An original decision-support framework, built to help supervisors run schedule, pay, and remote-work requests through the same four checkpoints every time.
Before you approve or deny requests related to schedules, time, pay, or remote work, run this four-point check within the Decision Diamond framework: Pause & Confirm (Policy check), Consider Business Needs, Consistency & Fairness, and Documentation. This is meant to help you remember what to consider as you make your decisions on your employees' requests.
Select the question mark icons on each of the corners of the diamond below to review the four key points you need to consider before you decide to approve or deny a request from your team members.
When you have read all four checkpoints, select the Continue button to proceed to the next section.
Press Continue to begin
Check policy, HR guidance, organizational norms, and supervisor approvals before committing to a decision. If you're unsure, pause, verify, then act. Never overpromise.
Will there be enough staff for adequate coverage? If not, can you set a coverage plan? If so, do this before approving the request. Otherwise, deny the request if no coverage is available.
Would you make the same decision for other direct reports? Can you explain your reasoning to your supervisor or their boss?
Record the decision, the business rationale, dates and conditions, and a review date. Focus on business needs, not personal details.
Note: not all decisions need to be documented — but you do need to be able to clearly explain your actions. Get clarification from your supervisor on what's expected here.
Once you've set expectations, you must maintain and manage them. Doing this on a daily basis can be challenging. They will likely ask:
And it's normal to feel unsure about how to handle them. The key is this: know your level of authority before you commit to anything. Then, utilize the Decision Diamond to guide your response.
The Diamond isn't new policy content — it's a shape a supervisor can hold onto under pressure, in the moment a request lands and there isn't time to look anything up.