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Version: Current

FAQ: How do Approval Reminders and Escalations work?

Reminders and Escalations are optional features configured within approval steps in Automation Sentences to help ensure timely action on pending requests.

Approval Reminders:

  • Purpose: To automatically send follow-up notifications to approvers who haven't responded to a pending approval step after a specified time.
  • Configuration: Set within a "Get Approval" Sentence action. You define the time delay (e.g., 2 Days) after the step becomes active. Multiple reminders can be set per step (e.g., remind after 2 days, then again after 4 days).
  • How it Works:
    • Zudello monitors active approval steps with configured reminders.
    • If a user's response status for the step is still PENDING when the reminder time is reached, a reminder notification (typically email) is sent to that user.
    • Users who have already responded (APPROVED, REJECTED) or whose step was delegated/escalated do not receive the reminder.
  • Benefit: Gently nudges approvers to action outstanding requests.
  • See also: Configuring Approval Reminders.

Approval Escalations:

  • Purpose: To automatically reassign a pending approval step to someone else (e.g., a manager or backup group) if the original approver doesn't respond within a specified, typically longer, timeframe.
  • Configuration: Set within a "Get Approval" Sentence action. You define:
    • Escalate After: The time delay (e.g., 5 Days) after the step becomes active.
    • Escalate To: Who receives the escalated request (a specific User, a User Group, or the original approver's configured Manager).
  • How it Works:
    • Zudello monitors active approval steps with configured escalations.
    • If the step's overall status is still PENDING when the escalation time is reached:
      • The original pending approver(s) have their response status changed to ESCALATED.
      • The designated escalation recipient(s) are added as new approvers with a PENDING status.
      • Notifications are sent to the escalation recipient(s).
  • Benefit: Prevents approvals from getting stuck indefinitely due to unresponsive approvers and ensures a backup path for completion.
  • See also: Configuring Approval Escalations and Troubleshooting Escalation Not Working.

Both features help maintain momentum in your approval workflows and reduce manual follow-up. They are configured independently for each approval step within your Sentences.