Why Approval Automation Matters in Tech Recruitment
In competitive IT hiring markets, speed and precision separate successful teams from those stuck reviewing resumes while top candidates accept other offers. But moving fast without checks risks costly mismatches. This is where combining Avena's talent discovery platform with ApproveThis' structured approval system creates a new operational advantage.
Together, these tools enable recruiters to surface ideal candidates quickly while ensuring hiring managers, budget owners, and compliance teams align on critical decisions. The integration turns fragmented processes into cohesive workflows where talent evaluation and stakeholder validation happen in parallel – not sequential bottlenecks.
How Avena and ApproveThis Complement Each Other
Avena specializes in global tech talent sourcing, using advanced filters to identify candidates matching specific technical requirements. ApproveThis adds governance to the selection process through:
- Multi-level validation of candidate shortlists
- Budget compliance checks before offers
- Audit trails for diversity hiring initiatives
Where Avena answers "Can we find them?", ApproveThis answers "Should we hire them?" by formalizing the organizational consensus needed for strategic hires.
Real-World Use Cases for Technical Teams
1. High-Velocity Contract Engineering Hiring
IT staffing agencies using Avena can automate approval chains for contract roles. When a recruiter flags a candidate as a favorite in Avena, ApproveThis instantly:
- Routes the profile to technical leads for skills validation
- Checks client budget thresholds
- Requires legal review for non-compete clauses
Example: A Berlin-based agency reduced offer turnaround time by 68% using parallel approvals while maintaining client compliance.
2. Enterprise IT Team Expansion
For internal HR teams, the integration ensures alignment between talent acquisition and department heads. Avena's candidate shortlist triggers ApproveThis workflows that:
- Verify open headcount budget
- Require architecture team sign-off on specialized skills
- Escalate to CFO for roles above $150k base salary
Approval groups in ApproveThis enable conditional routing – engineering managers only review candidates requiring cloud security expertise, while finance engages only on certain salary bands.
3. Compliance-Driven Government Contracting
Federal IT contractors use the integration to meet procurement rules. When Avena identifies candidates for cleared positions:
1. ApproveFirst requires dual sign-off from security officers
2. Automatically checks against OFAC restricted lists
3. Archives approval documentation for audits
The calculated fields feature in ApproveThis can flag candidates needing extra vetting based on citizenship status or past employer data from Avena profiles.
Key Integration Benefits by Team
Recruitment Teams
Reduce follow-up emails by 83% with centralized approval status tracking. ApproveThis dashboards show exactly where each candidate is in the review process, with automated reminders to slow-moving approvers.
Hiring Managers
Review candidates in their preferred environment – either directly in Avena or via email approvals. Vacation delegation ensures coverage during PTO periods without delaying offers.
Finance Departments
Auto-reject candidates exceeding budget thresholds before they reach committee review. Approval thresholds in ApproveThis prevent accidental overspending while allowing exceptions with proper escalation.
External Clients
Agency customers can participate in approval chains without Avena logins. ApproveThis' email-based approvals let clients review and sign off on candidates directly from their inbox while maintaining a unified audit trail.
Implementation Guide
Connecting Avena and ApproveFirst takes under 15 minutes using Zapier:
Step 1: Create Zapier triggers for Avena events
- Choose "New Favorite" trigger for candidate shortlists
- Map critical fields: Candidate ID, Role Type, Salary Requirements
Step 2: Configure ApproveThis actions
- Set approval thresholds based on salary data
- Define approval groups (Technical, Financial, Legal)
- Enable calculated fields for compliance checks
Step 3: Test with live data
- Submit test candidate in Avena
- Verify approval chain execution
- Refine conditional logic as needed
Critical Features for Talent Workflows
Maximize the integration's impact using these ApproveThis capabilities:
Approval Thresholds: Auto-approve junior roles under $80k while requiring CFO review for leadership hires over $200k.
Vacation Delegation: Prevent bottlenecks during holiday periods by automatically rerouting approvals to designated backups.
Mobile Approval: Enable hiring managers to review candidates and submit decisions directly from smartphones.
Overcoming Common Implementation Challenges
Challenge: Hiring managers resist new processes
Solution: Keep Avena as the primary interface using ApproveThis' email approval option
Challenge: Complex approval rules slow setup
Solution: Start with single-tier approvals, then add conditional logic after initial adoption
The Strategic Advantage
Organizations using Avena with structured approvals report:
- 40% faster offer acceptance rates
- 92% compliance with hiring budgets
- 67% reduction in onboarding mismatches
These metrics stem from eliminating two critical delays in tech hiring: waiting for stakeholder alignment and fixing preventable compliance errors.
Getting Started
Ready to transform your talent acquisition workflow? Take these next steps:
1. Register for ApproveThis (Free 14-day trial)
2. Connect your Avena account
3. Use Zapier templates to deploy pre-built approval chains
For complex implementations, schedule a custom demo showing how to adapt approval workflows to your organizational structure.
Integrate with Avena Integration and get 90 days of ApproveThis for free.
After you create a Zapier integration, please email us at support@approve-this.com with your account name and we'll add 3 months of ApproveThis to your account. Limit one redemption per account.
Learn More
Best Approval Workflows for Avena
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for Avena
Create approval requests for new Avena favorites
When a new favorite is created in Avena, this integration creates an approval request in ApproveThis to review the significance of the favorite. The automation streamlines decision-making by ensuring critical actions are vetted before implementation. *Note: Ensure the approval criteria are properly configured in ApproveThis.*
Zapier Components

Trigger
New Favorite
Triggers when a new favorite is created.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
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