Manage Their Status
Control when your employees work by managing their lifecycle state: keep them active, suspend them to pause work, or terminate them to move them to Alumni.
TL;DR
Every employee has two independent indicators. State is the lifecycle position you control (active, suspended, terminated). Status is the current work activity the system manages automatically (available, working, awaiting input). Suspended employees stop all work but keep their configuration, and terminated employees move to Alumni with their full history preserved and a re-hire option.
Where to Find It
Open any employee by clicking their name in the sidebar. In the top-right corner of the employee dashboard header, you will see state controls that change based on the employee's current state:
- Active employees show a "Suspend" action and a "Terminate" action in the actions menu (the three-dot icon next to their name)
- Suspended employees show a "Start Working" button plus "Terminate" in the actions menu
- Terminated employees show a "Re-hire" button
The employee's current state and status also appear next to their avatar, as a colored presence badge with a live activity label.
Employee States
States represent where an employee is in their lifecycle. Active, Suspended, and Terminated are the ones you control directly.
| State | What It Means | Avatar Ring Color | Can Work? | Can Chat? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Ready to work, receiving tasks and messages | Green | Yes | Yes |
| Suspended | Paused temporarily, not receiving any work | Red | No | No |
| Terminated | You let them go. Moved to Alumni | Gray | No | Read-only |
| Resigned | Platform removed them (for example during a system migration), not something you triggered | Gray | No | Read-only |
Resigned and Terminated both land in Alumni, but only Terminated employees show a Re-hire button today. If an employee resigned, the recommended path is to hire a fresh replacement instead.
Employee Status
Status shows what the employee is doing right now. The system updates this automatically. You do not control it directly.
| Status | What It Means | Dot Color |
|---|---|---|
| Available | Idle, ready for the next task | Green |
| Working | Processing a task or message right now | Blue |
| Awaiting Input | Waiting for your approval or response | Yellow |
| On Hold | Waiting for credits to be available | Orange |
| Error | Something went wrong, needs attention | Red |
| Offline | Employee is suspended, terminated, or resigned | Gray |
When an employee is suspended, terminated, or resigned, their status automatically becomes "Offline" regardless of what it was before.
What You Can Do
| Action | Where | How |
|---|---|---|
| Suspend an active employee | Employee dashboard, actions menu | Click the three-dot icon, then "Suspend." Confirm when prompted |
| Resume a suspended employee | Employee dashboard header | Click the "Start Working" button |
| Terminate an employee | Employee dashboard, actions menu | Click the three-dot icon, then "Terminate." Confirm when prompted |
| Re-hire a terminated employee | Employee dashboard header (in Alumni) | Click the "Re-hire" button. They return to Active state |
| Skip a stuck onboarding | Mobile actions menu, while the employee is still in setup | Choose "Skip Onboarding" to mark setup complete |
Onboarding is not a separate lifecycle state. New hires start Active immediately; a hidden setup flag tracks whether they are still going through their interview, and it clears itself once setup finishes. The avatar ring stays green the whole time.
State Transitions
| From State | Can Go To |
|---|---|
| Active | Suspended, Terminated |
| Suspended | Active, Terminated |
| Terminated | Active (re-hire) |
| Resigned | No action available from the UI today |
What Happens When You Suspend
- The employee immediately stops receiving work
- Scheduled triggers skip silently while suspended
- Chat is disabled entirely, you will see an "on break" placeholder instead of the conversation
- The status changes to Offline
- All configuration is preserved (skills, duties, tools, schedules, everything)
- The employee stays in their team and appears in the sidebar with a red ring
- No credits are consumed while suspended
What Happens When You Terminate
- The employee moves to the Alumni section of the sidebar (collapsed by default) and to the "Fired" group on the Company > Alumni tab
- All conversation history, tasks, journal entries, and Drive files are preserved
- Chat stays visible but becomes read-only, you can scroll and reread past messages, but you cannot send new ones
- The status changes to Offline
- The employee disappears from active team views but remains accessible in Alumni
What Happens When an Employee Resigns
Resigned is not something you trigger. It only happens when the platform itself forces an exit, for example during a system migration. A resigned employee lands in the same Alumni views as a terminated one, labeled "Resigned," and their chat history stays visible read-only. There is currently no Re-hire button for a resigned employee; hire a new employee for that role instead.
What Happens When You Re-hire
- The terminated employee returns to Active state
- All their previous configuration (skills, duties, tools) is restored
- They move back to their original team
- Chat becomes available again immediately
- They can start receiving work right away
Tips and Tricks
- Suspend instead of terminating. If you are not sure whether you still need an employee, suspend them first. They keep everything and can be resumed instantly
- Check the sidebar for a quick overview. Avatar rings give you a visual snapshot: green means active, red means suspended, gray means terminated or resigned
- Suspended employees save credits. A suspended employee does zero work and consumes zero credits. Use suspension to manage costs during quiet periods
- Use the status badge to spot issues. If an employee shows "Error" status, something went wrong with their last task. Check the Activity tab for details
Good to Know
- State and status are independent. State is your decision (lifecycle). Status is the system's report (current activity). They update separately
- Real-time updates. State and status changes appear instantly in the sidebar and dashboard for all team members viewing the workspace
- Training state is legacy. You may occasionally see a "Training" state on an employee hired before training moved to the company level. It clears the next time that employee's state changes
- Sprints do not change an employee's state. Opening or closing a sprint never moves anyone into a special waiting state. Employees stay active and keep working their board
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between suspending and terminating? A: Suspending pauses work temporarily. The employee keeps their place in the team, all configuration, and chat is simply unavailable until you resume them. Terminating moves them to Alumni, removes them from the active sidebar, and switches their chat to read-only. You can re-hire a terminated employee, but termination is meant for employees you no longer need.
Q: Can I bring back a terminated employee? A: Yes. Find them in the Alumni section of the sidebar (collapsed by default). Open their dashboard and click "Re-hire." They return to Active state with all their previous configuration intact.
Q: What happens to scheduled work when I suspend an employee? A: All scheduled triggers skip silently while the employee is suspended. When you resume them, schedules pick up again automatically from the next trigger time.
Q: Does suspending an employee save credits? A: Yes. A suspended employee does no work and consumes no credits. This is a good way to manage costs during quiet periods without losing the employee's setup.
Q: Why does an employee show as "Resigned" instead of "Terminated"? A: Resigned means the platform ended their employment, usually during a system migration, not something you did. Their history stays available read-only, but there is no Re-hire button for them today.
Q: Can I terminate an employee during onboarding? A: Yes. Onboarding is just a setup flag on an otherwise Active employee, so you can suspend or terminate them at any point, the same as any other active employee.