Configure Approval Policies

Configure who approves a request, in which order, and under which conditions. Approval Policies can route requests through managers, Additional Managers, Employee Segments, or a custom field.

Who can use this?

HR Admins who configure the Approval Framework in Salesforce.

Before you begin

• You can access the flair HR app and Approval Policy records in Salesforce.
• Identify the target object, employee field, approval-status field, and approvers for the workflow.

Open Approval Policies

1. In Salesforce, open the App Launcher (⋮⋮ grid icon), and search for Approval Policies.

   

2. In the list-view selector, choose All instead of Recently Viewed.

   

3. Click the policy name.

   

Understand default Approval Policies

flair creates default policies during installation or upgrade. They are view-only and cannot be deleted, but you can disable them when using custom policies.

Policy	Routing
Default Absence Policy	Targets all employees and routes every absence type through one step assigned to the direct manager.
Default Document Policy	Routes self-uploaded Employee Documents with Pending status to HR Managers when visibility is HR Manager and Employee.

Enable or disable a policy

1. Open the Approval Policy.
2. Click Enable or Disable. The policy state changes without deleting its configuration.

Disable a policy to test a replacement, bypass its requirements temporarily, or switch workflows for a period.

When multiple enabled policies match, flair uses the policy with the lowest Matching Priority number. For example, priority 1 for a management segment takes precedence over priority 2 for everyone else.

Configure approval steps

1. On the Approval Policy, open Steps.

   

2. Configure the step fields:

   Setting	What it does
   Name	Identifies the step, such as Department Head Review.
   Type	Defines the nature of the approval step.
   Order	Sets the sequence in which flair processes steps.

   

3. Select the approver type:

   Approver type	Source
   Manager	The employee's direct manager.
   Additional Managers	Employees with additional-manager responsibilities.
   Defined by Segments	Employees, positions, departments, entities, or other segment criteria.
   Custom Field	A lookup field on the request record.

   

4. Save the step.

Define approvers with Employee Segments

1. On the approval step, select Defined by Segments.

   

2. Click Edit Segment.

   

3. Filter by department, position, location, entity, employment status, or a custom employee field. Entity filters by the employee's assigned legal entity, so one policy can cover an entire entity instead of every location inside it.

   

4. Define the criteria, and click Apply filter.

   

5. Select the approvers.

6. Click Save. The selected people can approve this step.

   

Add multiple approvers to a step

• On the step, click Add Approver to add another approver.

Depending on the step configuration, the first response can advance the request, all approvers can be required, or several approvers can review in parallel. Multiple approvers can also provide a backup when someone is unavailable.

Configure policy assignments

1. On the Approval Policy, open Assignments.

   

2. Configure the assignment fields:

   Setting	What it does
   Target Object	Selects the Salesforce object, such as Absences or Employee Documents.
   Employee Field	Identifies the employee who submitted the request.
   Approval Status Field	Stores the request status.
   SOQL Filter	Optionally limits when the policy matches.

Example SOQL filters include:

-- Only pending absences
Approval_Status__c = 'Pending'

-- Only vacation requests
Absence_Category__r.Name = 'Vacation'

-- Only self-uploaded documents visible to HR
Visibility__c = 'HR Manager and Employee' AND Self_Uploaded__c = true

Test an Approval Policy

1. Submit a test absence or Employee Document.
2. Confirm that flair routes it to the intended approvers.
3. Confirm that approvers receive the enabled email, Slack, Employee Hub, and mobile notifications.
4. In the request, review Approval Path to confirm the steps.
5. Repeat the test for multiple managers, matching Employee Segments, and fallback priorities.

Understand manager transfers

When an employee's manager changes during a pending workflow, flair performs these actions:

1. Marks the old manager's pending Approval Request as Skipped.
2. Creates an Approval Request for the new manager.
3. Notifies the new manager.
4. Records the transfer in Approval Path.

The workflow continues with the current manager and keeps the prior assignment in its audit history.

Troubleshooting

Requests route to the wrong approver

• Confirm that the policy is enabled.
• Confirm that the SOQL Filter matches the request.
• Compare Matching Priority across matching policies.
• Confirm that the approver matches the configured Employee Segment.

Several people receive the same request

• Check for Additional Managers.
• Review the approvers on the step.
• Check for overlapping enabled policies with the same priority.

You cannot edit a default policy

• Create a custom policy.
• Disable the default policy when you want the custom policy to handle requests.

Related articles

• Approval Framework overview
• Review and track Approval Requests
• Approvals across flair reference
• Manage permissions and access control