How to Incorporate Dynamics 365 HR Into Approval Workflows

The workflow process in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365FO) is still going strong after being a base part of Dynamics that harkens back to the days of Dynamics AX. Not much has changed about workflows, but one thing I’ve observed is that not too many people know how to design a workflow that will dynamically look up who a person reports to and assign an approval step to that person (boss, supervisor, manager, etc.).

Let’s review what workflows might require a manager’s approval as well as the associated steps required for the workflow to find a worker’s immediate manager to assign the workflow to.

Workflows Requiring Direct Manager Transaction Approval

One commonly asked question when implementing an approval workflow in D365FO is how to set the workflow to go to someone’s immediate manager for approval. This can make sense in many instances; for example, the following workflows can — and should — be designed to consider a person’s manager:

Of course, most of these examples lie within the realm of HR, but there are plenty of examples where approval may be needed from a direct supervisor or manager of the worker submitting the workflow. So, how do we manage the process of getting approvals from a workflow originator’s manager?

Assigning the Approver

When setting up a standard approval workflow in D365FO, there are several options for obtaining approvals. Within the workflow framework, there are the following options for who to assign the workflow to:

• Participant
• Hierarchy
• Worflow user
• User
• None

For assigning approvals to a person’s direct manager, we would use the Hierarchy option. This hierarchical structure is dependent on the positional hierarchy that is built out in the human resources module. The concept of the positional hierarchy is that positions report to other positions, so people can move in and out of those roles within a company and the positional structure still applies.

For example, a purchasing manager may have five purchasing agents that report to them. If the person in the purchasing manager role leaves the company or takes on a new role, the new person who is assigned to the purchasing manager role will acquire the reporting structure as well. This helps with positional continuity and removing the personal aspect of having to reassign people when someone moves on or into a new role.

To set up the Hierarchy option within the workflow to look for someone’s direct manager, the workflow hierarchy selection conditions must be set to the following:

• Hierarchy type: Managerial hierarchy
  
• Start from: Workflow originator (this is the person who submitted the workflow)
  

Next, a condition must be set to allow the workflow to find the workflow originator’s manager. The condition must be set as follows:

This condition will look at the workflow originator and their role within the positional hierarchy in the human resources module, then assign the workflow to the position that is one level up.

This can work with approval processes that look at the next level as well. To make this work, enter 2 instead of 1 within the condition.

The biggest issue with this type of approval is when someone at the top of the company hierarchy does not have a boss and needs to submit a workflow for approval. In this instance, it would be wise to add a separate condition for their position and the approval processes required for someone in that role, if any.

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