Task Lists, Approvals, and Action Flows — Streamlining Employee Service Requests

Stop Building Workflows from Scratch — Use Task Lists and Action Flows for Employee Services

The Pattern Problem

Most employee service requests follow predictable patterns. New hire onboarding, hardware asset assignment, access provisioning—these are repeatable processes that can be standardized. Yet many organizations still handle each request from scratch, leading to inconsistency, delays, and unnecessary manual effort.

The Solution: Predefined Workflow Components

Modern service management platforms provide tools to streamline employee service requests through three key components:

1. Task Lists

Task lists define the predictable, repeatable steps required for common service requests .

Examples:

• New hire onboarding: Equipment setup, account creation, access provisioning, training scheduling
• Hardware assignment: Asset selection, configuration, shipping, user setup
• Access requests: Approval gathering, provisioning, confirmation

Benefits:

• No one forgets a step
• Consistent process every time
• Easy to track progress
• Easy to identify bottlenecks

2. Approval Requests

Approval requests get manager or department approval without leaving the ticketing system .

Examples:

• Hardware requests: Manager approval before equipment purchase
• Budget requests: Finance approval before expense processing
• Access requests: Security or manager approval before granting access

Benefits:

• Approvers notified automatically
• Approval history captured
• No separate email chains
• Faster approval cycles

3. Action Flows

Action flows automate updates in external systems .

Examples:

• HR systems: Update employee records when onboarding completes
• Asset management: Record hardware assignment
• Messaging platforms: Notify requestor when work is complete

Benefits:

• No manual data entry across systems
• Consistent data across platforms
• Reduced risk of errors
• End-to-end automation

How They Work Together

When an employee submits a new hire onboarding request :

1. Task list defines the steps: create account, assign equipment, provision access, schedule training
2. Approval request routes to HR manager for approval
3. Action flows create the account in HR systems, assign equipment in asset management, send notifications

The Automation Hierarchy

Benefits

Playbooks: The Next Evolution

Atlassian has introduced Playbooks as a feature that combines task lists, approvals, and action flows into a single, guided experience. Each playbook can include :

• Instructional steps: Clear instructions for manual actions agents must take
• Automation steps: Tasks that are automatically executed by the system

This ensures that every agent follows the same process, which is especially useful for high-volume or critical requests. It also aligns perfectly with ITIL4's focus on standardization and automation to improve reliability and speed.

Conclusion: Stop Building from Scratch

Task lists, approvals, and action flows transform service request fulfillment from an ad-hoc process into a standardized, automated workflow. Organizations can stop building from scratch and start using predictable, repeatable patterns for common requests.

Action Items for Your Organization

• Identify your 5 most common service request types
• Document the steps for each
• Build task lists for these request types
• Set up approval workflows where needed
• Create action flows for external system updates
• Start with one request type, then expand