Create, share and acknowledge in one place
The new Policies and Procedures module brings your policy documents, the procedures behind them, and the records that show how they are being put into practice, all in one place. No more paper in the staff room. No more chasing signatures. No more storing documents in SharePoint and hoping everyone has read them.
This guide walks you through the whole journey: creating a policy or procedure, sharing it for acknowledgement, tracking who has read it, and keeping it up to date with version history.
Why this matters
Managing policies and procedures involves more than keeping documents in one place. Services need to keep policies current, make them available to the right people, and maintain clear records of reviews, updates and acknowledgements.
Policies and Procedures brings this together in 1Place. You can manage policy versions and review dates, send reminders, record acknowledgements, and link related policies, procedures, checklists, incidents, hazards, tickets and documents. This creates a clear history of how each policy has been managed and makes related records easier to find and review when needed.
Policy or procedure? The difference
A policy describes what you should be doing. A procedure describes how you achieve it. A procedure is often a written document, and in practice it works a lot like a checklist. Your procedure might run to three pages, while the checklist that operationalizes it is just ten questions.
Both work exactly the same way in 1Place. The steps below apply whether you are creating a policy or a procedure. The only difference is the type of document itself, so the two appear in separate areas.
Where to find it
You will find Policies and Procedures under the Documents menu in the web portal. Both listing pages, Policies and Procedures, open the same way and follow the same process.
Note: The Policies and Procedures module must first be enabled for your organization. If you don’t see this option under the Documents menu, please contact your CSM to request access to the module.
Creating a policy or procedure
Super users create policy and procedure documents. Creating one runs through a simple wizard.
Under Policy or Procedure, click the green +New Policy button on the right side of the screen.
Step 1: Details
Give your policy a name, for example ‘Child Protection Policy’, and add a short description.
Set the last review date (when the current version was issued) and the next review date. These dates are important. They define the date range for the records captured against this policy, which becomes clearer once your policy is live. You can also add optional version notes.
Add a title page. Many centers receive a generic policy from a partner that is not branded to their organization. Tick this option and 1Place adds a title page using your stored logo and organization name, so the document is personalized rather than plain and generic.
While PDF is the recommended format, other file types are also accepted. PDFs allow people to read the document directly in the browser using a small viewer, rather than having to download it first. This makes it easier for your team to open a policy and read it on the spot.
You can upload up to three files at a time when creating the policy. Additional files can be added later using the Edit option.
Step 2: Choose your centers
Select the location or locations this policy applies to. Some policies may apply across your organisation, while others may be specific to particular locations
You can also set up aliases to automatically include new centers as they are added. When a new center is added, the policy can be made available to that center without requiring any additional setup.
Step 3-4: Link your policies to procedures
Link the policy to existing procedures. This creates the connection between “this is my policy, what we need to do” and “this is the procedure for how we do it.” If this policy relates to other policies or procedures in 1Place, you can link them here. This makes related documents easier to find and navigate.
Step 5: Link your records
Select the types of records in 1Place that you want to link to this policy. You can choose from existing incident types, hazards, checklists, ticket categories and document types.
For example, you might link a policy to relevant checklists or incident types. Records created using those selected types will then be associated with the policy, making it easier to find and review related information in 1Place.
Step 6: Review
The final step provides a summary of your selections. Review the details and, if any changes are needed, click the pencil/edit icon to make amendments. Once everything is correct, click Create Policy to save.
Viewing a policy
To view a policy, navigate to Documents > Policy, then select the policy you want to open from the listing page. You’ll be able to view all the policy details at a glance:
A summary of which centers the policy is shared with, any linked procedures and policies, and the records itself.
A countdown to the next review, for example 361 days.
A record count for your chosen date range. This is a combination of the incident forms created and checklists completed that you linked as records. These numbers update overnight rather than in real time, so tomorrow you might see, say, 57 pieces of records collected.
A View PDF option so you can read the document instantly in the browser instead of downloading it.
Sharing a policy for feedback and acknowledgement
Once a Super User has created the document, a center manager is notified that a new policy is available for their center. From the sharing section, they choose who to share it with.
Note: The appropriate Profile Permission must be enabled before a user can share a policy.
Choose your recipients
You can share with:
Staff members, selected instantly from the User list and People module (if enabled). You may also add a specific email address of your staff not registered in 1Place
Caregivers and parents, using the parent contact details held against a child.
An external audience, using a survey link or QR code. Print the QR code and put it on the board in the center so parents can read the policy at any time. This option provides view-only access and does not collect acknowledgements or
Note: You can select people directly from the People module or enter email addresses manually. When you share by person type, for example educators, the system automatically finds everyone marked as an educator. Future educators are given access to acknowledge it too, so new starters are covered without extra work.
Set your response settings
When you share, you choose how people respond. You can require acknowledgement and offer the option for feedback at the same time. The message you enter is included in the email sent to recipients.
For staff members, acknowledgement that they have read the policy is almost always required, and feedback is optional.
For caregivers, acknowledgement is often not mandatory, but you still need to show that you have made the policy available and open for feedback.
This replaces a genuine manual process. Instead of a sheet of paper in the staff room for people to sign, you have digital, documented proof that people have received a policy and given feedback.
Tracking acknowledgements
Once sent, the policy appears in the Share History table, where you can see who it was shared with and their acknowledgement status. Someone who has not yet opened it shows as awaiting.
Recipients receive a secure link by email, confirm their email address, and can then view the PDF and add their acknowledgement at the bottom. Non-users are sent a direct secure link so they do not have to go through a sign-in process.
The Share History table updates as recipients interact with the policy. You can see each recipient’s status, when they viewed or acknowledged the policy, and any feedback submitted with their acknowledgement.
To help manage outstanding acknowledgements:
Automatic reminders are sent after seven days to recipients who have not yet acknowledged the policy.
Staff can filter the policy list to see policies awaiting their acknowledgement, making it easier to identify what still requires action.
Keeping policies up to date with version history
1Place maintains a version history when a policy is edited or renewed. Acknowledgements are recorded against the relevant policy version, so you can see which version was acknowledged and when.
Editing and renewing a policy
Use Edit to make changes that do not require recipients to acknowledge the policy again. Editing creates a new minor version, for example from version 1.0 to 1.1. Existing acknowledgements remain associated with the previous version.
Use Renew when you want to create a new major version of the policy and require recipients to acknowledge it again. Renewing creates a new version, for example from version 1.1 to 2.0. The new version can then be shared for acknowledgement.
How renewing works
Renewing a policy opens the policy wizard with the current settings and links already in place. Set the next review date and upload the policy file either the existing file if no changes are required, or an updated file if changes have been made. The locations, related policies and procedures, and linked record types are retained in the new version.
When the renewed policy is published, a new major version is created. Its sharing and acknowledgement history starts from the new version, while the history of previous versions is retained. This means you can continue to view who earlier versions were shared with, their acknowledgement status, and when those acknowledgements were recorded.
Correcting a published policy
If you identify an error after a policy has been published, you can create a new version with the corrected information. Previous versions remain in the version history, providing a record of the changes made over time.
If appropriate, add a comment to the earlier version explaining why it was replaced or corrected.
Bringing policy management together
Policies and Procedures brings policy management, review dates, sharing, acknowledgements and related records together in 1Place.
You can set review dates and receive reminders, share policies with relevant recipients and track acknowledgement status, and maintain a version history showing how each policy has been managed over time.
Linking policies to relevant record types also makes related information easier to find and review when needed.
Safer, simpler, smarter.
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