How to audit unused CRM customizations when the original builder leaves
When original creators leave and ongoing reviews get neglected, systems accumulate workflows and fields that nobody understands anymore. Because everyone is afraid to touch these ghost automations in case something breaks, the system fills up with unreviewed decisions that teams cannot safely clean up.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Waiting until the system gets bad enough that someone finally forces the issue
- 2Tying the audit cadence to something that already happens like quarterly business reviews
- 3Pulling all fields and automations to mark what hasn't been used in 6 months and pinging the original requester
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The person who built the automation may have moved teams, and the admin consequently inherits a system full of decisions they didn't make.”source ↗
“Standalone 'CRM audit' meetings always get deprioritized because nobody's excited to attend them.”source ↗
“the real challenge is when the original requester left the company and nobody knows what the thing does anymore, so everyone is scared to touch it”source ↗
“What about an automation that's still firing in the background but nobody remembers building? Would that be left alone because everyone's scared to touch it, or does someone eventually have to dig in anyway?”source ↗
Where this came up
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