We are working on refreshing our offer approval requirements in Workday.  Today, every offer goes through anywhere from 5-9 different approvals.  I would love to hear how other companies manage this.  Do your approvals happen inside or outside of the system?  What are the thresholds you have to hit to trigger specific levels of approval?  Any insight would be helpful!

One model that tends to work well is allowing TA leadership to approve offers that fall within a reasonable compa-ratio range—say, up to around 110%—directly in Workday. Anything above that threshold can then be set to route automatically to Total Rewards and, if needed, HR leadership for final approval. This kind of tiered approach keeps most offers moving quickly while ensuring proper oversight for exceptions.

We leverage Workday. Our professional recruiters have a tool from compensation to calibrate candidate's experience/education against the role/location and provides a narrow range for offer. This really helps recruiters align on realistic comp during the early screening process. This (excel tool and process) has helped in the speed of our offers and consistency. The recruiter and HM align on the offer outside the system using the excel tool. Once aligned the recruiter submits the offer through WD for approval. the HM, HRBP and comp ops approve in WD. Offers (verbal or written) are not extended until approved in WD. Comp Ops has a 24 hr SLA. Comp does not check every offer, but they do periodic audits. Note: if the offer goes into the 4th quartile it would flag and likely be reviewed real-time.

My experience is that approvals should follow an approval process inside of the system to ensure documentation. There are some pre-approvals that might take place outside of the system, but the outcomes and rationale to support should be noted in the system. I believe that 5-9 different approvals seems too high and might slow down the process. I have used an approval process matrix that outlines when additional approvals are needed and who would provide those approvals (Ex. Base pay outside of typical range, higher level sign-on bonus amount, etc). Typically the "exception" thresholds will vary based on your company and compensation norms, but outlining the specific % or $ amounts would be advised. Suggest also standardizing what the stakeholders reviewing and approving the exceptions will receive and that they understand the timeframe required for approval. (To ensure your offers don't get held up and you lose the candidate.) Also consider different levels of approval based on level of role. For example, entry or junior level roles, may require less approvals where senior roles such as Sr. Director, VP, etc require additional. Whatever direction you go, it would be important to provide training to the key partners such as talent acquisition, HRBPs, compensation, HR leadership and hiring managers so everyone understands the process and their role.