Inbox
Every headcount approval in one queue, decided on the record
Position requests, recruiting starts and other workflow steps route to the Inbox for sign-off. You see what is waiting on you and what is headed your way, and you decide with a comment that stays on the position.
The Kinnect Inbox, rebuilt from the Atlune AI demo tenant: an Awaiting your action card with request type, seat, cost center, requester and View, Deny and Approve buttons, above the read-only Upcoming for you preview
Definition
What is a headcount approval workflow?
A headcount approval workflow is the sequence of sign-offs a new or backfilled position needs before recruiting starts, usually the requesting manager, then the budget owner of the cost center. In Kinnect the request, the approvals and the comments live on one record, in one queue.
- The number is in front of the approverEach request shows the seat, the cost center, the planned headcount and the annualized cost before anyone decides.
- Approvers come from ownershipManager from the org chart, budget owner from the cost center. A reorg moves the chain without editing a workflow.
- Every decision leaves a commentApprove and Deny each require one, recorded in the audit trail and the position History.
The Awaiting your action card for a position request awaiting Budget Owner Approval, with the Upcoming for you preview marked Waiting on Manager Approval beneath it
Reading the queue
What waits on you, and what is headed your way
Two lists, and a queue that can be shared across roles without anyone approving something that was never theirs to approve.
- Awaiting your actionRequests where you are the current approver, oldest first, with a 48-hour SLA note and how long each has waited.
- Upcoming for youA read-only preview of requests still on an earlier step, marked with what they wait on, so a budget owner can plan the week.
- Only what is yours to decideApprove and Deny appear only on items you can action. Filter by request type, or to only the tasks you can act on.
The Filters popover over the queue: per-request-type checkboxes and the Only tasks I can act on option
The decision
Approve or deny, with a comment that stays on the record
For HR it is the answer to an auditor; for Finance, the answer to who signed off on this cost and why. The comment shows later in the position's History, next to who requested the seat and when recruiting started.
- Approve, with the change in viewThe confirmation shows the seat, the cost center, the requester and the annualized cost, and will not submit without a comment.
- Deny, with the reason in writingThe same modal, the same required comment. The requester reads why in the position History instead of a silence that turns into a ghost req.
- In Slack or the InboxApprovals are delivered in Slack too. Decide there, in the Inbox or from the Dashboard Approvals card; the same comment is recorded.
The Approve confirmation: the proposed position, cost center, requester and annualized cost, with the required comment field and Cancel and Approve buttons
Position lifecycle
The approval chain, manager to budget owner
Approval chains are role-driven. A position request routes manager, then budget owner, and the Inbox is where both steps happen.
Owned by
Hiring manager
Request
PendingA manager proposes a position against a cost center. The form shows planned headcount and warns at plan and over plan without blocking submission.
Build an approval workflow Finance trustsOwned by
Manager
Manager approval
PendingThe request lands in the requester's manager's Inbox under Awaiting your action. The budget owner already sees it under Upcoming for you.
Governance vs planning: the differenceOwned by
Budget owner
Budget owner approval
PendingThe cost center's budget owner approves or denies with a comment. The role comes from cost-center ownership, so nobody edits a workflow after a reorg.
The Finance leader's governance playbookOwned by
HR and HRIS
Open
OpenThe PR-###### request becomes a POS-###### position. Its cost counts in Workforce Cost and on the Finance page, and the full decision sits in History.
The real cost of ghost reqs
A denied request stops at that step with the comment attached. The requester sees the reason in the position History and can raise a new request against the plan. How to track headcount plan vs actual
See it live
See an approval, request to History, in the Inbox
Tell us who signs off a headcount request today. We will route one manager to budget owner on demo data and show the record it leaves.
- Thirty minutes
- Demo data, shaped by your requirements
- No obligation
A Kinnect position request at the approval step, with the approver's required comment recorded against the decision
Why one queue
The approval is the moment the forecast changes
The queue the approver decides in is the one the Finance page and the Hiring Tracker read from. One queue, one record, one number.
Finance
The approval is the forecast change
The Finance page and the Hiring Tracker read the same queue, so an approved seat moves the number the moment it is approved, not at quarter close.
See the Finance pageHR
The audit trail writes itself
Who asked, who approved, with what comment, and when recruiting started, on every position, without anyone remembering to write it down.
See History in the Hiring TrackerGovernance
Applied where it is cheapest
Before the requisition exists, before the recruiter starts, before the budget is spent. Email threads and an Approved? column leave no record and no cost.
See headcount governance
Questions about headcount approvals and the Inbox
What is a headcount approval workflow?
A headcount approval workflow is the sequence of sign-offs a new or backfilled position needs before recruiting starts, usually the requesting manager, then the budget owner of the cost center. In Kinnect the request, the approvals and the comments live on one record, so the decision and the seat never separate.
Who approves a headcount request?
A position request typically routes to the requester's manager, then the cost center's budget owner. Both roles are derived from org and cost-center ownership, so the chain updates with a reorg without editing a workflow.
What arrives in the Inbox?
Every approval that needs you: position requests, recruiting starts and other workflow steps. Awaiting your action lists the items where you are the current approver; Upcoming for you previews items still waiting on an earlier step.
Is a comment required to approve or deny?
Yes, on both. The confirmation modal shows the proposed change and will not submit without a comment. The comment is recorded in the request audit trail and shows in the position History tab.
Can approvals happen in Slack?
Yes. Connect Slack under Settings > Integrations and approvals are delivered in Slack. An approver can decide there or in the Inbox, and either way the same required comment is recorded on the request.
Can I see requests before they reach me?
Yes. Upcoming for you is a read-only preview of requests still waiting on an earlier step, marked with what they wait on, such as Waiting on Budget Owner Approval.
Can I filter the queue?
Free-text search plus a Filters popover with a checkbox per request type and an Only tasks I can act on option. Approve and Deny buttons only appear on items you can action; everything else is view-only.
What happens when a request is denied?
A denied request stops at that step with the comment attached. The requester sees the reason in the position History and can raise a new request against the plan.
Does the approval chain come from our HRIS?
Approvers are derived from the supervisory organizations and cost centers Kinnect ingests from your HRIS, whether that is Workday, Oracle HCM Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro, ADP or Dayforce. Budget owners per cost center are set once in Settings > Finance.
See an approval, start to History.
Walk through a position request, the two-step Inbox chain and the History it leaves on demo data, shaped by the requirements you bring.