Requesting training and getting it approved

Training that commits budget, or that is not in the catalogue, is requested in Illizeo: the employee files a request, their manager forwards it to HR, and HR approves or declines it. This article describes the circuit for all three people involved: the employee who asks, the manager who gives an opinion and the HR team who decides. Everything happens in Training › Training requests.

Before you start #

• The Training module must be enabled for your organisation.
• The Training requests permission (FORMATION section, DEMANDES heading of the role matrix) sets what each person can do:
  • Access: view your own requests;
  • Execute: file, withdraw and resubmit your requests, and decide on those of your direct reports;
  • Admin: the HR queue (approve, decline, ask for details at the HR stage) and budget envelopes.
• The manager who receives a request is the line manager shown on the requester’s employee record when the request is filed.

How a request flows #

1. Filing. The employee describes the training, its estimated cost and their motivation, then submits the request.
2. Manager. The request reaches their manager, who forwards it to HR, declines it or asks for details. If the employee has no manager on their record, the request goes straight to HR.
3. HR. HR adjust the agreed cost if needed, then approve or decline the request, or ask for details.
4. Decision. The employee is told the decision and, if it is declined, the reason.

The circuit is the same whatever the amount requested. At every stage, the request can go back to its author for more information; it then returns to the person who sent it back.

Filing a request #

Open Training › Training requests, My requests tab, then click New request. You also reach this page through the Request this course button on a course page, or the Submit a request link in My certifications. A card in the “Suggested for your role” section opens the form directly, already filled in.

The “Request a training” form has three steps:

1. The training: “Which training?” (it does not have to be in the catalogue: describe what you are aiming for), “Provider (if known)” and “Duration”. Click Continue.
2. When & how much: “Estimated cost (€)” (an estimate is enough, HR will adjust it from the quote), “Preferred period” and “Urgency” (Low, Normal, High). If you have an envelope, the form shows what will remain or warns that the request exceeds it: you can still submit it, and your manager will decide.
3. Your motivation: explain how this training will help you in your role, in at least 20 characters; your manager decides on this text. You can link the request to one of your annual objectives with “Link to an objective (optional)”, or describe the target objective in free text.

Click Submit: the request goes to your manager, who is notified.

Following your requests #

The My requests tab shows your training budget for the year (“My training budget”: available, spent, committed), if an envelope applies to you, then each request with a timeline of its progress and a sentence saying where it stands (“With … for 4 days”, “Approved by your manager, awaiting HR for 2 days”).

• Withdraw my request cancels a request as long as no decision has been made.
• A request waiting for over 15 days shows “feel free to follow up”.
• Information requested: the “What is missing before a decision” box shows the approver’s message. Give them what they asked for, then click Resubmit my request: the request goes back to the person who returned it, and the time you took does not count against their decision time. The request itself cannot be edited: if the extra information changes it (cost, provider), withdraw it and file a new one.

Deciding as a manager #

The To approve tab appears if you have direct reports or a request waiting for you. It shows your team’s budget, the number of requests “To decide”, those that are overdue (over 15 days) and the approval rate over the last 12 months. Each request shows the requester, their job, the cost, the motivation, any linked objective and “Over budget” if the cost exceeds the available envelope.

• Forward to HR: you agree, and the request moves to HR.
• Ask for details: write what is missing (at least 10 characters), then click Send back to requester.
• Decline: choose a “Reason for declining” (Insufficient budget, Not a priority this year, No session available, Missing prerequisite, Duplicate request, Other reason), preferably add a message to the requester, then click Confirm decline. The reason is mandatory.

Deciding as HR #

The HR queue tab lists requests forwarded by managers and those from employees with no manager. The banner shows the overall budget for the year and what is already committed. For each request:

• adjust the Agreed cost if needed, for example from the quote;
• Approve and add to plan: the request becomes “Approved” with the agreed cost; if a training plan is open for the current year and not locked, the request is added to it;
• Ask for details or Decline, as for managers.

Budget envelopes #

Envelopes are set in Settings › Training › Requests & approvals, Budget envelopes section (Training requests permission at the Admin level). For the current year:

1. choose the Scope: an Employee or a Team (a department);
2. enter the Envelope (€) amount;
3. click Save.

The table shows, for each envelope, the amount committed and spent, and what is available. An individual envelope takes precedence over the team’s. Delete envelope deletes no request. Until an envelope exists, every request shows as “Over budget” to managers.

Emails and reminders #

• The approver (the manager, then HR) is notified when a request reaches them: when it is filed, when it is forwarded to HR and when the requester resubmits after a request for details. Reminders follow while the request stays at the same stage.
• The requester is told the final decision, with the reason if it is declined.
• A request for details does not email the requester: it shows in My requests.
• The channels (email, in-app notification) and recipients of these notices are set alongside the module’s other reminders: see Administering the Training module.

Good to know #

• Only the requester can withdraw a request; a manager or HR who want to close it decline it with a reason.
• A draft stays in your list but cannot be submitted later: to submit it, file a new request and withdraw the draft.
• A manager who files a request for themselves sees it go to their own line manager.

FAQ #

My manager cannot see my request. #

The request goes to the line manager shown on your record when you filed it. If your record has none, it went straight to HR. Check the status shown in My requests.

Can I change a request I have already submitted? #

No. Withdraw it with Withdraw my request while no decision has been made, then file a new one.