Using Best Practices to Provide Access to Secured Staff Information

Staff data that is secured by a staff access group can only be seen by staff with access to the staff access group.

Providing Access Through Attributes

Granting access by organizational unit or position allows for less maintenance, but gives less precise control. Explicitly including or excluding specific staff in various groups may be also required. An advantage of providing access through attributes is that new staff, or staff whose profiles change, are automatically given access according to their organizational unit or position.

Larger firms may find this method satisfies most of their staff security requirements. It fits well where there are many staff who require security, many staff who need access to those staff, and significant numbers of new staff who require security.

Note: When providing access by attributes, make sure only qualified staff are granted permission to modify those attributes. Those permissions are defined in security groups.

Providing Access to Specific Staff

Including or excluding staff gives precise control over access to secured staff, but requires maintenance if staff security requirements change.

Smaller firms may find this method satisfies most of their staff security requirements. It fits well where a small number of staff need to be secured and a small number of staff require access.

Tip: It is generally easy to determine certain staff or certain positions who should have complete access to certain staff in all modules. This is an excellent starting point. As work is planned and performed, it may be determined that certain staff need access in other areas. Create additional staff access groups to provide that access. This approach leads to a well-defined security system that accurately reflects your security needs.

Which Method of Providing Access Is Best?

One method is not necessarily better than the other, regardless of the size of your firm. Some smaller firms will find providing access by attributes is best. Some larger firms who want the precise security provided by specific staff selection will find that method best.

You can use both methods. Many firms will find that providing access through attributes is an efficient way of handling most staff, but the precision of specific selection is best for some staff who need or request specific considerations.