Request data shows where your company's processes are getting stuck. This article shows how to get the data and three metrics worth tracking every month.
Getting the data out
- Open the Requests module.
- Select the tab and filters you need: department, time period, or filter by request type group in the left column.
- Click Export file in the top right corner.
The left column lets you filter by each group — Time & Attendance, Shifts, Finance, HR, Management, Custom — and expand each group to select a specific request type.
Three metrics worth tracking
| Metric | How it's calculated | Warning when |
|---|---|---|
| Average processing time | From the submission date to the date of the final result | Exceeds two working days for routine requests |
| Rejection rate by request type | Number of rejected requests divided by total requests | Above 20% — usually a confusing form or a policy that hasn't been communicated |
| Requests pending over 3 days | Count of requests in pending status for more than 3 days | Greater than 0 — an approver is a bottleneck |
The most important metric is the number of pending requests. A request pending for five days doesn't just annoy one person — it teaches the whole company that submitting requests in the system is pointless, and people go back to sending private messages.
Four questions the report can answer
- Which request type is most common? If one type makes up the majority, consider enabling Auto-approve or reducing the approval levels for that type.
- Which approver is slowest? They may be overloaded, or the flow may assign them to too many steps.
- Which department submits an unusually high number of requests? Worth investigating the root cause.
- When are leave requests concentrated? This data helps with shift scheduling and workforce planning for peak seasons.
Recommended review cadence
| Frequency | Task |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Review pending requests, nudge approvers who are stuck |
| Monthly | Export data, calculate the three metrics above, look at trends |
| Quarterly | Review the approval flows of the most common request types; cut unnecessary approval levels |
| Annually | Review all enabled request types, disable those no longer in use |
The AI Intelligence item in the left column of the Requests module currently cannot be opened on the QA build — clicking it does not navigate anywhere. We have reported this to the engineering team and will add instructions once this screen is working.
