In absentify, all leave requests must be approved by a designated approver. Approver settings allow for flexibility by offering various options, including department managers, synchronized Microsoft managers, or custom approvers.

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Accessing the approver settings

  1. Navigate to Settings > Users.
  2. Select a user from the list and click on their profile to open the user edit menu.
  3. In the edit menu, select the Approver tab from the side menu.

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Approver configuration options

There are four main ways to configure approvers for an employee:

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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 employee.
    • 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.
Note: If a user is assigned to multiple departments, you must select one department to define the approvers.

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2. Microsoft profile synchronization

This option uses the manager defined in the user’s Microsoft profile as their approver.
  • How it works:
    • The Manager field in the user’s Microsoft profile is synced automatically.
    • Changes to the manager in Microsoft will reflect in absentify during the next sync.
  • Multi-level approvers:
    You can configure up to five levels of approvers:
    • First-level approver: The direct manager of the employee.
    • Second-level approver: The manager of the first-level approver.
    • Additional levels are added by tracing the management hierarchy in the Microsoft profile.
  • Approval processes:
    Options for approval flows:
    • 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.
Microsoft profiles support only one manager per user. Multi-level approvers are based on the management hierarchy of the organization.
If department visibility is restricted in your workspace, ensure approvers belong to the same department as the requestor. Otherwise, the approval process will not function as expected.

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3. Custom approvers

Use this option to manually define approvers for the employee.
  • 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 employee’s leave requests.
  • How it works:
    • Requests are automatically approved without the need for an approver.
Use this setting only for employees who do not need absence approvals, such as senior executives managing their own leaves.

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Detailed approval processes

The way leave requests are routed and approved depends on the selected approval process. Here’s a breakdown of each option:

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Linear approval processes

  1. Linear - All must agree
    • How it works: Approvers are contacted one at a time, in the order they are listed. If any approver denies the request, it will not proceed further and is marked as denied.
    • Example:
      Approver A → Approver B → Approver C
      • Approver A approves → request moves to Approver B.
      • Approver B denies → request is denied, and Approver C is not contacted.
  2. Linear - One must agree
    • How it works: Approvers are contacted one at a time, in sequence. If any approver approves the request, the process stops, and the request is marked as approved.
    • Example:
      Approver A → Approver B → Approver C
      • Approver A denies → request moves to Approver B.
      • Approver B approves → request is approved, and Approver C is not contacted.

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Parallel approval processes

  1. Parallel - All must agree
    • How it works: All approvers are notified at the same time. If any approver denies the request, it is immediately marked as denied.
    • Example:
      Approvers A, B, and C are notified simultaneously.
      • Approver A approves, Approver B approves, but Approver C denies → request is denied.
  2. Parallel - One must agree
    • How it works: All approvers are notified at the same time. If any approver approves the request, it is immediately marked as approved.
    • Example:
      Approvers A, B, and C are notified simultaneously.
      • Approver A denies, Approver B denies, but Approver C approves → request is approved.

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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.
If an admin or manager acts on behalf of the designated approver, the approver is notified of the decision.

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Tips for approver settings

  • Department-based approvers are dynamic: Automatically update with changes to department managers.
  • Microsoft synchronization reduces manual effort: Ensures managers stay up-to-date across platforms.
  • Custom approvers allow flexibility: Ideal for workflows requiring specific approvers or additional oversight.
  • No approver simplifies workflows: Use this option for self-managed leave requests.
Regularly review approver settings to ensure they align with organizational policies and user hierarchies.