Who’s In Charge
We use the ushering in of a new year to remind us to do a host of things. While changing the batteries in our smoke detectors and updating our passwords are standard, there’s another audit businesses should be considering. When was the last time you checked your company’s admins?
Admins can range from those in charge of your social media channels to who has override access on your internal servers. So, as someone in charge, do you know who that is? And out of all the people on there, does everyone need access?
Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen
If too many people have access to administrative tools, it may be difficult to see who’s instituting changes. Many systems have identifiers set up. Facebook, for instance, shows internally which of your admins posted on your page and even who answered direct messages. Not every one of your business accounts offers this however.
So who gets access? First, start with looking for anyone who may not be with the company anymore. That sounds like a no brainer, but there may be lingering people with access who are no longer part of the company. Make sure you remove all those former employees from anything that may be company related (social media profiles, email access, internal websites, etc.)
Next, take a look at the employees with access. Are they actively working in those spaces? If you have seven people with access to your social media accounts but only two or three are actively posting, you should remove the others. This helps keep the number of people speaking on behalf of the company small, but it also alleviates the responsibility of checking on these processes.
Security Tip: Provide access and privileges only to those who need them. Use tools such as Secure RDP for safe Remote Desktop Protocol Access. Read about RDP Port Security Software.
Employees who don’t normally handle social media may feel obligated to check it if they’re still listed as admins on the page. If this isn’t part of their job duties, free up their time and mental space for their actual work. Equally, this will allow those who are responsible for that space to have less confusion over who does what. Clearly defined goals help everyone run more efficiently.
Deciding Responsibility
What if there aren’t clearly defined lines of who is in charge? This is a great time to re-evaluate. Talk to the team. Allowing employees who are confident in handling those responsibilities to take the lead in the administrative roles will play to their strengths.
If more people want responsibility than you have room for, evaluate who is performing the strongest. This might also lead the way to redefining roles for the entire team. By taking a look at who is in charge of admin accounts, you can really dig into the skill sets of your employees.
A New Year For Growth
After a careful audit of your team’s responsibilities, you can begin to look forward to what this new year will bring to your company. What exciting projects will your team propel forward? How will they help the company grow?
By taking the time for an admin audit, you’re helping to keep the team strong and working to their full potential.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
