Overview
Access Definitiv offers some flexibility in configuring approval workflows for leave requests and timesheets to support differing organisational structures and operational requirements.
Below is a detailed explanation of how approval workflows function for both leave and timesheets, including specifics about Line Managers and Project Managers.
Leave Approval Workflow
Approval workflows for leave requests are tied to the employee's Primary Project.
To understand the current approval workflow for a leave request:
Determine the Employee's Primary Project
Navigate to the employee's master record.
Go to the Projects tab and identify the project marked with (Primary).
View the Approval Settings for the Primary Project
Navigate to Admin, Structure, Projects.
Edit the Primary Project.
Go to the Approvals tab to see the approval requirements. These can be configured to require approval from:
Line Manager;
Project Manager; or
A combination of both
Timesheet Approval Workflow
Approval workflows for timesheets are based on the project linked to the timesheet.
To determine the approval workflow for a project selected on a timesheet:
Navigate to Admin, Structure, Projects.
Edit the relevant project.
Go to the Approvals tab to view the approval requirements, which may include:
Line Manager;
Project Manager; or
A combination of both
Who is the Line Manager?
The concept of the Line Manager is influenced by the employee's position in the Org Chart.
Multiple Positions
When the employee exists in multiple positions within the Org Chart, then the following rules apply:
The Line Manager of the employee's Primary Position takes precedence and will be the only manager included in the approval workflow.
If no Primary Position is marked, all Line Managers for the employee's positions will receive the request.
If multiple positions share the same Line Manager, that Line Manager will be listed as an approver for each position. If the approval setting is configured as “All approvers must approve,” the Line Manager will need to provide approval for the timesheet as many times as they are listed as an approver.
No Assigned Line Manager
The approval request is escalated to the default approver if:
The position above the employee in the Org Chart is vacant; or
No user account is assigned to the position above the employee, and
As the approval works up the Org Chart, none of the positions have a user account or incumbent assigned.
If an employee holds multiple positions and one of the positions lacks an appropriate user or incumbent at the Line Manager level, resulting in potential escalation to the default approver, the default approver will not be included in the approval workflow if at least one valid Line Manager is identified for any of the positions. However, if the employee is in multiple positions, but it is the Line Manager of the employee’s primary position that lacks an appropriate user or incumbent at the Line Manager level, then the Line Manager approval will go to the default approver.
What if there is no active Project Manager?
The Project Manager approval workflow is determined by the project configuration. If no incumbent is assigned to the Project Manager position, the request is escalated to the default approver.
Auto Approval
To reduce overheads, if a manager, who is part of the approval path, enters a Timesheet and/or Leave Application on behalf of an employee, it will auto approve.
It is important to take this into consideration, as the following scenarios will also Auto Approve:
1) Line Manager Approval - an employee holds multiple positions in the Teams Chart and one of the positions reports to the other, i.e., they report to themselves. If you do not wish for this to occur, the position that does not report to themselves needs to be marked as the Primary.
2) Project Manager Approval - if the Project Manager approver assigned is also costed to the same Project. If you do not wish for this to occur, a different project costing will need to be created where the approval path is different.
Other Considerations
As a date-driven system, Access Definitiv does take into consideration the commencement and cease dates of incumbents in the following positions;
Line Manager
Project Manager
This means that if an employee applies for leave for a future date and the Org Chart has already been updated to reflect their new incoming Line Manager at this time, the new Line Manager will form part of the approval workflow.