Open the request to see its latest status, who needs to act, and the submitted changes. You can also read its files, conversations, and decisions there. An older email or notice may describe an earlier step.

Before you begin

You can review your own requests. Assigned reviewers receive access to the submitted position timeline and evidence needed for their active decision without receiving general position browsing. Other active requests require the appropriate approval-administration access. After closure, access depends on being the requester or having the required current access. Files, conversations, and protected information retain their own access requirements.

Find a position request

Open Position requests. Use My requests for your submissions, Department requests for departmental work available to you, or All requests for your combined access. Search by request, position, or department and narrow by status or type.

To find a request such as APR-0015, search for 15, 0015, or the full request number. Your organization may use a different prefix. The selected view, status, and type still limit the results.

For an elimination, filter to Position change, then open the request to confirm its Eliminate action and date.

Understand request statuses

Status Meaning
Pending FTE Tree is preparing the approval steps or checking required files. No review step is ready yet.
In process A required approval step is active
Application needs attention The reviewed changes could not be saved; read the problem on the request and follow its guidance
Approved The request completed and its position changes have been applied; check their effective dates
Returned for changes A reviewer requested corrected work; this submission is closed without applying its changes through normal review
Rejected A reviewer rejected the selection; the decisions and submitted information remain
Canceled The requester or an authorized administrator intentionally stopped the active request; submitted values stay in history and current shared proposals remain available
Invalidated A required position or business condition changed so the request can no longer proceed; submitted values stay in history and current shared proposals remain available

Approved, Returned for changes, Rejected, Canceled, Invalidated requests are closed. They remain available as history and cannot be edited.

Read the approval steps

Open Approval progress for the full sequence, assigned reviewers, and recorded decisions. When you have a ready decision, Review & decision names your step. Step 4 of 4 means the fourth and last step in this request.

Approved steps have finished their review. In process identifies the step eligible reviewers can decide now. Pending steps wait for earlier approvals or request preparation. A canceled or closed step no longer needs a response.

Any one eligible reviewer can complete an active responsibility. Department responsibilities run in sequence; the next configured step waits for all required departments. A reviewer eligible for several departments in the same step can explicitly complete those named responsibilities together. A separate central step still needs its own decision.

Use My approvals

Open My approvals, then Ready now for your current decisions. Upcoming shows later steps assigned to you; Completed shows finished or closed assignments; All combines your assignment history.

If an item disappears, another reviewer may have decided it or the request may have closed. Open Completed or the request’s Activity history to see what happened. See Review and decide before recording a decision.

Review details, files, and conversations

Use Reply to keep related messages in one conversation. While the request is active and a conversation is open, you can correct your own messages. Each correction shows who made it and when; Message history keeps earlier versions.

After the request closes or the conversation is resolved, add a follow-up message instead of editing earlier wording. Choose whether to follow, receive mention notices, or mute each conversation. Resolving a conversation does not decide the request. See Conversations and notifications.

The request number stays in the heading as you switch tabs. Use the link above the heading to return to your request or approval list.

Use the request navigation to choose what to review:

Page What it shows
Details, or Review & decision when you have a ready decision Request summary, justification, requested changes, effective dates, FTE impact, and warnings; your decision form appears at the top when available
Files Named required files and additional supporting files, subject to your access
Approval progress Approval steps, assigned reviewers, statuses, and recorded decisions
Conversations Messages about the request, subject to your access

Check the submitted position changes at every Effective date and their FTE impact. This date is when a change would begin. A warning can identify approved information changed after submission; the proposal itself remains fixed.

On Files, named files and Additional files appear separately. Files must pass their safety checks before download or approval. Keep downloads within authorized participants and approved storage. A later file cannot replace one already submitted.

Use Conversations for questions or clarification that does not change the proposal. Do not include employee pay, medical details, or restricted personal information. Eligible participants can continue conversations after closure when their current access allows it, but earlier messages cannot be edited after closure. Authorized redaction hides sensitive text while keeping evidence of the action.

Use the request’s Activity history control to review submission, decisions, cancellations, and administrative actions, with the newest activity first. Open an entry’s details to see its recorded values. Submission shows the requested changes, the approval steps and assigned reviewers, and the named supporting files. Waiting means a later step has not started; Awaiting response means the step is ready for its reviewers. These entries do not mean someone approved the request.

Use Older activity and Newer activity to move through the history. Large changes offer Show more changed records. Recorded from and Recorded to filter when an action was recorded; effective dates explain when its values apply. A change to Not set, Empty, zero, or No remains visible when someone clears or changes a value.

Check approval, saved changes, and effective dates

Check the request status and the message about saving its changes together. Application needs attention means the reviewed changes could not be saved.

Requested changes lists the submitted values or actions and their effective dates, including changes scheduled for the future. Current approved shows the approved information for each requested effective date, so it may match Submitted request after approval even when that date is still in the future.

Later changes can replace what was approved. When the information for an approved future date differs, a notice shows the recorded approval and current information separately. Choose Review position to check that date. The request keeps its original submitted changes and decisions.

Changes applied confirms that the approved changes were saved. It does not prevent someone from making later approved changes to the position.

Review remaining issues

After changes apply, Issues identifies missing staffing or financial information. Follow a correction link when authorized or choose a later review date. Approval does not create employee assignments or enter budget rates and employee pay.

Administrative attention and response targets

Administrative approvals is separate from personal approvals. Needs attention identifies overdue work, unavailable approvers, file problems, or blocked automatic approval. Ready to act on behalf shows assignments on which an administrator can act; Completed shows finished administrative work.

Administrative actions need the Coordinate approval requests permission and position-view access for every affected department on every submitted date, including both sides of a transfer. A visible row alone does not grant that authority. See Administer an active request.

Each step’s response target starts when it becomes active. The default is three business days, Monday through Friday without a holiday calendar; organizations can choose a different target for later submissions. Due today means the saved response date is today in the organization’s time zone; Overdue starts the next day. Reminders may be brought forward to that date, but email preferences do not restart it, and overdue work never approves itself.

Follow your organization’s escalation procedure. Let ordinary file checks finish; a blocked file needing replacement requires cancellation and a new complete submission.

Notifications

Assigned work appears immediately in My approvals. Email follows your immediate, daily-summary, or in-FTE-Tree-only choice. Final-result notices go to the requester and people who recorded decisions. Open the request to confirm whether action is still needed.

See Notifications and email for preferences and missing messages.

Optional practice: follow the new-position request

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

Practice steps and checks
  1. As requester, open Requests > My requests and find Patient Services Coordinator’s New position request.
  2. Read its status and next reviewer.
  3. Have that reviewer open My approvals and complete the ready step.
  4. Return after each decision to see whether another step remains.
  5. After final approval, open the position for January 1, 2027.

It should show 1.0 approved FTE from its start date. Approval may have been recorded earlier; the position still begins on January 1.

Opening or reading a notification does not approve the request. Next, see what the reviewer should check.