Approval workflows: who approves which materials, in how many steps and how quickly

Material finished in two days can wait two weeks because five people approve it, each at a different time and each with their own comments. Approval workflows define who really has to approve, in what order and how quickly, and who only needs to be informed.

Why do approvals take so long?

Five approvers are not five times more safety. They are five times more waiting and five sets of contradictory comments.

Approvals drag on for several reasons that usually occur together: nobody knows who has to approve, so everyone is asked just in case; comments arrive at different times, so each one triggers a new round; there is no deadline for replies, so the material waits until someone finds the time. An approval workflow addresses these three problems: it names the people, sets one round of comments and gives a deadline after which no reply means approval.

How do we design approval workflows?

1. We list the types of materials. A post, a proposal, a catalogue, a press release, sensitive content. Each type carries a different risk and needs a different workflow.
2. We separate the roles. For each type: who approves (as few people as possible), who gives an opinion, who is only informed. This usually halves the workflow.
3. We set the timing and the silence rule. Every step has a deadline, and no reply by the deadline means approval. Without this the workflow exists only on paper.
4. We implement it in the tool and keep watch. We set up the workflows in the tool the company uses and, for the first month, check where old habits are still leaking through.

What do you get?

• approval workflows for every type of material: people, order, time,
• a rule of one round of comments in one place,
• a rule of approval by silence, agreed with the board,
• a measurement: how long approval takes before and after the change.

When is it worth tidying up approvals?

• when approval takes longer than preparing the material,
• when comments arrive in several rounds and contradict each other,
• when simple materials wait for the CEO because "it has always been that way",
• when the company publishes something it should not have, because the workflow was unclear.

Frequently asked questions