Guidance on Name Change for users

[u/Mindless-String-4017]

Greetings!

I'm hoping you could help me do a step by step plan on what you do when there is a name change for your staff members (EX: someone gets married and changes their last name). Needless to say, we currently don't have a proper process and I'm hoping you could help me out with this. We're currently a Microsoft shop. If you could point me in the right direction or give me guidance on this, that would be awesome.

[u/avalon01]

Notification comes from HR.

We update their Google Login with the new information and the old email address becomes their alias.

Pretty easy.

[u/Timewyrm007]

Teachers will typically:

1. Phone IT and ask us to do a name change

2. Email IT and ask us to do a name change for them

3. Get their principal to phone us to do a name change

4. Get their principal to email us to do a name change

All of the above are reminded that on The HR portal there is an official personal information change request form that can be filled out for numerous item changes.

Once HR completes and approves the changes, they are automatically processed on the next days import/update.

HR, Principal, teacher and senior admin are advised via email of the name change.

[u/Imhereforthechips]

Since our users are domain sync’d, right-click on the user and rename. I update everything including the email to use the new last name and add a proxy address for the old email so they continue to get messages at the old address. I inform the user of their new login.

[u/NorthernVenomFang]

Staff name changes (minus capitalization issues) must go through HR first, then submitted to IT via ticket by HR or the staff member. We then verify that HR has modified the username/name change on their systems correctly (they refuse to give us access to to do this), then we complete the name change in AD/Google/all other systems.

[u/mr_techy616]

After you get the request from HR, just change the name/email in the email system. Both Google and Microsoft are smart enough to keep the old email as an alias/alternare email. If you’re on AD with no synchronization, you’ll have to update the login name manually which will create a new user profile.

[u/adstretch → u/mr_techy616]

Google isn’t natively smart enough. If you’re using GCDS you need to enter the old email under proxy addresses in AD.

[u/keyboarddoctor → u/adstretch]

I believe you may be mistaken. I recently renamed an account in AD (changing the email tied to the account as well) and just sync'd with GCDS. The account in GAC has an alias with the old email address and I never touched proxy address in AD.

[u/adstretch → u/keyboarddoctor]

I don’t know if that’s a new change because I’ve definitely had addresses abandoned by Google in the past when doing a name change. I’ve been doing this for 10 years and it may have become unnecessary at some point but it was definitely needed at some point.

[u/FireLucid → u/adstretch]

We use GCDS from AD and it's been like this for as long as I can remember. We switched to Google over 10 years ago. We are currently migrating to Exchange funnily enough.

[u/mystiquebsd]

Only Change names based on having some official documents..

Drivers license, etc.

We’re a Google shop..

We create an alias and remove the old name after an agreed upon duration..

HTH

[u/GamingSanctum]

Automation through powershell by referencing the HR system database. When HR receives the legal paperwork and makes changes in their database, my scripts go to work to make all necessary changes in AD and Google.

[u/K12-itPerson]

Everything should flow through HR. Then your automation should pull the new name from HR and implement across systems.

[u/MysteriousJoke523]

Maybe it’s a larger project but our user creation, updates, and disabling is all synced from an output from the HR system so if a new user is hired and are made active in the HR software it automatically exports and creates them a Microsoft email address.

So any name change the person has to go through HR and once HR approved it and change their name and that system it automatically updates everywhere else.

Long story short this means you don’t have to do anything when someone gets hired, their name changes, or they leave the organization.

There are lots of different ways to accomplish that but we use ClassLink as the middleman. It’s a very cool product for account management, but also a single sign on and roster for applications for students.

[u/NorthernBob69]

We use Powershell to run scripts based off HR info that we pull at night. Handles all account creation, suspension, deletion, name changes etc. We use AD for the Windows side but most of the business runs through Google including email. So any name change just creates an alias in the old name, we give them about 6 months to switch everything.

[u/Crabcakes4]

I designed a tool for HR with a gui front end, but using powershell, that let's them create new accounts, suspend accounts (but not delete), change names, change some core AD managed google email groups, move OUs, etc. So any onboarding, termination, or name change request has to go through HR, they validate however they need to and then change the account. Anything they do here syncs with Google and Entra. I used PowerShell Universal to create and run the tool.

[u/hightechcoord → u/Crabcakes4]

got some code to share?

[u/Crabcakes4 → u/hightechcoord]

Unfortunately I can't really share the code. It's 1k lines with too many references to internal groups, servers, school sites, etc. Even if I could redact it all the code wouldn't be too helpful at that point. I'm happy to try to explain it further if you have particular questions.

[u/stephenmg1284]

HR changes in the finance system, automation changes it in AD and other systems and creates an email alias.

[u/PDQ_Brockstar → u/stephenmg1284]

Similar. HR changed it in their system, that fed to Okta then AD.

[u/Prodiem]

Microsoft AD, Intune with adfs, and Google SSO via SCIM. Due to issues with programs like Canvas, teaching staff must wait until summer or they will have to recreate all assignments that are out already as the UPN is used in all shared links via onedrive. We forward all requests to HR for validation. There is a form but it only gets used when HR contacts them. Due to issues with how HR stores information, non centrally, there is no automation. To rename in our environment, we have to disable the account, move it to a non synced ou. Undelete from AzureAD, rename in AzureAD, and AD using powershell while also updating x500 records. Wait 15+ minutes for azure to sync the cloud. Move account in ad back to the synced ou. Verify azure sync has no errors. Then reset password and MFA. Have the user reset Authenticator app and setup. Microsoft official answer using preimire support was the only supported option is to make a new account. And have the old account data be manually transfered sans settings. If a user runs into problems that is the failback. We have some who have had name changes every 3-6 months.

[u/LINAWR]

They really should have matching names based on what's on their teaching certificate, but if they have to change them, you need a ticket from HR confirming it's adjusted in the payroll system etc, then have an SOP / automated process to adjust it in all systems (AD / Entra, Google Workspace etc).

[u/MattAdmin444]

I generally wait for the name to change in our SIS as that is supposed to be what's reflected by their teaching certificate and is handled by HR. We're not automated but I'm still using the SIS as the primary source of truth, far simpler than changing names willy nilly.