Manage agenda items approval workflow
Create and manage approval groups
New agenda item must be approved by an approval group before they are added to a meeting agenda. Approval groups include other admins, staff, or members who are assigned to approve agenda items after they’re submitted. This ensures the final meeting agenda includes accurate, relevant, and timely information. Some approval groups contain subsets of members, or approval blocks, who need to approve the agenda item in a specific order. The members of an approval group, the approval block, and the order of approvals are created during the implementation process. This section explains the significance of approval groups when adding new agenda items.
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You can view the approval group on an agenda item’s row after it’s submitted.
Note
To edit an existing approval group, refer to Edit an agenda item workflow.
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To see details about the order of approvals, select the approval group. The Approval progress dialog expands.
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To scroll through the approval groups, select the ellipsis.
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To scroll backward, select the ellipsis on the left.
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To scroll forward, select the ellipsis on the right.
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Some approval groups contain approval blocks. Approval blocks are subsets of the approval group whose members need to approve the agenda item in a specific order.
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After a member in the first approval block approves the agenda item, an arrow points to the next approval block.
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A check icon is visible under the name of members in the approval group who approved the agenda item.
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An x icon is visible under the name of members in the approval group who rejected the agenda item.
Edit agenda item workflow
You can assign other admins, staff, or members to an approval workflow to ensure the correct individuals review the item before adding it to an agenda. You can also add or remove approval blocks and modify the reject rule for denied approvals. This section describes how to edit an approval workflow for an agenda item.
Note
When you edit the approval workflow for an agenda item, only the current workflow is affected. Previous approval items that were managed through the existing workflow do not change.
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Select an agenda item to view more details.
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To edit the approval workflow, first select options , and then select Edit workflow. The Workflow page appears.
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You can change the name of the workflow by selecting the Workflow name field.
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The approval group is displayed on top of the page. Use the approval group to see details about the current order of approvals and the approval blocks.
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To change the name of an approval block, select the Name field in the approval block.
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To add a new approval block, select +Approval block.
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To add a user to an approval block, select and hold the user’s name in the Available People box, and then move them to the relevant approval block.
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You can also add users by selecting the add icon next to their name.
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To enable editing permissions so a user can make changes to a submitted agenda item, select Can edit item checkbox next to their name.
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To enable all users to edit submitted agenda items, select the checkbox next to Can edit item at the bottom of the approval block.
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To set up an ordered workflow in which every member of the approval block needs to approve the agenda item, beginning with the first approver, select the Ordered approval checkbox.
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To change the order of approvers in an ordered approval block, you can select and hold a user’s name, and then move them above or below another user.
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You can also select options next to their name, and then select Move up or Move down.
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To set up an un-ordered workflow in which only one approver is required to approve the agenda item, select the checkbox next to Requires only 1 approver.
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To remove an individual user from an approval block, select the remove icon.
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You can also select and hold a user’s name in the approval block, and then move them to the Available people field to remove them.
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To remove an entire approval block, select the remove icon.
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To specify the reject rule for a denied approval, select the arrow in the Reject rule field. A list of options appears.
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Select one of the following options to apply the reject rule:
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Return to approver: The approval process restarts from the most recent approver.
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Reset entire approval: The approval process restarts from the beginning.
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Reset current approver: The approval process restarts from the most recent approval block.
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Custom approval order: The approval process restarts from the tier number in the most recent approval block.
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When you select the Custom approval order, the Rejects to tier field appears in each approval block. Use the Rejects to tier field in each approval block to set up the approval.
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To save your changes, select Save.
Approve agenda item
When you approve an agenda item, you are approving it for inclusion in the meeting agenda. Some agenda items include attachments to which you can add annotations and feedback to share with the submitter. This section describes how to approve an agenda item.
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To view a list of agenda items pending your review, select the Pending tab.
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To see more details about an agenda item, select it.
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The Approve agenda item page opens. If the agenda item includes an attachment, you can view it on the bottom of the page.
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To expand the view, select Full screen.
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You can share feedback with the item submitter using the annotation toolbar. Select a tool to add an annotation, including freehand markup, highlighter, or comments. Your annotations are saved automatically.
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To remove an annotation, select it, and then select the delete icon on the inline menu.
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Members of the approval group, the submitter, and admins can view, add, and remove annotations while the agenda item is being reviewed. The annotations are not visible on the meeting agenda.
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To approve the agenda item, select Approve.
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The Approve dialog displays. You have the option to add a comment, and then select Approve Item.
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The item is moved to the Added tab.
Send reminder to next approver
You can send a reminder through SMS text message to the next approver.
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To view a list of agenda items pending review, select the Pending tab.
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To send a reminder through SMS text message, select options on the far right of the relevant agenda, then select Send SMS reminder to next approver.
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A dialog displays. Here, enter the phone number for the next approver in the field next to their name.
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Enter your phone number in the field next to your name.
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To send the reminder, select Send. The next approver receives a text message on their mobile device with a link to review the agenda item.
Reject agenda item
You can remove an agenda item from the meeting agenda by rejecting it. Some agenda items include attachments to which you can add annotations and feedback to share with the submitter. This section describes how to reject an agenda item.
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To view a list of agenda items pending your review, select the Pending tab.
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Select an agenda item to see more details.
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The Approve agenda item page displays. If the agenda item includes an attachment, you can view it on the bottom of the page.
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To expand the view, select Full screen.
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You can share feedback with the item submitter using the annotation toolbar. Select a tool to add an annotation, including freehand markup, highlighter, or comments. Your annotations are saved automatically.
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To remove an annotation, select it, and then select the delete icon that appears on the inline menu.
Note
Members of the approval group, the submitter, and admins can view, add, and remove annotations while the agenda item is being reviewed. The annotations are not visible on the meeting agenda.
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To reject the agenda item, select Reject.
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The Reject dialog displays. Add a comment, then select Reject Item.
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The item is moved to the Rejected tab.