Headcount requests at a construction group crawled through email for three weeks before anyone could post a role. We automated the requisition chain — budget checks, ordered sign-offs, full audit log — and approved roles now go live within 24 hours.
Typical results
100%
Sign-offs logged
120
Requisitions yearly
0
Lost requests
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Around 120 requisitions a year moved as email threads between site managers, finance and division heads. Each one averaged 21 days and nine chase emails to clear; a third stalled or vanished and had to be resubmitted. Meanwhile projects sat understaffed, and nobody could prove afterwards who had approved which hire.
Before and after
Requisition to posting
−95%Requisitions needing resubmission
−100%Chase emails per requisition
−100%The automation
We replaced the email threads with a structured requisition form feeding a Make approval router. Every request is validated against the headcount plan and budget first, then routed through the right chain — finance, division head, CEO for exceptions — as one-tap approvals with automatic reminders. Each decision is timestamped into an audit trail, and the moment the last sign-off lands, the role opens in the ATS with its JD template attached.
How it works
- 01
Manager submits
A hiring manager fills a short requisition form: role, site, salary range and start date.
- 02
Budget checked
The scenario validates the request against the headcount plan and flags anything over budget before routing.
- 03
Chain routed
Approvers get one-tap links in order — finance, division head, CEO where needed — with automatic reminders.
- 04
Every sign-off logged
Each decision is timestamped into an audit trail nobody has to reconstruct later.
- 05
Role goes live
Final approval opens the role in the ATS with the right JD template attached and the manager notified.
Starts from
- Requisition form
- Budget data
Delivers
- Logged sign-offs
- Role opened in ATS
- Status updates
The impact
Requisition-to-posting time collapsed from 21 days to under 24 hours, and resubmissions dropped from a third of requests to zero. Chase emails — nine per requisition — are gone, every sign-off is logged automatically, and site managers see live status instead of asking HR where their request went.
Questions about this automation
How is the approval chain decided for each requisition?
Routing rules use the role, site, salary range and whether the request fits the headcount plan. A standard request goes to finance and the division head, while anything over budget or outside the plan adds the CEO. Approvers sign off in order through one-tap links, with automatic reminders when a step waits too long.
What happens when a request exceeds the budget?
The automation compares each requisition with the headcount plan and budget data before routing. Over-budget requests are flagged with the gap shown, then sent along the extended approval chain. An approver can decline with a reason, and the hiring manager is notified and can resubmit an adjusted request.
How does an approved role get posted?
When the last sign-off lands, the automation opens the role in the ATS with the matching job description template and notifies the hiring manager. Every decision is stored with a timestamp in an audit trail. A multi-step build like this is usually rolled out in stages, starting with the form and approval routing.