Can you fix an approval process that keeps work stuck?
Yes, starting by distinguishing necessary judgment from habitual permission-seeking. A slow approval can reflect missing information, unclear authority, conflicting incentives, or a genuinely consequential decision. Those causes require different fixes.
What a solution might involve
Follow recent items through the process and measure where they waited. Define decision rights, required evidence, escalation, and exceptions. Remove redundant handoffs before automating reminders. A small tool may help, but the authority model must make sense first.
What needs care
Making approvals faster is not useful if accountability disappears. Thresholds should reflect risk, not convenience, and an absent approver needs an agreed substitute. A reminder system alone will not resolve a disagreement about who is allowed to decide.
How we would judge whether it works
Routine work has a clear owner and a predictable route. Exceptions reach someone with authority, decision history is recoverable, and cycle-time measures distinguish active work from waiting. Important safeguards remain visible rather than being bypassed informally.
Likely engagement
Embedded Problem Solver: $5,000 to $20,000+ / month. This is a likely starting tier, not a quote. Scope, access, dependencies, and responsibility for operation need agreement first.
Discuss Embedded Problem SolverWhat to send first
Show several recent delayed decisions, the people involved, and what information was missing when each reached the approver.
Experience and scope
Selected builds documents the currently authorized public proof. This page describes a proposed approach, not a claim of a completed client engagement in this exact workflow.
Related problems
- Can you stop requests bouncing between departments?
- Can we automate a workflow but keep a person in control?
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