Most businesses have become comfortable using automation tools to streamline everyday tasks.
A workflow might automatically send website enquiries to a CRM, save invoice attachments to the correct folder, notify a manager when a form is submitted, or move information between different systems without any manual intervention.
The beauty of automation is that, once it’s set up, it tends to run quietly in the background.
Until it doesn’t.
The Hidden Risk
Many automated workflows are built by a specific employee using tools such as Power Automate, Zapier, or Make. In many cases, those workflows are connected to the employee’s account, email address, or application credentials.
When that employee leaves the organisation and their account is disabled, those connections can stop working.
Sometimes the impact is immediate. Other times, the workflow continues running but certain steps begin to fail. The problem may not be discovered until someone realises that customer enquiries aren’t arriving, approvals aren’t being sent, reports haven’t been generated, or files are no longer being saved where they should be.
Because automations run behind the scenes, failures can go unnoticed for days or even weeks.
Why It Happens
Automation tools need permission to access the systems they work with.
For example, a workflow may need to:
- Read emails from a mailbox
- Create records in a CRM
- Access files stored in SharePoint or OneDrive
- Send notifications to users
- Update information in another application
If those permissions are linked to an employee who has left the business, the workflow may lose access to perform part or all of its function.
In many organisations, nobody else even knows the automation exists until something stops working.
AI, Automation and Organisational Knowledge
As businesses increasingly adopt AI and automation tools, another challenge is emerging: understanding who owns digital processes.
Years ago, when an employee left, the focus was on collecting keys, laptops, access cards, and company vehicles.
Today, organisations may also need to consider:
- Automated workflows
- AI-powered processes
- Shared mailboxes
- Application integrations
- Digital forms
- Reporting dashboards
- Knowledge repositories
- Custom AI assistants or prompts
These assets can become just as important to business continuity as any physical resource.
Three Simple Checks
To reduce the risk of automation failures during employee offboarding, organisations should consider the following:
1. Keep an Inventory
Document the automations used across the business.
Record:
- What each workflow does
- Which applications it connects to
- Who owns it
- Who supports it
- Whether it is considered critical to operations
A simple register can save significant time when troubleshooting issues later.
2. Add a Second Owner
Critical workflows should never rely on a single person.
Where possible, assign a secondary owner or use a team-managed account so that another authorised person can maintain the workflow if the original creator is unavailable or leaves the business.
3. Review Connections Before Offboarding
Before disabling an employee’s account:
- Identify any workflows they created
- Check which systems the workflows connect to
- Transfer ownership where required
- Update credentials and connections
- Test that everything continues to operate as expected
This small step can prevent significant disruption later.
Good Governance Is Good Business
The growing use of AI and automation is creating exciting opportunities for businesses to improve productivity and efficiency. However, it is also expanding the list of items that should be considered during employee onboarding and offboarding.
A robust departure process no longer focuses solely on disabling accounts and recovering equipment. It should also ensure that important digital processes, automations, and business knowledge remain accessible to the organisation.
After all, discovering that a key workflow stopped working three weeks ago because the person who built it left the company is rarely how anyone wants to start their Monday.
When an employee leaves, don’t just ask what work they do. Ask what work happens automatically because of them.