At each step, an assigned reviewer decides whether a submitted position request should advance. Review its proposed structure, effective dates, FTE impact, files, discussion, earlier decisions, and any warning about newer approved information before choosing Approve or Deny request.

Approval advances the request, while denial closes it. There is no return-for-revision decision. If the proposal needs correction, explain the issue in Discussion and ask the requester to cancel it and submit a new request.

Before you begin

Activity Permission and scope required
Decide normally Be an eligible approver assigned to the step that is ready
Decide on behalf of an assigned approver Administer active approval requests plus View positions for every affected department on every submitted effective date
Override the entire active request Administer active approval requests plus View positions for every affected department on every submitted effective date
View a closed request when you are not the requester View positions for the request’s department
Open protected request text or a file Requester or eligible request-participant access

The requester cannot approve their own request, even if they otherwise belong to an eligible approver pool.

Review and decide step by step

  1. Open the request assigned to you and confirm that your step is ready.
  2. Review each submitted position change and effective date. Compare current approved information with the submitted request.
  3. Check the FTE impact, required files, Discussion, and earlier decisions.
  4. Resolve any changed-information warning or unavailable action before deciding.
  5. Choose Approve or Deny request and enter the rationale required by the form. Denial closes the request.
  6. Open the request again and confirm the next step or final outcome.

The sections below explain the checks and what each outcome means.

Understand the submitted approval route

Submission fixes the ordered steps and eligible approver pools for this request. Later workflow changes do not alter the route already under review.

Steps run sequentially:

  1. The first required step becomes active.
  2. Any one eligible approver at that step can approve or deny.
  3. Approval closes the other pending decisions at that step and activates the next step.
  4. Denial closes the whole request.
  5. Final-step approval completes the request.

There is no quorum and no parallel approval across steps.

Compare submitted and current information

For a position change, review each changed field in the comparison:

  • Current approved shows the approved value used for comparison.
  • Submitted request shows the value that was submitted.
  • the effective date shows when the submitted value would begin; and
  • the FTE impact summarizes the submitted capacity change.

For multiple transitions, review the complete row at every date.

A submitted Currency custom field is ordinary request information. It does not receive actual compensation access protection merely because it displays an amount. If the field contains information that should not be available to everyone who can view the request, stop and ask the requester to correct the proposal.

Review current approved changes after submission

Approved position information can change after submission, such as through an authorized import. The submitted proposal and approval steps remain unchanged.

When the request shows a warning:

  1. Review the current approved position information.
  2. Compare it with the submitted request.
  3. Decide whether the request still has the intended structural effect.
  4. Acknowledge the changed approved information before approving.

Acknowledgment does not update the request or certify that the change is harmless. It records that you reviewed the current approved information before deciding.

The confirmation belongs to the specific request and the current information you reviewed. If that information changes again while the decision page is open, reopen the page and review it again. The decision records which source information was acknowledged.

If current calculations or material position information no longer match the submission, approval is blocked even after acknowledgment. The requester must prepare and submit a new request from the current values.

If the current approved information makes the proposal wrong or ambiguous, do not approve merely to keep the route moving. Explain the issue in Discussion and have the requester cancel and submit a new proposal, or deny when the request should not proceed.

Review required files

Review each named required file in its labeled row. Additional files are separate evidence and do not satisfy a missing named requirement.

For each file:

  1. Confirm that it matches the requested position and action.
  2. Confirm that it is complete and internally consistent.
  3. Compare its dates and facts with the submitted request.
  4. Keep it within the requester and eligible request participants who need it for this work.
  5. Check its security status.

Approval is blocked while any required file is missing, still being checked, or unavailable because its security check did not complete cleanly. Denial remains available when the request should not proceed.

Do not download a file to a personal or unapproved location. Do not forward it to someone who cannot open it through the request.

Review Discussion and earlier decisions

Discussion provides official context that belongs with the request. Read the relevant conversation before deciding, especially when a prior reviewer asked a question.

Earlier step decisions show what was decided and the rationale recorded. An earlier approval does not replace your step’s responsibility.

Do not put compensation, employee-personal, medical, or other restricted information in Discussion or decision rationale.

If restricted text was entered accidentally and the page offers an authorized redaction action, remove only the sensitive text and enter a clear redaction reason. The request and evidence that a redaction occurred remain in the history.

Approve or deny

The decision form offers two outcomes:

Decision Effect
Approve Completes your step; activates the next step or completes the request if this is final
Deny request Ends the request as Denied and closes remaining step work

Enter a concise, decision-specific rationale. Your organization independently chooses whether a rationale is required for approvals and denials. The decision form explains which outcome requires one for this request. A submitted request keeps the rationale rules that applied when it was submitted, even if the organization settings change later.

Understand final approval

For a request submitted directly from Position control, final approval applies the submitted position change according to its effective dates:

  • a new position becomes approved on its effective dates;
  • a position change records the complete approved timeline, including paired suspension and reactivation when requested;
  • a replacement becomes an approved replacement authorization; or
  • an Eliminate action makes the position Archived beginning on its submitted elimination date.

Suspension preserves the position and its recorded FTE while counted FTE is zero. Elimination is permanent. Neither action silently changes employees, ends assignments, or moves reporting relationships. All included actions and required dependency changes must be valid before application can finish.

A request linked to a forecast can be Approved : awaiting Forecast application. Its position changes remain unapplied until an authorized planner applies the selected group from the forecast. Review Review and apply a forecast before arranging dependent staffing or financial work. Approval, application, and the effective date are separate steps.

Approval of a position request does not itself:

  • assign an employee;
  • add or change labor budget rates;
  • add or change compensation records;
  • apply financial adjustments; or
  • complete organization-defined handoff tasks.

After approved changes apply, Issues identifies missing staffing or financial information. Available links take authorized users to the correction.

If the action is unavailable

Confirm:

  • the request is still active;
  • your assignment belongs to the step that is ready;
  • another eligible approver has not already decided;
  • the request is not your own;
  • required file checks permit approval;
  • your department access is still valid; and
  • current approved changes have been reviewed and acknowledged when required.

Do not attempt to work around a closed or unavailable decision by creating a duplicate response. Open the request history to see whether another action completed first.

For a New position request, verify required structure; for a position change, check every action, dates, recorded and counted FTE, assignments, reporting relationships, and future capacity. A replacement authorizes refilling, not assigning a person.

A request with no required review step can approve automatically after file checks. Acknowledgment of changed information does not override a blocked approval. If the proposal is no longer correct, ask the requester to cancel and prepare a new one, or deny it when it should not proceed.

For administrative decisions, see Administer an active request.