Administration
If you lose your administrator
The scenario nobody prepares for, and that blocks the whole organisation.
The organisation keeps working: people sign in, cases progress, third parties deliver. What cannot be done is anything requiring an administrator — inviting someone, changing a permission, topping up, closing the account of whoever left. And that is discovered exactly when it is needed.
The three scenarios
| What happened | Severity | How you get out |
|---|---|---|
| The administrator lost their second factor | Low, if there is another | The other administrator restores it |
| They left the company and nobody took over | High | It needs handling from outside |
| They were the only one and are uncontactable | Very high | This is the case to prevent, not to solve |
Important
All three are prevented by the same five-minute measure: **two administrators, always**. Not one in case they fail, nor five, because then nobody feels responsible. Two people who know each other and will not leave on the same day.
What to have ready
Watch out
When someone leaves the company, check whether they were an administrator **before** closing their account. Closing it while they are the only one creates the problem, with the added twist that you can no longer ask them to hand anything over.
In the meantime
Whatever does not require an administrator keeps working: requesting, signing, reviewing, closing cases. What is blocked is managing the account itself. Knowing that avoids the panic of thinking everything has stopped when what has stopped is one specific part.
Worth knowing
It is the five-minute check that returns most in the whole of administration: look at how many administrators exist right now. If it is one, fix it today.
›How many administrators is right?
Two. One is risk, many means nobody takes responsibility.
›Can an administrator appoint another?
Yes, and that is exactly what to do today if you are one.
›Is anything lost meanwhile?
No. Work continues; what stops is account management.
A real case
The situation
A company discovers its only administrator left a month ago when trying to invite someone new.
What you do
- Recovers control with outside help
- Appoints two administrators
What you get
A lost week that the five-minute check would have prevented.
The situation
The only administrator leaves the company.
What you do
- Names a second before it happens
What you get
The account is not left ungoverned.
The situation
The administrator is unreachable and a change is needed.
What you do
- Keeps two administrators active
What you get
Work does not stop.
The situation
The problem is discovered once there is nobody left.
What you do
- Reviews who is an administrator periodically
What you get
The gap shows sooner.
The situation
A second is named and nobody explains what they do.
What you do
- Gives them access and context from the start
What you get
The deputy is genuinely useful.
The situation
Administration notices go to a single address.
What you do
- Addresses notices to both
What you get
The notice reaches somebody who can act.
This article answers
- our only administrator left
- nobody can change the settings
- recover control of the account
- the administrator lost access