate access permissions within Exchange for the manager or relevant individuals to access the departed employee's Mailbox. This allows the designated individuals to access and manage the mailbox content without taking ownership of the account.

Shared Mailbox:

Converting the departing employee's Mailbox into a shared mailbox. This way, the manager or relevant individuals can access the mailbox as a shared resource. This method requires converting the mailbox type and configuring appropriate permissions.

OneDrive and SharePoint Sharing:

Sharing the departed employee's OneDrive files and SharePoint documents with their manager or relevant individuals. This can be done by adjusting sharing settings, providing direct access, or transferring ownership of the files and folders.

Backup and Restore:

Utilizing backup solutions or data recovery tools to restore the departed employee's data to another user account. This method involves backing up the data before the employee leaves and restoring it to the manager or relevant user when needed.

It's essential to consider data protection, privacy, and compliance requirements when implementing any of these access methods. Ensure that appropriate policies, procedures, and security controls are in place to safeguard sensitive information and adhere to data governance regulations.

Additionally, it is recommended to have predefined processes and documentation in your organization's offboarding procedures to ensure consistent and secure handling of user data when employees leave. These procedures should include the necessary steps to grant access to managers or other authorized individuals while safeguarding data integrity and security.
Vinod Survase 4,811 Reputation points

2023-06-22T12:25:25.33+00:00

Thanks @Leon Pavesic for sharing these insightful info.

I would like to know more on point number 3, 4 and 5 if you can share any docs or steps which I can look into it and present to my team so we can take appropriate decision.

Thanks in Advance.

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Vinod Survase 4,811 Reputation points

2023-06-22T12:25:25.33+00:00

Thanks @Leon Pavesic for sharing these insightful info.

I would like to know more on point number 3, 4 and 5 if you can share any docs or steps which I can look into it and present to my team so we can take appropriate decision.

Thanks in Advance.

Answer 1

Hi @Vinod Survase ,

When a user leaves the organization:

For SharePoint, because it can only be invited or given permission, it is recommended to let the user first assign another user the site it owns as the site owner, and then delete the user. If the user has already left, you can try to use the SharePoint REST API to enter the site.

For OneDrive, you can grant access to another user to access a former employee's OneDrive.

Sign in to the admin center as a global admin or SharePoint admin.

If you get a message that you don't have permission to access the admin center, then you don't have administrator permissions in your organization.

In the left pane, select More features.
Under User profiles, select Open.
Under People, select Manage User Profiles.
Enter the former employee's name and select Find.
Right-click the user, and then choose Manage site collection owners.
Add the user to Site collection administrators and select OK.
The user will now be able to access the former employee's OneDrive using the OneDrive URL.

For more details, please see:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/remove-former-employee-step-5?view=o365-worldwide#access-a-former-users-onedrive-documents

I'm not very good at Mailbox, here are some docs for your reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/remove-former-employee?view=o365-worldwide

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Vinod Survase 4,811 Reputation points

2023-07-03T11:28:37.4066667+00:00

Yanli Jiang - MSFT

Thanks for your reply on this. Its helpful.

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What are the ways to provide/give the access to users Mailbox, OneDrive and SharePoint data when they leave the organization ?

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