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Staff Member Guide

This guide is for everyone who uses the policy hub as a reader — browsing documents, reading policies, and completing acknowledgements. You do not need any special permissions or administrator access; this is your everyday guide to using the system.

This guide can be customised to match your organisation’s portal name, internal terminology, and the specific policies staff are required to acknowledge.

Where to find policies and documents

Your organisation keeps its documents on a page called the Document Hub (your administrator may have renamed it). Ask your manager or administrator for the link, and log in to the site first — most documents are only visible to logged-in staff.

Once you are on the hub page, you will see:

  • Your outstanding acknowledgements at the top — any documents you still need to acknowledge, marked Pending or Overdue. If you have none, you will see “You’re up to date — no outstanding acknowledgements.”
  • Search — type a keyword and results appear below as you type
  • Tabs for each document type (by default Policies, Procedures, Guides, and Forms — your administrator may use different types), with documents grouped by category
  • Recently Updated Documents, Popular Documents (switch between Last 7 days and All time), and Recently Viewed (the documents you opened most recently)

Your administrator can turn any of these sections off, so your hub may not show all of them.

You can only see documents that have been shared with your role. If you cannot find a document that a colleague can see, it may be assigned to a different audience. Ask your manager or administrator.

Finding a document

Using search: Type your search term in the search box. Results appear below as you type. You only see results for documents you are allowed to read.

Browsing by type: Click a tab (for example Policies or Procedures) to browse documents of that type, grouped by category. If a category has many documents, click Show Remaining to see the rest.

Using a document portal: Some organisations also publish a documentation portal for a particular team or topic, with a sidebar of sections. Click the section you need in the sidebar, or use the search box at the top of the portal.

Reading a document

Click the document title to open it. Depending on how your administrator has set things up, you will see:

  • Document details — for example the version, Effective From date, Last Reviewed date, Next Review Due, and Owner
  • On this page — a table of contents on longer documents; click a heading to jump to that section
  • Version History — a list of the document’s versions with the date and a summary of what changed in each. This is a record of changes, not a copy of the older versions
  • Download PDF — a PDF copy of the current version, when PDF downloads are available on your site
  • Related Documents and Related FAQs, where they have been linked

Documents that have been replaced or retired no longer appear in the hub or in search. If you reach one through an old link, its status shows as Superseded or Archived — check the hub for the current document before relying on it.

Acknowledging a document

Some documents require you to formally confirm that you have read them. When a document requires your acknowledgement, an Acknowledgement Required panel appears on the document page.

Steps to acknowledge

  1. Read the full document
  2. Tick the checkbox — by default it reads I have read and understood this document, but your organisation may use its own wording. The Acknowledge button stays greyed out until you tick it
  3. If the document has a comprehension quiz, answer the questions. You need to reach the pass mark before you can acknowledge. If you fail too many times, you may have to wait before trying again
  4. Click Acknowledge

You will see “Thank you for acknowledging this document.” The panel then shows the version you acknowledged, the date, and when your acknowledgement expires (if it does). You will also receive an Acknowledgement Confirmed email.

Each acknowledgement records your user account, your role, the document version, and the date. Depending on your organisation’s settings, it may also record your device’s IP address and how long you spent reading the document. The panel tells you exactly what is recorded before you click Acknowledge.

You cannot change or withdraw an acknowledgement yourself. If you believe there is an error in your record, contact your administrator.

🔒 Pro feature — your organisation may set a minimum reading time or a minimum reading reach (how far through the document you must scroll). If so, the panel shows how much reading time is left, and you can acknowledge once the minimum has been met.

Add organisation-specific instructions here, for example: “You must read the full Code of Conduct before your first day” or “Policies must be acknowledged within 5 days of publication.”

Checking your compliance status

Visit the My Acknowledgements page (ask your manager or administrator for the link). It lists every document you are required to acknowledge, with its Status, the date you Acknowledged On, when it Expires, and the Version you acknowledged. The status is one of:

  • Acknowledged — you are up to date
  • Pending — you have not acknowledged this document yet
  • Expired — your acknowledgement has expired and needs renewing
  • Outdated — the document has changed significantly since you acknowledged it, so you need to acknowledge the new version

If your organisation has enabled it, the page also shows your Reading record for each document.

