Can I Comment on a Pending Policy?

Objective

Leave a comment on a draft or pending policy

Environment

PolicyStat

Procedure

1. Be sure you are logged in to PolicyStat, and open the policy in question.
   
   FROM THE EMAIL
   If you are clicking the link detailing the comment from the email, you will be taken directly to the correct version.
   
   FROM THE ACTIVE VERSION
   If you are viewing the active version of the policy, click the button at the top titled Go To Version Pending Approval.
   • In the New Interface, the Go To Version Pending Approval button will be in the bottom right of the page.
     
     FROM THE PENDING VERSION
     If a draft version exists of a pending policy, click the Go To Draft Version button from the pending version.
   • In the New Interface, the Go To Draft Version button will be in the bottom right of the page.         
2. Scroll to the bottom of the policy and enter comments in the box titled "Add Comment" (1).
3. Click Comment (3).
4. Anyone involved with the policy who has not already marked their approval receives a notification of the comment (2). 
   • Area Managers and Site Administrators can be set to receive comments on all policies, even if they are not actively involved in the approval process. To enable this feature, a site administrator can contact our support team.
5. Comments become part of the policy history. Edits can be made for up to 10 minutes after they are added before they become permanent. To edit comments, click the pencil icon.
   
6. Once comments are permanent, they cannot be edited or deleted, even by PolicyStat's staff.

Additional Information:

While a policy is undergoing a review, members of the Workflow can discuss potential changes, references, regulations, and other items of interest internal to PolicyStat.

Previous to PolicyStat, these discussions may have involved lengthy email chains and multiple versions of the file. The discussion likely required additional work ensuring all necessary parties were included and all emails contained the latest version of the file.

PolicyStat brings the discussion inside PolicyStat and keeps historical records of the discussion to ensure everyone stays informed and current.

NOTE: External users (e.g. - Subject Matter Experts, users not in the Workflow, etc.) can be invited to view and collaborate on pending policies. For more on collaborative commenting, please see this article.