When a user leaves your company or no longer requires access to Salesforce, deactivating their account is a necessary step. However, it’s important to follow best practices to ensure that your Salesforce org continues to run smoothly without disrupting any processes or data.
Here are the steps and best practices for deactivating a user in Salesforce:
1. Reassign Record Ownership
Before deactivating the user, review the records they own and ensure they are transferred to another user. This will prevent any potential disruptions in workflows and reporting.
Mass Transfer Records: Use the Mass Transfer tool to easily reassign ownership of Accounts, Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, Cases, and other standard objects.
Territory Management: If you're using Salesforce Territory Management, reassign the user's territories to another user.
Queues: Remove the user from any queues (e.g., for Cases or Leads) and assign another user in their place.
2. Review Workflow and Approval Processes
It's important to ensure that the user isn’t involved in any active automated processes or approvals.
Approval Processes: Check if the user is a part of any approval processes and reassign their role where necessary.
Workflow Rules: Ensure that no workflow rules rely on the deactivated user (e.g., for task creation or email alerts).
Scheduled Jobs: Review any jobs scheduled by the user and reassign or deactivate them.
3. Manage Email Alerts and Integrations
Users may be linked to email alerts or integrations that need to be reassigned or disabled before deactivation.
Email Alerts: Ensure that any automated emails sent from the user's address are reconfigured to prevent failures.
API Integrations: If the user has set up any integrations via APIs, review them and update API access or integration settings as necessary.
4. Update Permissions and Roles
To prevent security issues and unauthorized access, update the user's permissions and roles before deactivation.
Remove from Public Groups and Roles: Ensure the user is no longer part of any public groups, sharing rules, or roles.
Permission Sets: Revoke any permission sets assigned to the user.
Freezing the User (Optional): If you need to delay deactivation but want to immediately restrict access, use the "Freeze" feature to temporarily lock the user out.
5. Reassign Calendar Events
If the user created any calendar events or meetings, make sure these are reassigned to another active user to avoid missed tasks or meeting disruptions.
6. Deactivate the User
Once all necessary tasks are completed, you can deactivate the user:
Go to Setup > Users > Users, and edit the user’s record to mark them as Inactive.
Important: A deactivated user’s license will not be released until they are marked as inactive, so it’s essential to complete this step to free up the license.
7. Audit and Documentation
Before finalizing the deactivation, take a moment to review the user’s activity and ensure everything is properly reassigned:
Audit History: Check their recent activities to ensure no critical actions are pending.
Reports: Verify that any custom reports tied to the user are still functional and accessible after ownership transfer.
Conclusion
Deactivating a user in Salesforce is more than just marking their status as inactive. By following these best practices, you can ensure a smooth transition, minimize disruptions to workflows, and maintain the integrity of your Salesforce environment.