Approvals stall more service requests than any other configuration step. The approver is on PTO, the approval email is buried, the request was sent to the wrong person, the delegate was not configured. Each is fixable; together they cripple your service catalog.
Approval models
Three models supported:
- Single approver: one person decides.
- Multiple approvers, all required: every named approver must approve.
- Multiple approvers, any one suffices: first to approve wins.
Pick per request type. Laptop refresh: single approver (manager). Software purchase over $5K: all required (manager + IT director). After-hours change: any one (any of three on-call leads).
Default to single approver and escalate to multi only when the audit requirement exists.
Approver lookup
Hard-coding approvers (e.g., “Bob Smith”) creates failure when Bob leaves. Use lookups:
- Manager of requester (read from the requester record).
- Department head (custom field on requester’s department).
- Asset owner (read from asset record).
- Cost center approver (lookup table).
The workflow reads the lookup at request creation time; if the lookup returns null, the request fails to a sales-ops queue rather than auto-routing wrong.
Approval SLA
Approvals have their own SLA separate from the parent ticket. Default Freshservice does not set this; configure it.
Standard: approval must complete within 24 business hours. Approval clock starts when notification sent, stops when decision made. Breach triggers escalation.
Without approval SLA, requests sit indefinitely. The requester does not know who to chase.
Escalation on no-response
Build an escalation workflow: 4 hours after approval request sent, send reminder email. 8 hours, escalate to approver’s manager. 24 hours, reassign approval to a designated backup.
The reassignment is critical. Without it, an approver on a 2-week vacation blocks every request indefinitely.
Delegation
Each user can configure delegation under their profile: “while I am out, route my approvals to X.” Train users on this for vacation. The delegation is automatic; no admin involvement.
For predictable absences (parental leave, sabbatical), set a long-term delegation manually in admin.
Approval portal
Approvers see pending approvals at support.yourco.com/approvals. The list shows all open approvals across all workflows. Approvers should bookmark this page; emailing approval links one at a time creates inbox clutter and missed approvals.
For mobile approvers, the Freshservice mobile app supports one-tap approve/reject. Configure push notifications so they do not miss requests.
Approval comments
Make comments required on rejection. “Rejected” with no comment forces the requester to chase the approver to understand why. Required comments document the audit trail.
Optional on approve, but encouraged. Comments explain conditional approvals (“approved provided budget code is X”).
Auto-approval rules
Some requests should not require approval: low-value, low-risk, repeat patterns. Examples: password resets, software re-installs, standard hardware refresh under $500.
Build the auto-approval rule in the workflow: if conditions met, skip approval step entirely. Reduces approver load and request fulfillment time.
Reporting
Two metrics matter:
- Average approval time per workflow.
- Approval rejection rate per workflow.
Long approval times reveal disengaged approvers. High rejection rates reveal poor request templates that produce malformed requests.
What to do this week
Pick your highest-volume service catalog item. Audit its approval workflow. Confirm the approver lookup is dynamic (not a name), the SLA is set, and there is an escalation path. Fix gaps.
