Comp Reviewers & Approvers
Overview#
The Reviewers & Approvers section defines the tree of managers involved in the comp cycle — who is reviewing pay, who is submitting, and who is approving. This is the least flexible section of the cycle once launched, so it must be configured correctly before clicking Launch.
This tree is built from the org chart as of the org data reference date, not today's date.
How the Tree Works
By default, the tree includes all managers who have at least one eligible employee reporting to them. It is automatically constructed from the org chart.
Each manager in the tree has two columns:
- Reviewing — the employees in this manager's pod whose pay they are responsible for evaluating
- Approving — the submissions routed to this manager from below for their approval. Frontline managers will always have 0 here, since no one submits up to them.
Clicking on any manager shows you both their reviewing list and their approving list.
Filtering the Tree
If you don't want all managers in the cycle, switch from the default to Custom and apply a filter. Examples:
- Only managers with "Director," "VP," "Vice," or "Chief" in their title
- Only managers at levels 7, 8, or 9
- Any CQL-based filter on data that exists in ChartHop
Tip: If the manager list doesn't map cleanly to a title or level pattern, consider creating a custom Yes/No field (e.g., managerInCycle) and setting it to Yes on the relevant managers. Then filter on that field. This gives maximum flexibility for non-standard configurations.
Manually Adjusting the Tree
Even after applying a filter, you can make individual tweaks:
- Remove a manager and reassign — click on a manager, select Remove & Reassign All, and choose who their direct reports should roll up to.
- Move an individual employee — click on the manager the person currently sits under, select the person, choose Reassign Reviewer, and pick the new manager.
Reassignment Error: Same Reporting Line
If you try to reassign someone to a manager in their same reporting line, ChartHop will block it with an error. This is a data visibility safeguard.
Workaround: Move the person to a completely different part of the org first (a different reporting line), then move them again to the intended destination.
The Head of Org & Final Approvers
The CEO (or whoever heads the org) will always appear at the top of the tree and cannot be removed. All submissions ultimately flow upward and need a top-level destination.
Final Approvers are designated by adding names to the Final Approvers field. They are treated as fully equivalent to the head of the org — when a submission reaches the highest level, it routes to the head of org and all final approvers simultaneously. This means the CEO doesn't need to take any action themselves if final approvers are designated.
⚠️ Post-Launch Restrictions — Read This Carefully
This is the least flexible part of the cycle once launched — even if the cycle is paused. Communicate this clearly to customers before launch, put it in writing, and reference it in follow-up emails.
What is locked after launch:
- You cannot add a manager to the tree. If someone isn't in the tree at launch, there is no way to insert them. They can be made a collaborator, but not a reviewer/approver.
- You cannot change who a manager submits to. Submission paths are locked at launch.
- You cannot remove a final approver after launch.
What is still possible after launch (with a pause):
- Remove a manager and reassign their direct reports up
- Move an individual employee to a different manager's pod
- Add additional final approvers
What Happens When a Manager in the Tree Terminates
Behavior depends entirely on the org data reference date.
- Termination effective after the reference date: The cycle ignores it. The manager stays in the tree. Options for the cycle owner:
- If they already submitted — no action needed.
- If they haven't submitted — an owner can manually skip them within the cycle.
- Pause the cycle, remove the manager and reassign their people up, then resume.
- Termination effective on or before the reference date: ChartHop automatically removes the manager from the tree and bumps their direct reports up to the next level.
Resetting Tree Changes
If you've manually removed or reassigned managers and want to undo those changes, there is a Reset button. However, this is a bulk reset — it undoes all manual changes at once, not individual ones. There is currently no way to undo just a single reassignment.
For this reason, discourage customers from making a large number of manual removals and reassignments. If a lot of manual tweaking is needed, it's a signal to refine the filter at the top instead. Heavy manual edits create risk: if any change needs to be undone later, everything has to be reset and redone from scratch.