Set up the people and steps needed to approve position requests. Decide what the requester must explain or attach, and who reviews it next. Changing this setup requires Manage approval setup.

Your organization has one position approval workflow. Every editable position field, including custom fields and Position status, requires a review step. Position changes follow the latest step required by their changed fields, including every earlier step. New position and Replacement hiring also have their own required review. Suspension, reactivation, elimination, and scheduled-status changes use the position status step.

Choose the review policy

A new creator-only organization starts with No independent review configured. Under this policy, valid requests can complete automatically after all required information is supplied and file checks pass. It is not approval by a second person. Adding another member does not change the policy.

For team review, select Use configured review steps in Approval settings, then open Position approval workflow. Choose Edit approvers beside a department, or Assign approvers for a step without assignments. A request with missing or inactive reviewers for a required step is blocked; it does not fall back to automatic approval. Administrative request access does not automatically assign someone as an approver. Existing submitted requests retain their saved approvers.

Configure review steps

  1. Select Use configured review steps in Approval settings, then create and order the shared steps under Position approval workflow. Use decision names such as Department review, rather than a current employee’s name.
  2. Choose whether each step is a department review or a central review. Assign eligible reviewers for the departments or central responsibility it covers.
  3. Under Request requirements, choose Always review through for New position and Replacement hiring.
  4. Choose Assign fields to steps at the top of the page to assign every editable Position field to a step. Include Position status for suspension, reactivation, elimination, and changes to scheduled actions.
  5. Configure reasons, justification requirements, and requester files.
  6. Submit a small practice request, read its preview, and have the assigned reviewers complete its steps.

Creating or saving a step returns you to Position approval workflow, where you can check its place in the sequence. Select Cancel to return without saving. If a field needs correction, your entries stay on the form.

All request purposes use the same ordered sequence. A department step includes the affected departments in the order they first appear in the position timeline. A central step runs once at its configured place. Put a central review before, between, or after department steps according to the decision it must make.

Example: add Finance review for FTE changes

Create Department review as step 1 and Finance review as step 2. Assign Name to step 1 and Position FTE to step 2. A name-only change requires Department review. An FTE change requires both reviews.

The workflow page groups fields under their required review step. Every position field people can edit has a required review step, even when filling in the field is optional. A field assigned to step 3 requires steps 1, 2, and 3.

Choose reviewers for each department

For each department step, the Position approval workflow page shows configured reviewers grouped by the department where they are assigned. Edit approvers opens that department’s editor at the selected step. Use the department navigation there to configure another department or check inherited reviewers.

Child departments use the nearest ancestor’s pool when they have no assignment of their own. Central reviewers appear with their step; use Edit step to manage them. Inactive members are marked, and steps without assignments offer Assign approvers.

Use Edit step beside a step’s name to rename it or change its availability. Use the arrows to change its order. The Activity history clock beside the page actions shows changes to steps, approver assignments, request requirements, and field review steps. Each step’s own history remains available on its editing page.

Check every department involved in each request type, inherited assignments, future department changes, reviewer absences, and time-limited access. Transfers always require both departing and receiving departments, including intermediate departments in a sequence of moves. Each responsibility uses its effective date. The requester and people who prepared the changes cannot independently approve their own work.

Normal reviewers must be assigned to the active step. Request administrators separately need the Coordinate approval requests and View positions permissions for the affected department. Use administrative decisions for exceptions, not as a substitute for assigning ordinary reviewers.

When the same reviewer covers several departments

Within one department step, an eligible reviewer may explicitly approve several named departmental responsibilities together. For example, a CFO assigned to both Sales and Support can cover both in one decision. A Sales director who is assigned only to Sales cannot approve Support’s responsibility merely because the CFO belongs to both groups.

A separate central step still requires its own decision at the configured point, even when the same CFO is eligible there. Completing a department responsibility never silently completes a central or later step.

