> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Promotion Workflows

> Learn how to assign promotion requirements to your team, track progress, and approve completions using SkillsDB promotion workflows.

<Info>
  **Quick Summary:** Promotion workflows let you assign structured career advancement checklists to your direct reports, track their progress in real time, and approve or reject completion requests when they're done.
</Info>

# Overview

A promotion workflow is a structured checklist of requirements an employee must complete to demonstrate readiness for career advancement. Your organization's administrators create and publish these workflow templates. As a manager, you assign them to your direct reports, monitor their progress, and approve completions.

Each promotion workflow is made up of one or more content blocks — which may include written requirements, reference links, attachments, and individual tasks the employee must check off. Employees work through the workflow at their own pace. When they've finished all tasks, they submit the workflow for your review. You then approve or reject the submission.

Promotion workflows give your team a transparent, auditable record of what advancement criteria exist and whether an employee has met them. This helps standardize how promotion decisions are made across your organization and gives employees a clear picture of what is expected of them.

Managers can assign workflows to team members, monitor their progress, and approve or reject completion requests. Administrators configure the workflow templates and can scope them to specific departments, teams, or sites.

<Info>
  **Note:** Only administrators can create, edit, and publish promotion workflow templates. If no templates are available to assign, contact your SkillsDB administrator.
</Info>

***

## Prerequisites

Before working with promotion workflows, make sure:

* **Permission level**: Manager role or higher in SkillsDB
* **Template availability**: At least one promotion workflow template has been published by an administrator
* **Team access**: You have direct reports assigned under your account in SkillsDB

***

# Understanding Promotion Workflow Statuses

When a promotion workflow is assigned to a team member, it moves through four statuses:

| Status                 | What it means                                                      |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **To Do**              | Workflow has been assigned; the employee has not yet started       |
| **In Progress**        | The employee has begun completing tasks                            |
| **Approval Requested** | The employee has completed all tasks and submitted for your review |
| **Complete**           | You have approved the submission; the workflow is closed           |

<Warning>
  **Note:** Some promotion workflows are configured to require both manager approval and administrator approval before reaching Complete status. In those cases, your approval advances the workflow to a pending admin review state.
</Warning>

***

### Assigning a promotion workflow to a team member

Assign a promotion workflow when a team member is ready to begin working toward a specific promotion or advancement milestone.

1. Select **People** from the **Team** section in the left sidebar.
2. Select the team member's name to open their profile.
3. Select the **Qualifications** tab.
4. Locate the workflow you want to assign in the list.
5. Select **Assign** next to that workflow.

When you assign a workflow, the system assigns the current published version of that template to the employee. The status is set to **To Do** and the employee can immediately begin working through the requirements.

You can assign multiple promotion workflows to the same employee simultaneously. This is useful when a team member is pursuing advancement across more than one competency area.

***

### Removing a promotion workflow assignment

To remove a promotion workflow from a team member:

1. Navigate to the team member's profile and select the **Qualifications** tab.
2. Locate the assigned workflow.
3. Select **Unassign** next to the workflow.

<Warning>
  **Warning:** Unassigning a promotion workflow permanently removes the employee's progress record for that workflow, including all completed tasks. This action cannot be undone.
</Warning>

***

### Reviewing and approving a completion request

When an employee completes all tasks in their promotion workflow, they submit it for your review. The workflow status changes to **Approval Requested** and a notification appears in your **Inbox**.

To review and act on a completion request:

1. Select **Inbox** from the left sidebar to view pending approval requests.
2. Select the relevant notification to open the workflow detail view.
3. Review the completed tasks and any attached documentation the employee has provided.
4. Select **Approve** to accept the completion, or **Reject** to return it to the employee.

**When you approve:**

* The workflow status changes to **Complete**.
* A completion record is saved with the approval date and approving manager's name.
* The employee receives a notification confirming the approval.

**When you reject:**

* The workflow status returns to **In Progress**.
* The employee receives a notification that the request was rejected.
* The employee's previously completed tasks remain checked and they can continue working or make corrections before resubmitting.

<Info>
  **Note:** You can also navigate directly to the employee's profile and select the **Qualifications** tab to access a pending approval request, without going through the Inbox.
</Info>

***

### Advanced options

**Workflow versions**

Promotion workflow templates are versioned by administrators. When a template is updated, existing employee assignments are not automatically changed — employees continue working on the version they were originally assigned. New assignments always receive the latest published version.

If a team member is working on a significantly outdated version of a workflow, you can unassign and reassign the workflow to update them to the current version. Doing so will clear their existing progress data.

**Org unit scoping**

Administrators can scope promotion workflows to specific departments, teams, sites, or other organizational units. If an expected workflow template does not appear when you go to assign it, confirm with your administrator that the workflow has been scoped to your team or department.

**Recurring workflows**

Some promotion workflows are configured to repeat on a schedule (for example, annually or after a set number of days from completion). When a recurring workflow is completed and approved, a new assignment is automatically created for the employee based on the configured schedule.

***

### Common Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What happens if the workflow template is updated after I assign it?">
    The employee continues working on the version of the template assigned to them. Template changes do not affect in-progress assignments. To move an employee to a newer version, unassign and reassign the workflow. This clears their existing progress.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I approve a workflow that is still In Progress?">
    No. The approval action is only available when the workflow status is **Approval Requested**. Employees must complete all tasks and explicitly submit for review before you can approve.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if an employee needs to restart after I reject their submission?">
    When you reject a submission, the status returns to **In Progress**. The employee's previously completed tasks remain checked. They can make corrections and resubmit when ready.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a team member see promotion workflow templates before they are assigned?">
    No. Employees can only view promotion workflows that have been explicitly assigned to them. They cannot browse or preview available templates.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between a promotion workflow and a certification?">
    Certifications track externally issued credentials (like licenses or vendor certificates) and require evidence uploads. Promotion workflows are internally defined checklists of requirements your organization creates to assess promotion readiness. Both have an approval process, but they serve different purposes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I see all of my team's promotion workflows in one place?">
    Yes. The team-level qualifications view shows all promotion workflow assignments across your direct reports in a single list. You can filter by status, workflow name, or team member.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

### Related Articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Viewing Your Team" icon="link" href="/manager-guide/viewing-your-team">
    Navigate your team's profiles and data in SkillsDB
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manager Assessments" icon="link" href="/manager-guide/manager-assessments">
    Conduct structured skill assessments for your direct reports
  </Card>

  <Card title="Certification Tracking" icon="link" href="/manager-guide/certification-tracking">
    Track and approve certification submissions for your team
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

### Need More Help?

If you need additional assistance:

* [Contact support](https://skillsdb.com/support) at [support@skillsdb.com](mailto:support@skillsdb.com)
* Use the in-app help chat
* Schedule a training session with your account manager