Tolerance Rules & Exceptions

Tolerance rules monitor important organizational practices like one-on-one frequency, initiative check-ins, feedback cycles, and management span. When a threshold is exceeded, the system creates an exception and sends a notification to alert you.

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What Are Tolerance Rules?

Tolerance rules are configurable monitors that track specific organizational metrics. They run automatically every day and create exceptions when something needs attention.

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Available Rule Types

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1:1 Frequency

Monitors whether managers are having regular one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. What it checks:

• Finds the most recent one-on-one meeting between each manager and their direct reports
• Calculates how many days have passed since the last meeting
• Creates exceptions if too much time has passed

Configuration:

• Warning Threshold: Days before creating a warning exception
• Urgent Threshold: Days before creating an urgent exception

Example: If you set warning at 14 days and urgent at 21 days:

• A manager who hasn’t met with a report in 15 days gets a warning exception
• A manager who hasn’t met with a report in 22 days gets an urgent exception

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Initiative Check-In

Monitors whether active initiatives have had recent check-ins. What it checks:

• Finds all active initiatives (planned or in progress)
• Looks for the most recent check-in date
• Creates exceptions if too much time has passed since the last check-in

Configuration:

• Warning Threshold: Days since last check-in before creating a warning

Example: If you set warning at 7 days:

• An initiative that hasn’t had a check-in in 8 days gets a warning exception
• If an initiative has never had a check-in, it immediately exceeds the threshold

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360 Feedback

Monitors whether people have received 360 feedback within a specified time period. What it checks:

• Finds all active people in your organization
• Looks for the most recent feedback campaign where they were the target
• Creates exceptions if too much time has passed since last feedback

Configuration:

• Warning Threshold: Months since last feedback before creating a warning

Example: If you set warning at 6 months:

• A person who hasn’t received feedback in 7 months gets a warning exception
• If someone has never received feedback, it immediately exceeds the threshold

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Manager Span

Monitors whether managers have too many direct reports. What it checks:

• Counts active direct reports for each manager
• Creates exceptions if a manager exceeds the maximum

Configuration:

• Max Direct Reports: Maximum number of direct reports allowed

Example: If you set max at 8:

• A manager with 9 direct reports gets an urgent exception
• This helps identify when managers might be overloaded

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Understanding Exceptions

When a tolerance rule threshold is exceeded, the system creates an exception. Exceptions are records that track what needs attention.

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Exception Severity

• Warning: Something to be aware of, but not immediately critical
• Urgent: Requires prompt attention

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Exception Status

Exceptions move through different statuses:

1. Active: Newly created, needs attention
2. Acknowledged: You’ve seen it and are aware
3. Ignored: Intentionally not acting on it
4. Resolved: The underlying issue has been fixed

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Working with Exceptions

When you receive a notification about an exception:

1. Review the details - Click through to see what needs attention
2. Take action - Address the underlying issue (e.g., schedule a 1:1, do a check-in)
3. Update status - Acknowledge, ignore, or resolve the exception

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Notifications

When an exception is created, you automatically receive a notification:

• Type: Warning or error (based on exception severity)
• Content: Clear message about what needs attention
• Link: Direct link to view the exception details

Notifications appear in:

• Your notification bell icon
• The notifications page
• Exception-specific views

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Managing Tolerance Rules

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Creating Rules

Only organization administrators can create tolerance rules:

1. Go to Settings → Tolerance Rules
2. Click Create Rule
3. Select the rule type
4. Configure thresholds
5. Give it a descriptive name and optional description
6. Enable the rule

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Configuring Rules

Each rule type has specific configuration options:

• 1:1 Frequency: Warning and urgent day thresholds
• Initiative Check-In: Warning day threshold
• 360 Feedback: Warning month threshold
• Manager Span: Maximum direct reports

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Enabling and Disabling

You can enable or disable rules without deleting them:

• Enabled: Rule is evaluated daily and creates exceptions
• Disabled: Rule is not evaluated (existing exceptions remain)

This is useful for:

• Temporarily pausing a rule
• Testing different threshold values
• Seasonal adjustments

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Manual Evaluation

You can manually trigger a tolerance check at any time:

1. Go to Settings → Tolerance Rules
2. Click Run Check Now
3. The system evaluates all enabled rules immediately
4. You’ll see a summary of exceptions created

This is useful for:

• Testing new rules
• Checking status after making changes
• Immediate evaluation without waiting for the daily run

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Best Practices

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Rule Configuration

• Use descriptive names: Make it clear what each rule monitors
• Add descriptions: Explain why the rule exists and what it’s checking
• Start with longer thresholds: You can always make them stricter
• Review regularly: Adjust thresholds based on actual patterns

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Exception Management

• Review active exceptions regularly: Don’t let them pile up
• Prioritize urgent exceptions: Address these promptly
• Resolve when fixed: Mark exceptions as resolved when you’ve addressed the issue
• Ignore appropriately: Use ignore for exceptions that are intentional or no longer relevant

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Team Communication

• Share rule purposes: Help your team understand why rules exist
• Set expectations: Let people know they may receive exception notifications
• Use as coaching tools: Exceptions can help identify areas for improvement

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Common Scenarios

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Setting Up 1:1 Monitoring

Goal: Ensure managers have weekly 1:1s with their direct reports Configuration:

• Warning threshold: 7 days
• Urgent threshold: 14 days

Result: Managers get warnings if they miss a week, urgent if they miss two weeks.

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Monitoring Initiative Health

Goal: Ensure active initiatives have regular check-ins Configuration:

• Warning threshold: 7 days

Result: Initiatives without check-ins for a week get warnings.

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Tracking Feedback Cycles

Goal: Ensure everyone receives 360 feedback at least every 6 months Configuration:

• Warning threshold: 6 months

Result: People who haven’t received feedback in 6+ months get warnings.

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Managing Manager Span

Goal: Ensure no manager has more than 8 direct reports Configuration:

• Max direct reports: 8

Result: Managers with 9+ direct reports get urgent exceptions.

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Troubleshooting

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Exceptions Not Appearing

• Check that the rule is enabled
• Verify the threshold values are correct
• Wait for the daily evaluation (or run manually)
• Check that the underlying data exists (e.g., people, initiatives)

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Too Many Exceptions

• Review threshold values - they may be too strict
• Consider disabling rules that are no longer relevant
• Resolve or ignore exceptions that are no longer actionable

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Not Receiving Notifications

• Check your notification preferences
• Verify you have access to view exceptions
• Check that notifications aren’t being filtered

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Learn More

• Settings: Configure tolerance rules in Settings → Tolerance Rules
• Exceptions: View and manage exceptions in the Exceptions page
• Notifications: Manage notifications in the Notifications page