Example: two transfers with a central review first

A position moves from Operations to Sales on November 1, then from Sales to Support on January 1. With Central review followed by Department review, the request runs through Central, Operations, Sales, then Support. Sales reviews both its arrival and departure. Each reviewer sees the complete submitted timeline and the evidence needed for the decision.

If an eligible person explicitly completes more than one department responsibility in the same step, those named responsibilities complete together. A return or rejection stops the whole request; no transfer is applied through that request before all required review succeeds.

Use one workflow for all position actions

Use Request requirements to configure reasons, justification, and requester files for Position change, New position, and Replacement hiring. Position change review is determined by changed fields. New position and Replacement hiring each have an Always review through setting; affected fields can extend that review. Replacement hiring authorizes recruitment without creating an employee assignment.

For example, a suspension and return at a different FTE is one position change request. FTE Tree considers both dates, the position status requirement, and the FTE requirement, then uses the highest required step. If status requires step 2 and FTE requires step 3, the request passes through steps 1, 2, and 3 once.

Distinct department responsibilities still need their own reviewers within the shared workflow. Correcting or removing an approved action also considers the original action date and department.

Use step names that describe the review, such as Department recommendation, HR staffing review, Budget review, and Superintendent authorization. Include Budget review when a decision needs it.

Set reasons and decision requirements

Starter setup provides a Reason group for each request type and leaves Justification optional. Administrators can edit the reasons, choose Do not ask for a reason, and independently turn Require business justification on or off. Suspension and other status actions use Position change settings. Later setup does not reset these choices; submitted requests keep the requirements that applied when they were submitted.

In Approval settings, choose Require a reason for approval and Require a reason for rejection or return for changes separately. A submitted request keeps the requirements selected at submission; later setup changes do not change that request’s requirements.

Create a requester file

Use named file fields for documents such as a business case or authorization form. They differ from optional additional supporting files.

  1. Open Requester files in organization settings.
  2. Enter a clear name and instructions explaining what to provide.
  3. Add an optional blank template.
  4. Wait for the template’s safety check before making the file field available.

Choose Make unavailable when a field should no longer be offered for new setup. Keep employee pay out of broadly visible position documents.

Add the file to a request purpose

Open the request purpose under Request requirements, then its Requester files tab and add the file from the shared library. Choose whether it is required, its display order, and whether it appears for every request or only when review reaches a selected step or higher.

A New position file does not automatically apply to replacement or change requests. Suspend, Reactivate, and Eliminate use the position change file requirements. A combined request uses its final required step to determine the applicable files.

A required named field needs its own upload; an additional supporting file cannot satisfy it. Named and additional files share the organization’s combined file-count and size limits.

Check file access

To download a blank template, a person needs organization-settings access or permission to submit that type of request. Submitted files are available only to the requester and the people allowed to participate in the request. Being able to view the position alone does not give access to its submitted files.

Uploads cannot be downloaded until their safety check succeeds. Approval can wait for a check, while rejection remains available when the request should close.

A submitted request keeps its file names, instructions, required choices, conditions, and template references. Replacing a template or changing a requirement affects later requests. Use Activity history to review setup changes.

Set response targets and backups

In Settings, then Approvals, choose a response target and whether it counts business days. The default is three business days per step. Business days are Monday through Friday, without a holiday calendar. Each request keeps its target from submission; a step’s clock starts when it becomes active.

The step’s activation date uses the organization’s time zone. Due today means the response date is today; Overdue begins the following day.

Reminder and personal email settings control delivery separately. The response due date can bring the next reminder forward, but delivery choices do not extend the deadline. Assign someone to monitor requests needing attention, with backup coverage for absences and departures.

Test before broad use

Test each request type with an ordinary change, a change extending review, inherited department approvers, required files, and a requester who is also in an approver group. Confirm that missing reviewers or required files block submission as expected.

For combined actions, include a suspension with a return and a details change with Eliminate. Check the full preview, file access, notifications, and approved result. Position approval does not itself enter employee pay or budget rates.

