Know which accounts and connections are changing
List official accounts by platform and stable account identifier, not just a display name. Record the business owner, current administrators, archive connection owner and the person responsible for checking capture. Include agency-managed accounts and services authorized through an individual's platform access.
Separate three permissions: the ability to administer the social account, the ability to authorize the archive connection, and the ability to search or export archived records. Changing one does not automatically transfer the others.
Choose an approved change window and involve the platform administrator, IT and records owner. If an urgent security event requires immediate access removal, follow the incident process and document any connection impact; do not delay a necessary security action just to follow a routine sequence.
Give the incoming owner a usable inventory
| Item | What to record | Who confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Official account | Platform, account URL or ID, business owner and purpose. | Communications owner. |
| Administration | Authorized admins, role scope and approved access method. | Platform administrator. |
| Recovery | Approved recovery contact, MFA ownership and recovery procedure. | IT or security owner. |
| Archive connection | Authorizing identity, connection state and required permissions. | Archive administrator. |
| Records access | Reviewer roles, open requests and location of legacy records. | Records owner. |
| Alerts and support | Alert recipients, escalation contact and unresolved issues. | Incoming operational owner. |
Keep passwords, MFA secrets and recovery codes out of the handover worksheet. Use your approved identity or secret-management process. Record where the approved process is documented, not the secrets themselves.
Verify replacement access before routine removal
- Assign the incoming person the approved platform and archive roles.
- Have them sign in independently and confirm the intended account and permissions.
- Review whether a change to the outgoing identity affects the archive authorization.
- Reauthorize the connection if required by the platform and archive workflow.
- Confirm alert recipients and escalation coverage.
- Remove outgoing access through the approved offboarding process and record completion.
Do not share a departing employee's personal login as a shortcut. Use the platform's supported administration and ownership mechanisms. Exact role names and authorization rules differ, so verify the current instructions for the platforms in your inventory.
For supplier handovers, confirm that organization-controlled administrators remain available. Identify any supplier-owned recovery or connection dependencies before the contract ends.
Check connection status and a known record
A successful login is only one check. Inspect connection status, record the change time and look for supported recent activity after the expected capture interval. Use approved harmless test content only when necessary; otherwise use a known permitted record.
Compare source identity and timestamps with the archive result. Check that a responsible person receives or can review connection alerts. If capture is delayed or a gap is suspected, record the affected account, interval, observed evidence and support case.
Do not assume reconnection will recover everything from a disconnected interval. Ask what recovery is available for that account and platform, and keep any unresolved limitation visible to the records owner.
The evaluation guide includes a controlled connection and capture test. Adapt it to the approved operational change; do not interrupt production just to demonstrate failure handling.
Close the handover with named responsibility
- The incoming owner can perform the approved tasks independently.
- Outgoing access has been removed or a documented exception approved.
- Connection status and recent capture have been checked.
- Alerts and support escalation have current recipients.
- Open requests, legacy records and unresolved gaps have an owner.
- The handover record includes dates, evidence references and approval.
Schedule a follow-up check after the next normal operating cycle. This catches dependencies that may not be obvious during the handover, such as an alert going to an old mailbox or a reviewer lacking export access.
If the archive provider is changing as well as the staff, use the provider-switching guide for historical access, contract deadlines and overlap planning.
Common questions
Does removing a staff member stop archiving?
It can affect a connection if authorization depends on that person or their platform permissions. Check the connection ownership and supported reauthorization process before routine removal, then verify capture.
Should the handover include passwords?
Do not put passwords or recovery codes in the worksheet. Use your approved access-management process and record the responsible owner and procedure.
Who should approve the handover?
Assign approval according to your organization. The operational owner should confirm access, while IT and the records owner confirm their respective connection, security and records responsibilities.
Put the guide to work
Use the existing transition workbook to track owners, dates, evidence and unresolved actions. Adapt its account inventory and closure checks to your handover.