Introduction

Recruitment often involves multiple stages, and some applicants may require an additional review before they can progress further in the hiring process. When recruitment decisions involve hiring managers, department heads, HR teams, or other stakeholders, having a defined approval process helps ensure that everyone follows the same process and that important hiring decisions do not move forward without the required review.

uKnowva HRMS allows you to set up this approval process within the Recruitment Engine so that recruiters can send relevant applicants for approval directly from the recruitment workflow. The approver can review the applicant and take the required action, while the recruitment team can track the progress of the approval request from the applicant record.

This article explains how to configure the applicant approval process in the Recruitment Engine and how to use it from the My Applicants section. It covers the complete process, from setting up the required workflow mapping to sending an applicant for approval, tracking the request, and taking action as an approver.

Step 1: Open the Recruitment Engine Configuration

From the top-right corner of your uKnowva HRMS instance, click your profile photo to open the list of available options.

From the options, select uKnowva Configuration. 

The configuration page will open with different configuration menus available on the left side.

From the left-side menus, select Apps Manager. 

The Apps Manager will display the applications available in your uKnowva HRMS instance.

Locate the Recruitment Engine from the available applications. You can either find it manually in the list or use the search bar to locate it quickly. 

Once you find the Recruitment Engine, click it to open its configuration settings.

Step 2: Configure Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping

Within the Recruitment Engine configuration, locate the Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping setting.

This setting allows you to configure one or more mappings between an applicant status and an approval workflow. 

Each mapping determines when the Send for Approval option becomes available to a recruiter, which workflow the system should initiate, and which applicant status should be applied depending on the approval outcome.

The mapping contains four fields: Initiate Approval Workflow Status, Initiate Workflow, After Approval Applicant Status, and Rejected Workflow Status. Configure each field according to the approval process you want to implement.

Configure the Initiate Approval Workflow Status

In Initiate Approval Workflow Status, select the applicant status for which you want to enable the approval process.

For example, if you select New, the Send for Approval button will be available for applicants whose current status is New.

This allows the recruiter to initiate the configured approval workflow when the applicant reaches that particular stage.

Configure the Initiate Workflow

In Initiate Workflow, select the workflow that the system should open when the recruiter sends the applicant for approval.

The selected workflow determines the approval process that the applicant request will follow. Make sure you select the workflow that contains the appropriate approval configuration for the recruitment process.

Configure the After Approval Applicant Status

In After Approval Applicant Status, select the applicant status that should be assigned after the approver approves the request.

For example, if the applicant currently has the New status and the approval process is intended to move approved applicants to Screened, you can configure Screened as the After Approval Applicant Status.

Once the approver approves the request, the applicant can then move to the configured status.

Configure the Rejected Workflow Status

In Rejected Workflow Status, select the status that should be used when the approver rejects the approval request.

This helps maintain a defined recruitment flow for rejected requests. For example, you can configure a status that indicates the applicant requires further review or should not proceed to the next recruitment stage.

Together, these four settings define the complete mapping for an applicant approval request. 

Step 3: Add Additional Workflow Mappings

You can configure multiple applicant approval mappings when your recruitment process requires different approval workflows for different applicant statuses.

To add another mapping, click the + icon available in the Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping section. 

A new row will appear where you can configure another Initiate Approval Workflow Status, Initiate Workflow, After Approval Applicant Status, and Rejected Workflow Status.

For example, you may configure applicants with the Shortlisted status to go through an approval workflow before they are moved to the Interview stage. This allows the required approver to review the shortlisted applicants before the recruitment team proceeds with scheduling or conducting interviews. 

If you no longer need a particular mapping, click the bin icon under the relevant row to remove it.

Step 4: Save the Applicant Approval Workflow Configuration

After configuring the required workflow mappings, review each row to ensure that the applicant status, workflow, approval outcome status, and rejection status are mapped correctly.

Once you have completed the configuration, click the Save button to save the Recruitment Engine settings.

The configured approval mapping will now be available for applicants whose status matches the Initiate Approval Workflow Status defined in the configuration.

Step 5: Open My Applicants

Now that the workflow mapping is configured, you can see how the approval process works from the recruitment side.

From the side navigation panel, click Recruitment and select the My Applicants sub-menu.

The My Applicants page will open and display the applicants available to you. Locate an applicant whose current status matches the status configured in the Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping.

For example, if you configured New as the Initiate Approval Workflow Status, locate an applicant whose current status is New.

Step 6: Send an Applicant for Approval

After locating the applicant with the configured status, you will see the Send for Approval button for that applicant.

Click Send for Approval to initiate the configured approval workflow.

A pop-up window will appear where you need to select the Approver. Select the appropriate person who should review the applicant's approval request.

After selecting the approver, click Submit to send the request.

The approval request will now be submitted to the selected approver through the configured workflow.

Step 7: View the Approval Request from My Applicants

After sending the applicant for approval, you can track the request directly from the My Applicants page.

Click View Request to open the approval request and check its current status.

You can also click the View icon available under the action column or the applicant's name to open the applicant's detailed profile. 

From the applicant profile, you can click the View Request button to view the associated approval request and its status.

This allows recruiters to check whether the request is still awaiting action or whether the approver has already taken action on it.

Step 8: Review the Approval Request as an Approver

The selected approver can receive the approval request through the notification available in the uKnowva HRMS instance, through email if email notifications are configured, or by directly accessing the All Approvals menu.

The approver can open the request and review the applicant information before making a decision. The approval request provides access to the relevant applicant details, including the applicant's CV, so the approver can review the candidate before taking action.

After reviewing the request, the approver can choose the appropriate action, such as Approve, Reject, or Delegate, depending on the configured workflow and the required recruitment process.

When the approver approves or rejects the request, the system follows the corresponding status mapping configured under Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping. 

This helps ensure that the applicant moves through the recruitment process according to the defined approval rules.

Conclusion

That’s it! 

You’ve now successfully configured and used Applicant Approval Workflow Mapping in the Recruitment Engine in uKnowva HRMS. 

By following this process, you can ensure that applicants are reviewed and approved at the required stage before progressing further in the recruitment process.

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