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Approval Routing and Escalation

Understand how approval workflows progress through stages, notifications, and completion

Written by Ben Gale
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Why Approval Routing Matters

Understanding how approval routing works helps you predict timelines and troubleshoot delays. When content is submitted, CalmCompliance automatically notifies approvers, advances through stages in order, and records responses. Stages run sequentially—you can't skip ahead—and each stage must meet its required approvals before the next begins. If anyone rejects, the workflow stops immediately and the content returns to draft for the author to resubmit (which starts a new workflow from Stage 1).

How to Track and Participate in Approval Workflows

For content authors

  1. Open your content (document, risk assessment, or form) and go to the Approval section or tab

  2. Check the workflow status—pending, approved, or rejected

  3. See which stage is active, who has approved so far, and who still needs to approve

  4. If rejected, read the rejection comments, make changes, and Submit for Approval again—this starts a new workflow from Stage 1

For approvers

  1. Check your inbox or notification center—you'll see approval requests when it's your turn

  2. Click through to the content and review it

  3. Click Approve (optionally add comments) or Reject (add comments explaining why)

  4. If you approve, your response counts toward the required approvals for that stage; once the stage meets its requirement, the next stage activates and those approvers are notified

Approvers can view the complete history of previous stages, including who approved and any comments they left.

Common Questions

Can I skip a stage if it's not relevant? No. All stages must complete in order. If a stage isn't always needed, create separate approval policies for different scenarios.

What if an approver is on holiday? The workflow waits. Use groups or multiple approvers with required approvals less than the total (e.g. 1 required from a 3-person group) so someone else can approve.

What happens if I change an approval policy while a workflow is in progress? The workflow continues using the original policy. Changes only affect new workflows.

Can I cancel an in-progress approval workflow? Administrators can cancel workflows if needed. Authors typically can't cancel once submitted—contact your site administrator.

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