Location Admin Training 5: Choose Who Approves Whose Leave With Departments (Google Workspace)

A Department is an approval group. When someone requests leave, the request goes to the Approver(s) of their Department.

Decide First

• Which groups? Build Departments around who approves whose leave. They don't need to match your org chart.
• One level or several? With Single-level approval, one Approver signs off. With Multi-level, approvals happen in sequence. Multi-level is on the Complete plan only.
• Should pending requests expire? If not kept open, requests expire after 7 working days or on the leave end date, whichever comes first.

Create a Department

1. In the left-hand menu, under Team & Approval Flows, click Departments, then Create New Department.
2. Enter a Name and, optionally, add Users.
3. Under Approval Flow, choose the Approval Flow Type and add one or more Approver(s).
4. Set Keep future pending requests open? to Yes or No.
5. Click Create Department.

Change a Department

On the Departments page, click the three-dot menu on a Department and choose Edit Department. You can also View Department or Delete it.

Check It Worked

Every Department shows at least one Approver, and each user's profile shows the right names under Approvers.

Common Questions