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Processing Approvals for Pending Recognitions and Earn Requests

Updated

This article details the process for approving pending recognitions and earn requests, including external recognitions submitted through External Recognition programs. Approvals ensure all recognitions and reward requests meet organizational standards before being granted. Admins and designated approvers are responsible for managing these approvals.
 

  1. Accessing the Pending Approvals Queue  
  2. Approving Internal Recognitions and Earn Requests
  3. Approving External Recognitions
  4. Approval Notifications
  5. Reassigning Approvers
  6. Notes for Approvers

 

 

Accessing the Pending Approvals Queue

To begin:

  1. Log in to your account.
  2. Click the bell icon in the top navigation menu, then select “View All” under Pending Approvals, or select “Approvals” in the left navigation menu.
  3. This action will direct you to a page displaying the recognitions you submitted that are awaiting approval.
    • The "My Approvals" tab shows recognitions requiring your direct approval.
    • The "All Pending" tab displays all pending recognitions across the entire organization. Note that the "All Pending" tab is visible to administrators only.
    • The "External Recognitions" tab displays all recognitions submitted through an external recognition program that are currently pending approval.

 

 

Approving Internal Recognitions and Earn Requests  

  1. Click on a pending recognition to view its detailed information.
    • Internal Recognitions: Review the recognition message, the number of points requested, and any attached media. If the recognition was sent through a program with the Giving Guide enabled, the approval interface will display the recommended point amount, the specific metrics (e.g., Impact, Effort), and the answers selected by the giver (e.g., High impact) to help approvers understand the context of the award amount.
    • Earn Requests: Verify the number of points requested and the justification provided.
    • Budget: If applicable, select the appropriate budget from which the points will be awarded.
  2. Approve or Deny:
    • Click ‘Approve’ to grant the recognition and the associated reward points.
    • Click ‘Deny’ to reject the recognition. If you deny a request, provide a reason for the denial. This denial reason will be recorded in the events log. Additionally, the reason for denial can be displayed in the email to the recognition submitter (“Recognition Denied”) email notification using the ${{ResponseText}}$ email template variable.

 

If the recognition or earn request requires only one level of approval, it will be processed and sent to the recipient. If multiple levels of approval are required, the request will be routed to the approval queue(s) of the next designated approver(s). Super Administrators have access to a ‘Super Approve’ button within the action dropdown. Clicking ‘Super Approve’ will bypass any remaining approval steps and immediately send the recognition to the recipient.

 

 

 

Approving External Recognitions

External recognitions come from customers, vendors, partners, or other third parties via External Recognition Programs and need approval before being published.

  1. In the ‘Approvals’ tab, select the ‘External Recognitions’ section to view all pending external recognitions.
  2. Click on a pending external recognition to review its details, including the recognition message, the submitter's information, and any suggested reward points. If reward points are suggested, verify that the points are within the designated allowable budget.
  3. Approve or Deny:
    • Click ‘Approve’ to grant the recognition and the reward points (if applicable). The recognition will then appear in the public social feed.
    • Click ‘Deny’ to reject the recognition. If you deny a request, provide a reason for the denial. Please note that this message will only be visible in the events log within reporting and will not be displayed to the original submitter of the recognition.

 

Awardco Intelligence: AI Filtering for External Recognitions

When enabled, Awardco Intelligence enhances the external recognition approval process by incorporating AI-powered filtering. Before reaching human approvers, recognitions undergo three stages:

  • Moderation: AI automatically identifies and blocks harmful or inappropriate content. These recognitions will not appear in the approval queue.
  • Sentiment Analysis: AI analyzes the tone and intent of the recognition, providing a recommendation to approve, decline, or further review the submission.
  • HIPAA Filtering: Recognitions that potentially contain health-related identifiers are flagged for review. There is also an option to use AI to redact identifying information.

AI-generated suggestions will be visible in the approval interface to guide approvers. However, all final approval decisions remain the responsibility of human reviewers. For assistance with configuring this feature, please contact your Awardco administrator.

 

 

 

 

Approval Notifications

Approvers usually get email alerts for recognitions or earn requests needing approval. If not, check the settings for the Recognition or Earn program.

 

 

Reassigning Approvers

If you're heading out on vacation or have an approval that was incorrectly routed to you, you can easily reassign it to a new approver or set of approvers. Just follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your account and navigate to your Approvals queue.
  2. Click on the “All Pending” tab.
  3. Locate the pending recognition or earn request you wish to reassign.
  4. Click the stacked three-dot icon (Actions menu) next to the approval.
  5. From the dropdown menu, select “Edit Approvers.”
  6. In the pop-up window, use the search bar to select the names of the new approver(s) from the list. You can choose multiple approvers if needed.
  7. (Optional) Add a note in the provided text field explaining why you're reassigning the approvers. Please note: This is an internal note and will only be visible to other administrators and approvers with access to the approval details.
  8. Click “Save” to confirm the reassignment.

The recognition or earn request will now appear in the approval queue of the newly assigned approver(s).

Note: If you don't see the "Edit Approvers" option available, please discuss this with your internal Awardco admin. They'll need to enable the “Edit Approvers” permission for your role type.

 

 

 


 

 

Notes for Approvers

  • If a user’s supervisor leaves, pending recognition or Earn requests can be redirected to the new supervisor. Contact your CSM or the Technical CSM team to enable this feature.
  • For external recognitions submitted through personalized user links, direct supervisors can approve recognitions for their direct reports. Ensure that the "Assign Supervisor to Approve for direct reports" option is enabled within the External Recognition Program settings.
  • Awardco Intelligence can provide valuable assistance in the external recognition approval process by offering sentiment analysis and content moderation. You can enable this feature in the External Program Settings under the ‘Settings’ tab.

 

 

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.

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