Head of Department / Unit
As a head you are the first level for your staff: their requests and memos come to you before anyone else sees them. This page shows how to keep your desk clear and your unit moving.
Who this is for
Anyone set as the Head (HOD / HOU) of a department or unit in Departments & Units. For example: the Head of ICT, the Chief Store Officer, the Deputy Directors of AP&D, GAD and TES, the Director of Clinical Services, heads of clinical departments, the Director of Nursing Services and the Director of Pharmaceutical Services.
The suite gives you the Head of Department / Unit role when an administrator makes you head of a unit. Some offices get a different role instead: the CMD, CMAC and DA (see CMD & Executive offices), the DFA (see Finance & Accounts) and the Head of Audit (see Internal Audit).
What you’ll see in your menu
- My Desk. Requests, memos and vouchers waiting on your decision. The number is how many.
- Projects. Projects your unit runs.
- People. Users and Departments & Units, so you can see who is in your unit and who heads the others. You can look, but not change them.
Compared with an employee you also get Projects, the People section, and extra buttons: Write a memo, new events and documents, and the All view in Requests.
| Menu section | What you will see (select to open it in the app) |
|---|---|
| Workspace | Dashboard AI Assistant Notifications Mail Documents Memos Events Meetings |
| Work | Projects Requests Approvals Fixed Assets |
| People | Users User Groups |
Your working day
Every morning: clear My Desk
- Open My Desk. Action required is everything waiting on you. Overdue has items past their time limit; Critical has urgent, high-value or stalled ones.
- Open each item and read it. The form, attachments and every earlier level’s comment are on the same page.
- Decide. Depending on the level, the buttons read Recommend / Do not recommend or Approve / Reject. You can also Return for correction if something is missing. A comment is required. See Approve, return or reject.
- Several recommendations at once? On Action required, tick them and decide them together.
What you decide at your level is printed on the official copy with your name, position, comment, date and signature. Upload your signature in your profile before your first decision.
How your staff’s requests travel
You are Level 1 for most requests from your unit. After you, the request goes where its template says, for example:
- Administrative requests (such as
DAO-ICT-001): you → Director of Administration → CMD. Some end at the DA. - Clinical requests (such as
TES-CLN-001): you → Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee → CMD. - Finance requests (
FIN-REQ-…) usually start at the CMD, not at you.
Once it is finished, the record is sent back down to the originator and filed with the registries. Your unit is told too.
Memos from your unit
- Approve staff memos. In Memos & Circulars, the Awaiting approval tab lists memos sent to you. They also appear on My Desk. See Take a memo through approval.
- Write your own. Select Write a memo and pick a memo template. Choose Internal Memo, Departmental Circular (to your department and all its units) or Internal Memo — DA Final (the DA signs last). The template decides who approves it. See Write and send a memo.
Once a week
- In Requests, switch to All and filter by In progress to see what is still open in your unit and whose desk it is on.
- Look at In progress (with others) and History on My Desk for what you have recommended and where it went next.
- Put unit meetings and deadlines in Events. See Schedule an event.
- Check your unit’s members in Departments & Units. Tell HR or an administrator if someone is missing or has moved.
How do I…
Things only you can do
- Decide Level 1 for your unit’s requests and memos. Nobody above you sees them until you have.
- Return a request for correction to the originator, with a note on what to fix.
- Write official memos for your unit, and approve those your staff write.
- See every request in the suite (the All view), not only your own.
- Acknowledge an audit field assignment when Internal Audit is coming to your department: it arrives on your desk with the auditors’ names and dates.
Common pitfalls
- “Please explain your decision in the comment box.” Write a comment first. Every decision needs one.
- “It asks me to add my signature.” Upload it in your profile and come back. You can still reject or return without one.
- Your own requests do not come to you. The suite never makes you approve your own request. It goes to the next head above you.
- Going on leave? For memos and vouchers you can use Delegate on the item. Request steps cannot be delegated: ask an administrator to change the head of the unit while you are away. Pending items then move to the new head.
- An item is not on your desk although it is “with HOD”. Check in Departments & Units that you are set as head of that exact unit, not only a member.
Related
- My Desk (Approvals) reference
- All staff (Employee), which applies to you as well
- Departments, units & heads