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PTO Request Approval Router

Example prompt: "When someone submits a PTO request in our #time-off Slack channel, use the Slack user ID to look them up in our Team Leave Google Sheet, check their remaining balance, and look at the team calendar for clashing absences. If no conflicts, send their manager a Slack message with an approve/reject prompt. Once approved, block the dates on Google Calendar and update the leave balance."

How to automate PTO approvals with GloriaMundo

The Problem

Leave requests are deceptively admin-heavy. Someone messages their manager, the manager checks whether anyone else on the team is already off that week, looks up remaining leave balance in a spreadsheet, replies with approval, and then someone has to update the calendar and the tracker. When it is done over chat or email, requests get lost, approvals are delayed, and overlapping absences slip through because nobody checked the calendar carefully enough. For teams of 15 or more, this back-and-forth eats a surprising amount of time each month.

How GloriaMundo Solves It

We build a workflow that triggers when a leave request appears in your designated Slack channel. We take the requester's identity from the Slack event's authenticated user field rather than from anything they typed, so a colleague cannot accidentally or deliberately submit a request on behalf of someone else. An integration step reads your Team Leave Google Sheet to map that Slack user ID to the canonical employee record (name, manager, leave balance). A code step parses the message body for dates and leave type only — never for identity. A second integration step queries Google Calendar for the team calendar to identify any overlapping absences during the requested period. An LLM step assembles a summary — remaining balance, number of days requested, and any conflicts found — using the mapped employee record, and formats it as a clear approval prompt. The workflow sends this summary to the employee's manager on Slack, with the key details laid out so they can make a quick decision. On approval, an integration step blocks the dates on the team Google Calendar and a code step updates the leave balance in the spreadsheet, both keyed to the canonical employee record. Glass Box preview shows you the full chain — the resolved employee, conflict check results, the manager message, the calendar event, and the spreadsheet update — before anything executes.

Example Workflow Steps

  1. Trigger (integration): New message in the #time-off Slack channel matching a leave request pattern. The Slack event provides the authenticated user ID of the requester.
  2. Step 1 (integration): Look up the Slack user ID in the Team Leave Google Sheet to resolve the canonical employee record — name, manager, and current leave balance. If no match, abort and reply with a one-line setup hint.
  3. Step 2 (code): Parse the message body for the requested start date, end date, and leave type only. Identity is never read from the message text.
  4. Step 3 (integration): Query the team Google Calendar for existing out-of-office events overlapping the requested dates.
  5. Step 4 (LLM): Summarise the findings — balance remaining, days requested, any conflicts — into a formatted approval prompt, referencing the resolved employee record.
  6. Step 5 (integration): Send the approval summary to the resolved employee's manager on Slack.
  7. Step 6 (conditional): On approval, create an out-of-office event on Google Calendar and update the leave balance in the spreadsheet, both keyed to the canonical employee record.

Integrations Used

  • Slack — receives leave requests and delivers approval prompts to managers
  • Google Sheets — stores leave balances and tracks approved time off
  • Google Calendar — checks for team conflicts and blocks approved leave dates

Who This Is For

HR coordinators, people ops teams, and team leads at companies with 15-100 employees who manage leave through spreadsheets and chat rather than a dedicated HRIS, and want a reliable approval flow without buying enterprise software.

Time & Cost Saved

Processing a single leave request — checking balance, looking for conflicts, messaging the manager, updating the tracker — typically takes 10-15 minutes of scattered admin work. For a 40-person team averaging 8-10 requests per month, that is 1.5-2.5 hours monthly. This workflow handles the entire flow in seconds, with the manager only needing to review and approve. Uses integration, code, LLM, and conditional steps, costing a few credits per request.