Out of Office and Delegation
When team members take time off -- vacation, conferences, sick days -- SOPHIE makes sure their responsibilities do not stall. The out-of-office feature lets you set your availability and optionally delegate your duties to a teammate.
Setting your out-of-office status
You can set your out-of-office status from Settings > Availability or from the Team management view.
- Start date -- When your absence begins.
- End date -- When you will be back. SOPHIE automatically clears your out-of-office status when this date passes.
- Delegate (optional) -- Choose a team member who will handle your responsibilities while you are away.
Once saved, your profile shows an out-of-office indicator. Teammates who hover over your name or profile picture anywhere in SOPHIE -- on a SOP, in a comment, on the team list -- will see that you are currently out of the office along with your return date.
How out-of-office affects your practice
When you are marked as out of office, several things happen automatically:
- Approval routing changes. SOP approvals that would normally come to you are rerouted. If you have set a delegate, they receive the approvals. If not, SOPHIE escalates up your management chain based on role hierarchy and approval priority settings.
- Task visibility. Tasks assigned to you become visible to your delegate so nothing falls through the cracks while you are away.
- Notifications. Your delegate receives notifications for items that would normally go to you, so they have the context they need to act.
How the out-of-office indicator works
When you are marked as out of office, an indicator appears on your profile throughout SOPHIE. Anywhere your name or avatar appears -- on a SOP you authored, in a comment thread, on the team management page -- teammates can hover over it to see that you are out and when you are expected back. This prevents confusion when someone tries to loop you into a discussion or wonders why their approval is taking longer than usual.
Delegation
Delegation is the formal handoff of your approval authority and task visibility to another team member for a specific period of time.
Who can delegate
Users in management roles that have delegation permissions enabled can set up delegation. The delegate must have appropriate permissions to handle the delegated responsibilities -- SOPHIE will not let you delegate approvals to someone who does not have approval rights.
What gets delegated
| Responsibility | What your delegate receives |
|---|---|
| SOP approvals | Approval requests that would normally come to you are routed to your delegate. They can approve or reject on your behalf. |
| Task assignments | Tasks assigned to you become visible to your delegate so they can track and act on them. |
| Notifications | Your delegate receives the notifications you would normally get for delegated items. |
Automatic revert
When your end date passes, all responsibilities automatically revert to you. No manual action is needed from you or your delegate. SOPHIE handles the transition in both directions.
Approval escalation
In some cases, both a reviewer and their delegate may be unavailable at the same time. When this happens, SOPHIE escalates the approval up the management chain. It looks at role hierarchy and approval priority settings to find the next available person who can review the SOP. This ensures approvals keep moving even during busy vacation periods.
Practical tips
- Set your out-of-office before you leave. Do not wait until the day of -- set it a day early so approvals start routing correctly from the start.
- Choose your delegate carefully. Pick someone who understands your department's SOPs and has the authority to approve or reject them.
- Communicate with your delegate. Let them know what is pending so they are not surprised by notifications landing in their Inbox.
- Check in when you return. Review what happened while you were away, especially any SOPs that were approved or rejected on your behalf.