Configuring approvers for a user

By default, absentify routes leave requests through an approver. You can also choose No approver when no approval is required. Approver settings allow for flexibility by offering various options, including department managers, synchronized Microsoft managers, or custom approvers.

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Approver configuration options

There are four main ways to configure approvers for a user: If your workspace does not include the More than one Approver add-on or Plus, you can still choose these options, but Save opens an upgrade modal when the selection needs a paid plan.

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1. Department-based approvers

By default, a user’s approver is the manager of their assigned department.

• How it works:
  • Select the specific department whose managers should act as the approvers for the user.
  • The managers of the chosen department automatically become the approvers for the user.
• Approval processes:
  Approval processes are defined at the department level.
• Automatic updates:
  If the department manager changes, the approvers for all users linked to that department are updated automatically.

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2. Microsoft profile synchronization

Select Synchronizes the managers from the user’s Microsoft profile to use the manager from the user’s directory as their approver. The option stays available when the workspace uses SCIM, or when Microsoft Graph is enabled and the user has a linked Microsoft account, even if this user has no manager right now.

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Microsoft Graph

• Uses the manager from the user’s Microsoft profile.
• Requires a linked Microsoft account and a configured Tenant.
• Requires the User.Read.All permission. See the Manager Synchronization guide.
• Changes in Microsoft appear in absentify on the next profile sync.

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SCIM

• Uses the enterprise manager attribute sent by your IdP.
• No linked Microsoft account is required for SCIM-provisioned users.
• Map manager as described in the SCIM provisioning guide.
• Multi-level hierarchies are built hop by hop from each provisioned user’s direct manager reference.
• When your IdP changes or removes a user’s manager, absentify updates that user’s approvers automatically.

Choose How many manager levels are to be used? You can pick 1 to 5.

• 1 is the user’s direct manager.
• 2 is that manager’s manager.
• Further levels follow the management hierarchy in the directory.

Approval process:

• Linear - All must agree
  Approvers are contacted consecutively. If any approver denies the request, the process stops, and the request is marked as denied.
• Linear - One must agree
  Approvers are contacted consecutively. If any approver approves the request, the process stops, and the request is marked as approved.
• Parallel - All must agree
  All approvers are contacted simultaneously. If any approver denies the request, it will not be approved.
• Parallel - One must agree
  All approvers are contacted simultaneously. If any approver approves the request, it will be approved.

If absentify cannot find a Microsoft manager, you can still save. A warning tells you what happens until a manager becomes available:

• The current approvers stay in place.
• The managers of the user’s alphabetically first department approve in the meantime. The warning names that department.
• The user has no approver.

If Entra ID or SCIM removes the user’s manager, the current approvers are not kept. The managers of the user’s alphabetically first department take over. If that department has no other managers, the user has no approver until a directory manager is available. If Microsoft cannot be reached, the warning is Microsoft could not be reached, so the manager list is unavailable right now. Please try again shortly. Saving then fails with Microsoft could not be reached, so the managers could not be synchronized. Please try again shortly. A referenced manager who is not provisioned yet, is not in the workspace, or has no absentify seat is skipped. absentify continues with the remaining managers in the hierarchy.

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3. Custom approvers

Use this option to manually define approvers for the user.

• How it works:
  • Select one or more approvers, regardless of department or Microsoft profile settings.
  • This option is ideal for unique workflows requiring specific approvers.
• Approval processes:
  Custom approvers support all approval flows:
  • Linear - All must agree
    Approvers are contacted consecutively. If any approver denies the request, the process stops.
  • Linear - One must agree
    Approvers are contacted consecutively. If any approver approves the request, the process stops.
  • Parallel - All must agree
    All approvers are contacted simultaneously. If any approver denies the request, it will not be approved.
  • Parallel - One must agree
    All approvers are contacted simultaneously. If any approver approves the request, it will be approved.

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4. No approver

Use this option if no approval is required for the user’s leave requests.

• How it works:
  • Requests are automatically approved without the need for an approver.

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Detailed approval processes

The four approval processes work the same for Microsoft profile and custom approvers. See Microsoft profile synchronization and Custom approvers.

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Additional features

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Approval notifications

• A notification is sent to the requestor at every status change of their leave request.
• Notifications are sent for each approver’s decision unless the request status is finalized (approved or denied).

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Admin and manager permissions

Admins and department managers can approve or deny requests even if they are not the designated approvers:

• Admins: Can act on any leave request within the company.
• Department managers: Can approve or deny requests for users within their department.

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Approver-override for admin-submitted requests

When an admin submits a leave request on behalf of a user, a dropdown may appear to override the standard approval workflow.
This gives the admin the option to immediately approve a request, rather than relying on the default assignment defined by the approval rule for that user or department. Best practices for using the override:

• Use only when necessary: Stick to the default approver configuration whenever possible to maintain consistency.
• Communicate overrides: If you override the default approver, inform both the original and selected approver to avoid confusion.
• Document decisions: In sensitive or exceptional cases, consider noting why an override was made (e.g. via internal policy or comments).
• Review regularly: If overrides are frequently needed, it might indicate that the approval rules need to be updated.

When the dropdown is hidden: The dropdown is only shown when an override is meaningful and permitted based on the approval logic. The visibility of the approver dropdown follows these conditions:

• Linear - All must agree: The dropdown is hidden when there is only one approver, and that approver is the current admin.
  There are no other approvers to choose from, so overriding is not applicable.
• Linear - One must agree: The dropdown is hidden when the first approver in the list is the current admin.
  The admin already fulfills the role of approver, so there is no need for selection.
• Parallel - One must agree: The dropdown is hidden when the current admin is part of the parallel approver group.
  Any approver in the group can approve, so selection is not necessary.
• Parallel - All must agree: The dropdown is hidden when there is only one approver, and that person is the current admin.
  As all defined approvers must approve the request, there is no room for override.

This behavior ensures the override option is only presented when it is meaningful and applicable to the approval process.

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Tips for approver settings

• Department-based approvers are dynamic: Automatically update with changes to department managers.
• Directory manager sync reduces manual effort: Keep approvers current via Microsoft Graph or SCIM.
• Custom approvers allow flexibility: Ideal for workflows requiring specific approvers or additional oversight.
• No approver: Use this option for self-managed leave requests.