HR approval workflow: how to optimise your chains
Approval chains are the company's administrative nervous system. When they work, no one notices them. When they break down, everything slows — and the cost is invisible because it is spread across hundreds of small waits. This guide gives the method to rework them, in the right order.
What is an approval workflow?
An approval workflow is the path a request — leave, expense, document, recruitment — follows from submission to final sign-off: who approves it, in what order, with what deadline and what trace.
Well designed, it is invisible. Poorly designed, it turns every simple request into an obstacle course. Optimising it is not about adding a tool, but removing what slows things down before automating what remains.
1. Map before automating
Take your five most frequent approval processes and actually chart them: who initiates, who approves, in what order, with what theoretical deadline. The exercise almost always reveals two anomalies — approvals that serve no purpose, and individuals who are the only ones able to unblock an entire chain.
Automating without mapping means freezing the manual process's flaws into the software. Mapping is the prerequisite, not an option.
2. Remove before digitalising
An approval that has never resulted in a rejection is not a control, it is a formality. Automating a useless formality simply makes it faster without making it useful. Remove it.
This is the same logic as automation in general: you don't digitalise everything, you digitalise what brings real value. This principle is developed in our article on automating administrative tasks.
3. Define explicit rules
Four rules are enough to make a chain autonomous.
- Thresholds: below what amount or duration is approval automatic?
- Deadlines: after how long with no response does the request escalate?
- Backup: who approves when the usual approver is away? This is the point that most often blocks.
- Traceability: who approved what, and when — consultable without having to ask.
Configured once, these rules apply automatically, without manual arbitration on each request.
4. Make the status visible
Most follow-ups exist because the requester doesn't know where their request stands. A permanently visible status removes these follow-ups — a time saving for everyone, achieved without even changing the chain itself.
It is often the most cost-effective improvement, because it costs nothing to set up and relieves both requester and approver.
What is the point of vigilance not to forget?
A poorly configured automated process fails faster and more silently than a manual one: no one pushes the request, so no one notices it is stuck. Always set an alert on requests pending beyond a deadline. This safety net is what distinguishes a reliable automated chain from one that quietly seizes up.
Key takeaways
- Map your five most frequent chains before any automation
- Remove approvals that have never resulted in a rejection
- Define four rules: thresholds, deadlines, backup, traceability
- Making the status visible removes most follow-ups
- Always set an alert on stuck requests
Are your approvals still getting lost between two inboxes? Socium moves requests according to your rules, automatically escalates delays and keeps every status permanently visible. Discover the requests and approvals module.
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