5 approval bottlenecks killing your team's speed (and how to fix them)

Why Approvals Kill Momentum

Every business runs on approvals: leave requests, purchase orders, quote sign-offs, budget approvals. And every approval that sits in someone's inbox for 3 days is 3 days of lost momentum.

The worst part? The approver usually doesn't even know it's urgent. They see an email, think "I'll do it later," and later never comes until someone chases them in person.

The 5 Bottlenecks

1. No clear owner. The request goes to a group email or channel. Everyone assumes someone else will handle it.

2. No time pressure. Without a deadline or SLA, approvals sit forever. There's no consequence for delay.

3. No escalation path. If the approver is on leave or simply busy, the request just… waits.

4. No visibility. The requester has no idea where their approval stands. They wait, then eventually send a "gentle reminder" email that annoys everyone.

5. No audit trail. When something goes wrong, nobody can trace who approved what, when, or why.

The Fix: SLA + Escalation + Visibility

OONH's approval engine attaches an SLA timer to every request. After the SLA expires: remind → reassign → notify manager → alert leadership. The requester sees real-time status. Every action is logged. The approval either happens on time or someone senior knows why it didn't.