Policy storage and maintenance is one of the most important aspects of knowledge management. Your members need access to up to date policies to ensure they're acting on correct information, as well as for compliance reasons. Policies are work. They require access, ownership, review, and archival. Today we'll look at how to set up a Wiki Channel to handle all of the above. 

A common question about managing policies is whether to use Wiki or Folder Channels. If your policies are stored as files, Folder Channels can make for an easier migration, but Wiki Channels are easier to edit, they offer more functionality for connecting policies to other areas of your digital workplace, and support additional attached files for any forms or supporting documents. 

Settings

After creating your Wiki Channel, access the Settings option from the Action button. From there you'll be able to configure a number of essentials. Enabling Read Tracking will let you track members who have read and agreed to each policy, and send reminders to those who still need to for key articles, like security policies. Enabling moderation and adding moderators will let your content owners review items before they're published, providing more oversight on policy creation. Finally, making Labels mandatory for the Channel means every policy will need to have at least one label, making them easily searchable by your members. 

Access

Having a policy wiki doesn't mean much if people can't see it. Make sure relevant Groups have Read access to the Wiki Channel, so they can view the articles! For organizations with more diverse stakeholders, it's usually better to use a Wiki Channel for each stakeholder Group and combine them in a Wiki Article widget than to have one channel and constantly fiddle with access at the article level. 

It's also essential to establish ownership and calls to action. As part of the Channel Template, set up a spot at the end of every policy that specifies its owner and includes a link to an area where members can ask questions. This will help connect people to policy owners, keep your policy comment sections clear, and put all of your policy questions in one place, making it simple to consolidate answers. 

Maintenance

Out of date policies are typically worse than none at all. If your organization requires annual policy reviews, it's worth doing a separate review a few months early to make sure your content is up to date. When conducting the policy review, edit each policy and use the Clear Read Tracking option to ensure that members have to click and agree to the policy again. This will also reset the reminder options for any assigned Groups. 

A policy wiki makes it straightforward to connect people to the information they need, and makes managing that information simple for the members responsible for it. It's the best way to deliver policies in your digital workplace. 

If you have questions about the Igloo platform, workflows, or best practices, you can leave a comment here, or ask a question in the Community area.