Your productivity suite needs an account lifecycle.

Email and shared documents often become the center of a company's operations. Account management should reflect that importance. A clear lifecycle helps staff receive the access they need and helps the organization retain control when responsibilities change.

Start with roles and owners

Define a small set of typical roles and the groups or shared resources each role requires. Assign owners to shared mailboxes, document libraries, team spaces, and external sharing decisions. Avoid treating one person's account as the permanent home of a team process.

Joining procedures should include identity verification, the right licenses, multi-factor authentication, approved devices, and a clear support contact. Administrative accounts deserve separate treatment and limited use.

Review access when roles change

A promotion or team transfer can add permissions while leaving old ones behind. Make access review part of the change, including delegated mail access, shared drives, group membership, and third-party applications connected to the account.

Review external sharing periodically. A project may have ended even if its shared files remain accessible. Owners should know who still needs access and which information can be shared outside the organization.

Offboard in a planned sequence

Coordinate timing with the authorized business owner. Address sign-in, active sessions, connected applications, device access, email continuity, and ownership of files. Confirm retention requirements before deleting data or removing a license that affects access to retained information.

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have different administrative features and licensing arrangements. Use platform-specific procedures and confirm them against current vendor documentation when executing changes. Keep the lifecycle consistent even when the technical steps differ.

The business owns decisions about access and retention. A documented administration process turns those decisions into repeatable work.