Open the request for its current proposal, review progress, files, discussion, and decisions. Email and list badges may reflect an earlier point in time.

Before you begin

You can review your own requests or requests covered by the View positions permission. Assigned reviewers can access active work; after closure, access depends on being the requester or having current position-view access. Protected text and files require requester or eligible participant access, which is narrower than viewing a summary.

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.

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

Understand request statuses

Status Meaning
Pending Submitted, but route or required-file processing has not yet moved the request into an active step
In process A required approval step is active
Approved Every required approval completed, or the request completed through an authorized automatic or override path
Denied A reviewer or authorized override decided that the request should not proceed; submitted values can return as editable starting values when they do not conflict with newer draft work
Cancelled The requester or an authorized administrator intentionally stopped the active request; submitted values remain fixed history and are not restored as drafts
Invalidated A required position or business condition changed so the request can no longer proceed; submitted values remain fixed history and are not restored as drafts

Approved, Denied, Cancelled, and Invalidated requests are closed. They remain available as history and cannot be edited.

Read the approval steps

Completed steps have finished. In process identifies the step eligible reviewers can decide now. Upcoming steps wait for earlier approvals. A cancelled or closed step no longer needs a response.

Any one eligible reviewer can complete an active step. For example, when Department review finishes, Finance becomes active and Executive review can remain upcoming. Other reviewers assigned to a completed step no longer need to decide it.

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 Activity to see what happened. See Review and decide before recording a decision.

Review details, files, and discussion

Check the submitted position changes at every effective date and their FTE impact. A warning can identify approved information changed after submission; the proposal itself remains fixed.

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 Discussion 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 discussion after closure when their current access allows it. Authorized redaction hides sensitive text while keeping evidence of the action.

Use Activity to review submission, decisions, comments, cancellations, and administrative actions in order.

Separate approval, application, and effective dates

An Approved badge confirms the decision. The request also shows whether position changes have been applied. Approved : awaiting Forecast application means the forecast group must still be applied. People with access can open that group from the request. Applied : upcoming effective changes shows the next future date; earlier dates may already be effective. Applied : effective means the approved dates have arrived, although later approved changes can supersede those values.

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. Available shows assignments on which an administrator can act; Completed shows finished administrative work.

Administrative actions need the Administer active 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. Reminders and 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.