Article summary: This guide clarifies what happens when you manually delete a user directly within Speakap while they remain active in your company's source HR system. It explains why the automated User Sync will not automatically recreate the user, how to force an account restoration, and how to permanently exclude an account from future syncs.
1. The Scenario & Expected Behavior
If you manually delete a user's account directly within the Speakap Network Settings, but that employee remains employed and fully active in your company's source HR system, you might wonder if the automated User Sync will automatically recreate or restore them during its next run.
The expected behavior is that the user will not be restored. The manual deletion will not be overruled by the automated system, and the user will remain deleted from the Speakap network.
2. Why Doesn't the User Sync Restore Them?
This happens because of how the User Sync software operates. The software is entirely mutation-based, meaning it only triggers an action within Speakap when a specific change (a mutation) occurs in your primary HR system.
- No Change = No Action: If the employee's profile in the HR system remains exactly the same as it was previously (with no modifications to their name, role, department, or employment status), the User Sync detects no new mutations to process.
- The Result: Because the HR system did not generate a new update for that specific employee, the User Sync sends no data to Speakap, leaving the user's manually deleted status completely untouched.
3. How to Restore a Manually Deleted User
If a manual deletion was performed by mistake and you need the User Sync to recreate the user's Speakap account, you must force the system to recognize a change.
To resolve this, you must manually trigger a mutation in your source system using these steps:
- Open your internal HR or payroll system.
- Make a minor, temporary update to the affected user's profile (for example, adding a middle initial or changing a phone number digit).
- Save the profile.
This action creates a fresh "mutation". During the next scheduled User Sync, the software will detect this new change and push the updated profile to Speakap, effectively recreating the account and re-inviting the user to the network. Once active, you can safely revert the temporary change in your HR system.
4. Permanently Excluding a User from the Sync
In some cases, you may want to permanently disable a Speakap account and ensure the User Sync never re-enables them, even if their HR profile receives updates in the future. To achieve this, the user's Employee ID must be explicitly excluded using an 'active' rule in the User Sync configuration.
- Option A (Self-Service): If your organization has direct administrative access to the User Sync configuration settings, you can add this 'active' rule yourself to exclude the specific Employee ID. Learn more about the expressions to use here.
- Option B (Speakap Support): If you do not have direct access to the User Sync configuration, or need assistance setting up the exclusion rule, you can request that the Speakap team permanently disable the account sync for you. Please email support@speakap.com with the user's full details and Employee ID, requesting that they be excluded from the sync.