Your organisation may also show a compliance progress summary on a page or dashboard. It shows a percentage complete, an Action Needed list, and an Expiring Soon list of acknowledgements due to expire within 30 days.

The outstanding list at the top of the Document Hub shows the same pending and overdue documents.

Reminder emails

The system emails you from your organisation’s site when:

  • your acknowledgement of a document is about to expire (Acknowledgement Expiring Soon)
  • an acknowledgement has expired (Acknowledgement Overdue)
  • a document you must acknowledge has changed enough that you need to acknowledge it again (Updated Document Requires Acknowledgement)
  • your organisation’s annual compliance date is approaching and you still have documents to acknowledge (Action Required: … Document(s) Awaiting Your Acknowledgement)
  • an administrator sends you a reminder directly

The timing is set by your administrator, and each email links to the document. Your organisation can change the subject lines, so the wording may differ.

Stopping repeat reminders: In your WordPress profile, under Document Acknowledgement Notifications, you can tick Do not send me repeat reminder emails for outstanding document acknowledgements. This only stops repeat reminders. You still need to acknowledge the documents, and your compliance status is still reported.

If you think you are receiving reminders in error, check the My Acknowledgements page, then contact your administrator.

Bookmarks

If you keep going back to the same documents, bookmark them.

To bookmark a document: Click the bookmark icon on the document page. Click it again to remove the bookmark.

To see your bookmarks: If your organisation has a My Bookmarks page, it lists your Bookmarked Documents. Ask your administrator for the link.

Your bookmarks are private. Only you can see them.

Saved searches

If you often search for the same terms, save the search.

To save a search: Type your search in the Document Hub search box, then click Save Search.

To re-run a saved search: If your organisation has a Saved Searches page, click any saved search there to run it again. Ask your administrator for the link.

FAQs

Your organisation may publish FAQs, either on their own page or linked from a document under Related FAQs. FAQs give quick answers to common questions without opening a full policy. Depending on how the page is set up, you can:

  • Expand each question to read the answer
  • Search the FAQs, if a Search FAQs box is shown
  • Answer Was this helpful? with Yes or No, and optionally tell your organisation How could this be improved? before clicking Send Feedback

An FAQ may show a Source link to the policy it comes from. The policy is the authoritative version.

Suggesting an edit

If your organisation allows it for your role, a Suggest an Edit button appears on document pages. Click it, enter Your Suggested Edit and any Additional Notes (optional), then click Submit Suggestion. A reviewer looks at it, and you receive an email when your suggestion is approved or not accepted.

Getting help

If you cannot find a document you need, try:

  1. Searching by a keyword in the document title or content
  2. Browsing the full list under the relevant tab
  3. Asking your manager which category the document is filed under
  4. Contacting your administrator if the document should be visible to your role

If you have a question about a document’s content, contact the document owner (listed on the document page) or your line manager.

Add your organisation’s internal help contact here (e.g. “Contact the HR team at hr@example.com” or “Raise a ticket in [your helpdesk system]”).

Frequently asked questions

Q: I read the policy but didn’t click Acknowledge. Do I need to re-read it? No. Open the document again, tick the checkbox in the Acknowledgement Required panel, and click Acknowledge. If your organisation sets a minimum reading time, you may need to spend that time on the page first.

Q: Why is the Acknowledge button greyed out? Tick the checkbox above it first. If the document has a comprehension quiz, you also need to pass it.

Q: I think my acknowledgement record is wrong. What do I do? Contact your administrator. They can check your record against the document’s version history.

Q: Will I be told when a document I’ve already acknowledged is updated? Only when the change is significant enough to need a new acknowledgement. Your organisation decides what counts as significant. In that case you receive an Updated Document Requires Acknowledgement email, and the document shows as Outdated on your My Acknowledgements page until you acknowledge it again. Smaller changes do not affect your acknowledgement.

Q: Can I view documents I’ve already acknowledged? Yes. You can re-read any document you have access to at any time from the hub. Your My Acknowledgements page shows the version you acknowledged.

Q: Can I download documents for offline reading? If PDF downloads are available on your site, you will see a Download PDF link on the document page. Some documents, such as forms, do not offer a PDF.

Keep in mind that a downloaded PDF is a snapshot — it will not update if the policy is revised later. The version number is printed on the document itself, so you can check it against the current version in the hub before you rely on it. You will also need to be online to acknowledge a document; that cannot be done from a downloaded copy.

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