Configure Performance Approvals

You can set up approvals for performance documents to include multiple approval tasks, and a hierarchy of approvers.

When the manager or worker submits the document for approval, approvers receive notification that the document is ready for approval, and they can approve or reject the document in multiple locations.

Configuring Approval Tasks in the Process Flow

To use approvals, you must configure the process flow to include an approval task. You set up process flows using the Performance Process Flows task in the Setup Maintenance work area. You can set up process flows to require one, two, or no approval tasks. If you include approval tasks, you can place them in whatever order your business process requires. For example, you might want to create a process flow with the First Approval task after the Manager Performs Worker Evaluation task, and the Second Approval after the Final Feedback task.

When each approval task is reached, the manager must submit the performance document for approval, even if the worker performs the task before the approval task. The document goes through the entire approval process so all required approvers must approve the document before the evaluation continues.

You can configure performance process flows to skip the action of submitting performance documents for approval. By enabling auto-submit for approval tasks, when the preceding task is completed, the approval task submits automatically. You can select auto-submit on the Performance Process Flows page, in the Approval, Review and Meetings section. This setting applies to both the First Approval and the Second Approval task.

Configuring Approval Hierarchy and Notifications

The predefined approval chain includes the manager of the manager of the worker being evaluated. However, you can add additional levels of approvers and other roles, such as HR specialist. Other roles must have the correct privilege for approvals and a data security profile that lets that includes access to the worker whose performance document they're asked to approve. You set up approvals and the associated notifications using the Define Approval Management for Human Capital Management task. To add the HR specialist as an approver, you must also add an area of responsibility for the HR specialist using the Areas of Responsibility task in My Client Groups > Quick Actions > Show More > Areas of Responsibility.

Configuring Approval Rules

HR specialists can configure an approval rule for performance documents to use the current assignment hierarchy instead of the primary assignment in a hierarchy. So if they submit a performance document on an employee's nonprimary assignment for approval, it's routed using the nonprimary assignment hierarchy.

You can set up multiple level approvals for performance documents using the manager's current or primary assignments. If a performance document has multiple levels of approvals and the approvers have multiple assignments, then you can route approvals using the assignment hierarchy of the employee, or route them using the manager's primary assignments.

If multiple approval rules exist, HR specialists can use parallel approvals in an approval rule to send approval requests to multiple participants at the same time. Only the first person to respond needs to process the approval.

Notifications

When you activate notifications, each approver receives worklist and email notification that a document was submitted for approval. The notification contains a link to the performance document so the approver can view it. When all approvers have approved or rejected the document, the worker's manager receives notification whether the document was approved or rejected. The approval process is repeated if a manager resubmits a document after rejection, or a second approval task is configured in the process flow. If the performance document is approved, the next task in the process flow becomes available or if the approval is the last task, the performance document is completed. If the approval is rejected, then the previous task in the process flow becomes the current task so any requested changes can be made before the approval task is resubmitted.