Sapling - Track and Approve

This is an optional paid add-on. Reach out to [e-mail] to learn more.

Introduction

Track & Approve is a Sapling Add-On module that allows teams to store key employee data in an unlimited number of custom tables, create custom approval chains for data changes, and track all assigned and outstanding approvals in a single/centralized Approval Dashboard.

In this article, we’ll review how to:

• Create a new custom table from our pre-built tables, or build one from scratch
• Setting up approval chains for:
  • any changes made to the data stored in job details tables
  • any data stored on profile tables
• Editing "on the fly" when approving a change
• How to track all outstanding approvals via the Approvals Dashboard

Important to note →

If you’re utilizing Bamboo HR, Workday, or Namely as your primary HRIS - this module cannot integrate with any of these platforms due to their current API limitations [February 2021].

 

How to add/edit Custom Tables

Navigate to Administrative Tools > Profile Setup > All Job Details. Here, you’ll see 3 default tables:

1. Role Information to track changes to employee roles (i.e. department, manager, job title, etc.)
2. Employment Status to track employment status (i.e. full time, part time, contractor, etc.)
3. Compensation to track changes to payment detail (i.e. salary, variable comp, pay schedule, etc.)

To create a new table, click “New Table.” You’ll see the option to either select from one of our 9 pre-built (editable) templates across

1. Benefit Elections
2. Bonus Compensation
3. Certification
4. Company Assets
5. Equity
6. Performance
7. Visa Status
8. Immunizations
9. COVID-19 test results

Or, select “Build your own” to create a fully custom table.

To edit an existing table, use the three dot menu on the right hand side of each table.

How to set up an approval chain on Job Details

When creating a new custom table, you have the option to set up an unlimited number of individuals who need to approve any updates made to all stored data.

To create an approval chain, navigate from Profile Setup > All Job Details > New Table. Select Timeline as table type and turn the toggle to “on” to require approval to any data changes made. You can also add an approval chain to any existing timeline table.

You can assign approvals to 6 role types: Coworker, Individual, Team Member Manager, Requestor Manager, Specific Person, or Specific Permission Group. Assignees will receive an email notification that they have a change to approve in Sapling. 

1. Coworker - Sapling will pull names from all fields which are coworker field type (i.e "Buddy" is a coworker field type) from employee's profile. This is mostly useful when an organization has setup a specific HR/people ops team members responsible for a specific group. For example, you can use Coworker option and if your HR team members have a "HR reviewer" coworker field, this step becomes automated. 
2. Individual - who ever is getting their data modified, will be asked to approve this change.
3. Team Member Manager - This will automatically assign an approval to the immediate manager of the team member's information that is being modified, for 1st level manager. You can continue to choose 2nd level (the team members manager manager), and so on. Manager's will run out at the CEO level (i.e. if there are only 3) 
4. Requestor Manager - This is useful for when you may give employees access to job detail information and just want whoever is requesting the change, their direct manager will be asked to approve a change.
5. Specific Person - Pick a specific person that will be required to approve a change.
6. Specific Permission Group - All individuals in the permission group will be requested to approve, and its a first come first approve scenario (in the records, it will show the individual who actually approved the change in the permission group).

Note: If there are any redundancies (such as you modifying data and you are the only approver), Sapling will just assume it is approved; We will also not ask someone more than once in a row to approve a change.

Once the approval chain is set up and a change is made, you’ll be notified via a pop up window confirming that the approval chain is going into affect.

How to set up an approval chain on Profile Tables

While Profiles are limited to 4 tables: Public, Personal, Private, and Additional, you may want to have more control over who can update someone's information. For example, you may want to let certain people update profile information for other people by adding them to a permission group that allows them to do so, but be notified and approve any changes they'd like to make. With Track & Approve, you can do this.

To create an approval chain on a profile table, navigate to Administrative Tools > Profile Setup > All Fields and find which table you'd like to apply the approval chain on. Then select the approval chain icon , where you will see the option to apply any number of approvals on that table. 

Note: The approval chain is applied for any data changed on that table, not a specific field.

Modifying approval chains "on the fly"

Sometimes you want to break the rules, and you need different people to approve a specific change in a job details or profile table. With Track & Approve and if you are an admin or a super admin, you can make changes to the approval chain on the fly. 

If you'd like to modify the default approval chain, you can do so on the second step. This change will only take effect for that specific data change. If you'd like to change the approval chain for all changes, go to Profile Setup to make that change.

How to use the Pending Approvals Dashboard

Once you’ve set up an approval chain and a change is made to that data, all approvals can be tracked via the Pending Approvals card on the Dashboard. 

To access the Approvals Dashboard, navigate to Administration Tools > Dashboard > Pending Approvals.

Once in the Pending Approvals Dashboard, use the quick action menu on the right hand side to view approval details (what’s changing, who has already approved, and what approvals are outstanding), or use the mail button to remind the next approver to review the changes. Use the tabs to navigate between profile table or job detail approval changes.

💡 Pro tips

• Need to track multiple jobs or pay rates? (e.g. an employee is both a mathematics teacher and a soccer coach - different concurrent titles and rates of pay depending on the work he's doing at the time) - you can capture these additional details as columns in your Role Information and Compensation tables, or create additional tables for tracking (but note that only the primary job title and pay rate are used throughout Sapling and for syncing with integrations)
• Apply custom tables to Profile Templates to build custom tables out at scale, applying tables only to the relevant Location, Department, or other group types you've created