In today’s fast-paced digital workplace, managing employee access to systems is more important and more complicated than ever before. Yet, many organizations still rely on outdated tools like spreadsheets to track who has access each system. While this might have worked in a simpler time, the complexities of modern institutions demand a more efficient, scalable, and secure approach.
Let’s talk about why it’s time to get out of spreadsheets and into smart workflow and automation solutions and how doing so can revolutionize your access management process from onboarding to offboarding.
The Problem with Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a go-to solution in many organizations. They’re familiar and flexible, however, when it comes to tracking employee access to systems, they often fall short in critical ways.
Take terminations, for example. When an employee leaves your institution, especially abruptly, what’s your process for revoking their access? For many, it starts with digging up the onboarding form they filled out years ago. But chances are, that list of systems they were granted access to is outdated. Over time, employees gain access to more platforms, tools, and systems. Keeping that information up to date in a spreadsheet is a manual process prone to error.
It’s also not uncommon for institutions to use complex spreadsheets with multiple tabs labeled by employee names or system names. On paper, it sounds organized. In practice, it becomes a confusing and time-consuming hunt: you’re cross-referencing names and tabs, guessing access levels, and hoping that nothing falls through the cracks. And in the world of access management, even a small oversight can have serious consequences.
Why It Matters
Let’s put this in a real-world context. Imagine John, a long-time employee, wins the lottery on Friday and comes in on Monday to resign. Congratulations to John! But now your team is scrambling to ensure he no longer has access to sensitive systems.
With a spreadsheet-based process, that scramble might involve:
- Digging through outdated documents
- Searching across multiple tabs
- Manually emailing system owners to revoke access
- Hoping you haven’t missed anything
That’s not just inefficient, it’s a risk. Data breaches, compliance violations, and operational disruptions can all stem from poorly managed offboarding.
The Case for Workflow and Automation
Now, imagine a better way: a centralized system where workflows and automation take care of access management for you.
Let’s break it down:
1. Automated Offboarding Workflows
When an employee is terminated or resigns, a workflow is triggered that automatically notifies all relevant system owners to remove access. No digging through spreadsheets. No missed systems. Just a streamlined, consistent process every time.
2. Dynamic Onboarding Processes
During onboarding, the systems an employee needs are documented and approved within an automated system. As their role evolves, any changes in access are recorded in real-time. This ensures a living, breathing record of who has access to what, without the manual upkeep.
3. Real-Time Access Visibility
Instead of hunting through spreadsheets, you can instantly pull up a list of all systems an employee has access to or view all employees with access to a particular system. This dual visibility (by system and by employee) empowers you to act quickly and confidently.
Benefits Beyond Efficiency
Workflow and automation do more than save time. They:
- Enhance Security: Reduce the risk of unauthorized access and insider threats.
- Support Compliance: Easily generate audit trails and prove that access controls are in place.
- Improve Scalability: Whether you have 50 employees or 5,000, your system grows with you.
- Free Up Resources: Let your IT and HR teams focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual tasks.
Making the Transition
We get it, change can be daunting. But moving away from spreadsheets doesn’t mean diving into a black hole of complex software implementation. There are tools and platforms designed to ease this transition and integrate with your existing systems.
Even better, you don’t have to do it alone. We’ve created resources to help guide your organization through this evolution. From webinars to step-by-step guides, we’re here to support your journey to smarter, safer access management.
Ready to Talk?
If this sounds like a conversation worth continuing, we’d love to connect. Whether you’re exploring options or ready to implement a new system, we’re here to help.
We believe your organization and your employees deserve more than spreadsheets.
Cheers to simpler, smarter workflows. Contact us today
