workflow · how to

Reassign approvals and pipeline work

Follow the reassign approvals and pipeline work workflow in Slack.

Goal

Build pipeline templates, attach them to content, and reassign work when ownership or approval steps change mid-flight. Pipeline management lets admins define reusable step sequences, while reassignment moves individual items to a new owner without rebuilding the whole pipeline.

When to use this

Use this workflow when:

  • You are an admin who needs to create, edit, or pause pipeline templates for your brand.
  • A content item needs a different pipeline template than the one currently attached.
  • Only the assignee should change and the pipeline steps should stay the same.
  • Approval workflow ownership needs to move to another team member.

This workflow requires admin access for pipeline management. Multi-step approval workflows require the Team plan or higher.

Before you begin

Confirm the following:

  • You have admin access for pipeline management.
  • Your organization is on the Team plan or higher if you use multi-step approval workflows.
  • You know whether you need to change the pipeline template, the assignee, or both. These are separate actions with different entry points.

Steps

Open pipeline management

  1. Type /social and switch to the Workflow work center.
  2. In the health and routing section, choose Manage workflows under Workflow Pipelines.

Pipeline list entry enforces admin access before the management modal opens. If you lack admin access, you cannot reach pipeline management from this path.

Create or edit a pipeline

  1. In the pipeline list, choose Create pipeline or open an existing pipeline from the overflow menu.
  2. Name the pipeline and define the step kinds it should include.
  3. Add, remove, reorder, or complete steps until the pipeline matches your operating process.
  4. Use the overflow menu to activate or deactivate a pipeline when you need to pause use without deleting configuration.
  5. Set default pipelines when your brand should apply the same template automatically to new work.

Pipeline step completion respects permission branches for admins, approvers, and assignees. Only users with the right role can complete certain steps. Use the overflow menu on an existing pipeline when you need to edit, activate, deactivate, or delete a template without rebuilding it from scratch.

Attach or change pipelines on items

  1. From a work item or approval view, choose Attach pipeline when an item has no pipeline yet.
  2. Choose Change pipeline when the item needs a different template.
  3. Confirm the selection in the modal.

Use Reassign on a work item when only the assignee should change while the pipeline stays the same.

Reassign approval workflow ownership

  1. Open Reassign from the workflow or work-item action menu.
  2. Pick the new assignee.
  3. Submit the modal.

After a successful reassign, App Home refreshes so My Work reflects the new owner.

Confirm it worked

You know the workflow succeeded when:

  • The item shows the updated assignee or the expected pipeline steps.
  • Completed steps advance the item state in the pipeline list.
  • Reassigned items show the new owner and the updated assignment status.
  • App Home and My Work reflect the change after refresh.

Troubleshooting

Cannot open pipeline management

Pipeline list entry requires admin access. Ask a brand admin to make changes or grant you admin permissions.

Multi-step pipeline options unavailable

Multi-step approval workflows require the Team plan or higher. Upgrade or use single-step approval until your plan supports multi-step workflows.

Cannot complete a pipeline step

Step completion checks admin, approver, and assignee permissions. Confirm your role matches the step you are trying to complete, or ask an admin to reassign the step.

Reassign modal does not save

Submit the modal after picking a new assignee. If the modal stays open, check for validation errors and try again.

Item still shows the old owner after reassign

Return to App Home and wait for the refresh. Open My Work again to confirm the assignee updated.

For approval chain setup, see Create and manage approval workflows. For policy context, read Approvals and review governance.