If you use SharePoint in order to approve workflow tasks such as bookings requests, and usually log in with an SSO account that only you have access to, you can tell SharePoint to delegate to another account any tasks that would normally be assigned to you. The nominated account will then receive any tasks that usually come to you, and workflow emails will be routed to them between a given start and end date so they can handle approvals in your absence.

Note that this should only be used for periods of absence and not when somebody leaves and is handing the system over to another user. You must contact IT if you are leaving Brasenose and need the system reconfigured to be administered by a different user.

To set a delegation, you’ll first need to navigate to the SharePoint site(s) for which you’re an approver. Once there, click your name in the top right corner of the screen. A menu will appear; hover your cursor over Nintex Workflow 2013 and from the sub menu select Task Delegation:

Once on the Task Delegation page, click “Delegate tasks to a user between specific dates” to go to the Add Delegation configuration menu.

Select a start and end date for the delegation period, and then click the address book icon to the right of the Delegate to box. When the Select People dialogue appears, type the name of the delegate in the Find box and click the magnifying glass icon to perform a search for that name in the University address list.

When you find the account you’re looking for, double click it to return to the previous menu where you’ll notice the name now appears in the Delegate to box.

Finally, under Scope, you have the option of checking the box to apply the delegation for tasks on this site only, or alternatively you can leave this unticked to apply the delegation to all SharePoint sites you’re involved with. You should only set the scope to apply to all sites if the person to whom you’re delegating the tasks also has an appropriate level of access to all the same sites as you, or they could run into issues accessing necessary parts of the site(s) they’re expected to use. Otherwise you’ll need to navigate to each SharePoint site for which you’re an approver and set this individually for each one.

Click OK and your delegation will be applied.

NOTE: Please make sure you inform the nominated delegate BEFORE applying this setting; if this is set without informing the delegate first and you go on leave, there is no way for IT to remove the delegation in your absence if the delegation is deemed inappropriate.