When responsibilities change, update approvers and review outstanding requests. Do not keep a departed person active solely to preserve an approval assignment. Use administrative request actions for stranded submitted work.

Form choices

Use this reference to choose form values. Available choices depend on the task, selected date, and your access.

Always review through

Select the last required step. Review begins at step 1 and includes every earlier approval step.

Changed fields can extend review beyond this step. Position changes use their field requirements directly. Check eligible reviewers separately for every department involved.

Reason group

Choose the reusable set of reasons this request type should offer.

A reason group can be shared by request purposes that use the same business meanings. Review existing values and defaults before selecting it. Required justification is separate: selecting a reason does not replace a written explanation when the workflow asks for one.

Reviewers

Choose people eligible to review this step for the affected department.

An available step still needs eligible reviewers with the appropriate department coverage. Test a representative request after changing reviewers or approval steps. A person’s employee record and their access as an organization user are separate.

Required file

Require the file only when a request cannot be reviewed without it.

Select the correct requester file field and request type, then decide whether it is required for this request purpose. Existing submitted requests keep their original requirements. Changes to setup apply to future requests.

Show when approval is required through

Choose when this file field appears in a request. This does not add approval steps.

Every request of this type shows the file regardless of the final required approval step. Selecting a step makes the file relevant when review reaches that step or later. This controls when the file applies; it does not add approval steps to the request.

Field approval requirement

Select the final step this field requires. This choice is required even when the field value is optional. Every earlier step is included.

Every editable position field must have an assigned review step. FTE Tree considers all changed fields across the included actions and dates, plus required review for New position or Replacement hiring. If one field requires step 2 and another requires step 3, review includes steps 1, 2, and 3.

Required decision rationale

Choose whether an approver must explain the selected kind of decision. Approval has its own requirement; rejection and return for changes share another requirement.

Requiring a rationale makes the explanation part of the approval or rejection decision. A reason selected by the requester and the approver’s decision rationale serve different purposes. Set each requirement according to what reviewers need to record.

Response target business days

When selected, response targets count Monday through Friday. When cleared, they count calendar days. Holidays are not excluded.

Response targets set the time allowed for each approval step. Submitted requests keep the response target that applied when they were submitted. Reminder intervals are configured separately, and the next reminder can be brought forward to the saved response date.

Reminder business days

When selected, only Monday through Friday count between reminder emails. Holidays are not excluded.

Clear this setting to count calendar days between reminders. Review it together with the reminder interval, back-off, and email total. The response target has its own business-day setting and serves a separate purpose.

Approval email total

Set the maximum number of eligible new-assignment and reminder emails for each approver. The initial assignment email counts. Skipped emails caused by delivery preferences, an unverified address, or a disallowed domain do not spend this limit. A value of zero turns off assignment emails and daily summaries, while reviews remain available in FTE Tree. Request-result email choices are separate.

Reminders start from the active assignment. The interval and back-off govern repeated reminders, with an earlier reminder when the response date comes first. Monday through Friday counting does not exclude holidays. Reminders are checked from 9 AM in the organization’s time zone and can catch up later; a missed period produces one reminder rather than a burst of past reminders.

Optional practice: give the position request a reviewer

For exercises that change records, use a separate practice organization and complete the preparation below.

Practice steps and checks
  1. Open request setup and review the steps needed for Outpatient Services.
  2. Choose the reasons, explanations, and files required for the request.
  3. Assign an eligible reviewer who is different from the requester.
  4. Submit the walkthrough’s new-position request.
  5. Have the reviewer open the ready step and complete the decision.

Check that the request follows the steps you configured. If another department supplies inherited approvers, open that setup and confirm who will actually review.

Try a separate request with a missing approver or file and read the resulting message. Update approvers when responsibilities change, and review requests already waiting for that person. See request administration for submitted work that needs help.