Slow approval creates workarounds
When approval takes three days and the job is urgent, someone uses their own card, or asks a friendly colleague to do it, or proceeds and asks afterwards. The control has not worked, and now there is no record either.
Approval processes are only as strong as their speed. A fast process is followed; a slow one is routed around.
Approve less
The most effective change in most approval processes is removing approval from the bottom 60% of requests. Pre-approved categories and thresholds mean the approvals that remain are worth someone's attention.
- Value thresholds below which no approval is needed
- Pre-approved suppliers and categories for routine purchases
- Standing approval for recurring commitments
- Post-hoc reporting rather than pre-approval for low-value spend
Make the remaining approvals fast
- Route automatically by value, category and department — no manual forwarding
- Mobile, because approvers are rarely at a desk when it matters
- Everything needed in the request, so the approver does not have to ask questions
- Escalate automatically after a defined period rather than waiting
- Delegate during absence, set in advance rather than arranged in a panic
Give the approver context
An approval request that says only “£3,400 to Acme Ltd” requires the approver to investigate before deciding, which is where the delay comes from.
Include what it is for, the budget position, whether it is within plan, and who requested it. The decision then takes seconds rather than being deferred until there is time.
Escalation is what makes it reliable
Any request sitting for more than a defined period should escalate automatically — to a deputy, then to the next level. Not as a threat, but so that absence never stops work.
This single feature removes most of the frustration that makes people bypass the process.
Record the ones you removed
When you remove approval from a category, report on that spend instead. Visibility after the fact preserves the control while removing the friction, and it lets you tighten again if the pattern changes.