An e-commerce company was losing strong candidates while offers crawled through a six-day approval chain. We built a routing flow that attaches compensation context automatically and lets approvers act from one tap — cutting approval time to eight hours.
Typical results
94%
Approvals on first pass
0
Off-band offers slipped through
4 hrs
Escalation on silence
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Every offer needed sign-off from the hiring manager, finance, and HR, and each round trip lived in a different email thread. Approvers lacked band data, so they asked questions instead of deciding. The average offer took six days to clear — and in one quarter, five candidates accepted elsewhere while they waited.
Before and after
Offer approval time
−94%Candidates lost during approval per quarter
−80%The automation
We connected the ATS to a Make approval workflow. When a recruiter proposes an offer, the scenario pulls the role's salary band, internal parity data, and market benchmarks, then routes the package to each approver in sequence. Every approver gets a one-tap approve-or-flag link with the full context attached; silence triggers reminders and escalation after four hours. Cleared offers flow straight into letter generation and e-signature.
How it works
- 01
Offer proposed
The recruiter submits the proposed package straight from the candidate's ATS record.
- 02
Context attached
The scenario pulls the role's salary band, internal parity data and market benchmarks automatically.
- 03
Approvers pinged
Each approver gets a one-tap approve-or-flag link with the full context, routed in sequence.
- 04
Silence escalates
No response within four hours triggers a reminder, then escalation to the next approver up.
- 05
Letter generated
A cleared offer flows straight into letter generation and e-signature — no retyping.
Starts from
- Proposed offer from ATS
- Comp bands & benchmarks
Delivers
- One-tap approver links
- Reminders & escalations
- Offer letter generated
The impact
Median approval time falls from six days to eight hours, and 94% of offers clear on the first pass because approvers see the data they need up front. Candidates lost during approval drop from five a quarter to one, and off-band offers no longer slip through unnoticed.
Questions about this automation
What context do approvers see with each offer?
The automation attaches the role's salary band, internal parity data for similar roles and market benchmarks to the proposed package. Offers outside the band are highlighted. Each approver gets this summary with a one-tap approve or flag link, so they can decide without opening the ATS or asking for numbers.
Can the approval order change by role or offer size?
Yes. The routing rules decide who signs and in what order, for example hiring manager, then finance, then HR, with an extra approver for senior roles or offers above the band. A flagged offer goes back to the recruiter with the approver's comment, and the chain restarts after the change.
What happens if an approver does not respond?
After four hours without a response, the approver gets a reminder, and if they stay silent the request escalates to the next person up. Once the last approval is in, the offer flows into letter generation and e-signature without retyping. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, starting with the approval chain and reminders.