Creating auto-approval rules for time off

Requests approved without anybody looking, when the conditions are safe. Removes the delay that annoys people most.

Requests approved without anybody looking, when the conditions are safe. Removes the delay that annoys people most.

Create one

1. In Workforce Management, click Scheduling in the sidebar and select Time off.
2. Click the settings icon, and in Time off settings click +Add rule.
3. Rename the rule, if the default is not clear.
4. Select the teams it applies to.
5. Select the conditions, and adjust the number of team members for each.
6. Add further rules with +Add rule, then watch what they approve for a month.

Only Workforce Management admins, and team members in a custom role with the permission, can create these.

Two mechanics that decide the outcome

All applicable rules must pass. Where an agent belongs to several teams, every rule that applies to them is checked, and the request is auto-approved only if all of them pass. Rules narrow, they do not widen: adding one never approves more.

The count is not limited to the team. This is the one that catches people out. A rule applies to a team, but it checks existing time off across the entire agent pool. A rule on Team A that approves when fewer than ten people are off is counting approved requests for every agent, not just Team A's. On a large account that threshold is reached by people the team has never met.

Set the number with the pool in mind

The documented example is a rule that approves time off when fewer than ten people have time off in a week. Because that ten counts the whole pool, a number chosen for a team of eight is not the number you want.

Work out what your normal level of approved absence is across everybody first, then set the threshold above it rather than at what feels right for one team.

Why it is worth doing

Most requests are routine and get approved anyway. Automating those means people get an answer immediately, and leads spend their attention on the ones that need a decision.

Start conservative

Tight conditions first, then loosen once you have seen what it approves. An over-broad rule that empties a week is visible only when that week arrives.

Watch it for a month

Read what it approved and ask whether you would have. That check tells you whether the conditions match your actual judgement.

Keep the manual path clear

Requests falling outside the rule still need a person, promptly. An auto-approval rule that leaves the remainder waiting longer has moved the problem rather than solved it.

Say what the rules are

Tell the team which requests are approved automatically. Then people request early to get an immediate answer, which is better for everybody.

See also

• Viewing and handling time off requests
• Creating time off reasons
• The time off management page