Approving and managing Policies

This article covers what happens to a policy after it has content: assigning owners, approving it, revoking that approval, switching its type, and working through the version history. Approval is the important one, since it is what makes a policy the current valid version for employees.

Policies overview and filters

In Policies you see all policies of your organisation in a clear table. Use the tools at the top to quickly find what you're looking for:

Search and filter

• Search bar - Type policy names or Tidal IDs to find specific policies
• Status filter - Filter on Not started, Draft, Approved, or To Review
• Type filter - Distinguish between internally managed and uploaded documents (paperclip icon)

Assigning or changing policy owners

Every policy should have at least one owner, responsible for its content and for keeping it current.

Assigning owners

Each policy can have one or more owners who are responsible for the content and currency. You assign them as follows:

1. Select one or more policies with the checkboxes on the left in the overview
2. The "Assign to" label appears at the top of the table
3. Click "Assign to" and choose a user from the dropdown
4. The selected user is added to all selected policies

Removing owners

To remove an owner, follow the same explanation as for assigning an owner. When you select the current owner of the Policy, they will be deselected from the list in this way, and thus removed as owner of the policy.

Changing owners

Changing owners is nothing more than removing the current owner and adding the new owner in the same step.

Approving policies

It is important to approve policies. First, to give employees clarity about the current, valid policy. Second, this may be a requirement from e.g. ISO-related standards.

Individual approval

For one policy:

1. Open the policy by clicking on the title
2. Check the content in view mode
3. Click "Approve" at the top of the page
4. Add a version number and comment
5. Confirm the action

Bulk approval

For multiple policies at once:

1. Filter on "Draft" status to find policies ready for approval
2. Select the desired policies with the checkboxes
3. Click "Approve" (appears instead of the filter buttons)
4. Confirm the bulk approval

Managing approvals

An approval can be revoked, and when it is, Tidal falls back to the previously approved version if there is one.

Revoking approval

When you want to remove the approval of a policy:

1. Go to the "Policy Options" menu of the policy
2. Select "Revoke approval"
3. Confirm the action

Fallback to previous version

If you revoke an approval and there is an earlier approved version available:

• Tidal automatically uses the last approved version as fallback
• Your compliance status remains intact
• Tests continue to function with the previous version

Changing policy type

A policy can move between the three types after the fact, in either direction.

From uploaded to internally managed

To switch from uploaded documents (paperclip icon) to the Policy Editor:

1. Go to the "Policy Options" menu
2. Select "Reset Policy"
3. Confirm the reset - this removes all linked files and history
4. Restart the policy and choose "Create with editor"

From internal to externally managed

For the reverse route:

1. Reset the policy (see steps above)
2. Start again and choose "Link to an external location"
3. Enter the URL of your external document

Advanced management functions

Version history and policy metadata are both reached from the editor sidebar.

Viewing and adjusting version history

In the policy editor sidebar (three horizontal lines) you find the complete version history:

• Active version is marked in blue
• Click on a version to view it
• Draft versions can still be edited
• Approved versions are read-only
• Version comments can also still be edited (icon with pencil)

Updating policy information

In the sidebar you can also check:

• Next review date - When the policy needs to be reviewed
• Frameworks - Which compliance frameworks are linked
• History - Complete audit trail of changes

Bulk operations

Selecting several policies at once lets you approve or reassign them in a single action.

Working efficiently with selections

For large quantities of policies:

1. Use filters to refine your selection
2. Select All checkbox to select all filtered items
3. Bulk actions appear automatically in the interface

Available bulk actions:

• Assign owners - Assign responsible persons
• Approve policies - Approve multiple drafts

Best practices for policy management

Policy administration stays manageable when ownership is explicit and drafts do not accumulate.

Organisational structure

A policy with a clear owner and a review date set before the deadline rarely goes stale.

Clear ownership:

• Assign at least one owner per policy document
• Distribute responsibilities by area of expertise
• Provide backup owners for absences if needed

Review planning:

• Plan reviews before the deadline
• Combine related policies in one review session

Workflow optimisation

Keeping the draft count low and changelog entries specific is what keeps version history actually useful.

Draft management:

• Keep the number of drafts limited
• Approve in time to avoid confusion
• Use clear changelog comments

Change tracking:

• Document changes with specific reasons
• Use consistent version numbering
• Remove version tables from documents themselves, or ensure they are consistent with automatic version management in Tidal