Introduction
Mandatory Reads give Administrators the ability to create or mark Pages in the Hub that require attention and action from users. Mandatory Reads are built on the same structure as Pages, but users are notified of Mandatory Reads and they are required to confirm that they have read and acknowledged the content of the Page.
💡 Helpful Hint 💡
Only Team Admins, Content Moderators, and Organisation Admins have the ability to create and publish any Mandatory Reads. Team Admins can only edit the Mandatory Reads of the Teams they admin over.
In this article:
What are Mandatory Reads?
Mandatory Reads replace the existing manual processes of getting colleagues to sign documents to acknowledge that they have read them.
Mandatory Reads give Administrators the ability to distribute updated policies, documents, and training to teams, and receive an acknowledgment that each individual has read the compulsory information.
If individuals have not acknowledged the Mandatory Read, Administrators will be able to find out who hasn't read the information, follow up with reminders, and/or contact individuals directly through the Analytics function.
Creating a Mandatory Read
Admins have 2 options for mandatory reads: they can create a new one from scratch or mark an existing page as a mandatory read.
To create a new read:
Go to the Admin portal. Under the Content Studio tab, there is a section called Mandatory Reads and click on that
Click on Add Mandatory Read
Choose where you would like your Mandatory Read to be selected
Add in your content. Once you are happy with the content you can then start to do the following:
Edit the confirmation statement. This can be done within the page's properties.
Protect the Page. This can be done within the page's properties
Allowing Translation. This can be done within the page's properties.
This is an Enterprise only feature. You must be on the Enterprise plan to be able to access this.
Post to Feed. Once published, this allows you to post your Mandatory Read after you have created it. This will go by default to the Team(s) assigned to the Mandatory Read.
Click Publish. If you have the 'Share to Feed' property toggled on you will then be met with a post box. The audience of the post will be defined by the Mandatory Read audience. Once you are ready to send the Feed Post, containing the link to the Mandatory Read, click 'Share'.
To mark an existing page:
Organization Admins and Content Moderators can mark any existing Page as a Mandatory Read.
Go to the Admin portal. Under the Content Studio tab, there is a section called Hub and click on that
Find the Page that you would like to make a Mandatory Read and click on it to open the Page editor
Under the Page Properties, there is a Mandatory Read property
Click the Toggle to turn it on
This will turn the Page into a Mandatory Read providing all of the properties of a Mandatory Read
Click Update to update the Page as a Mandatory Read
How to edit, move, or delete a Mandatory Read
Just like pages, you can edit, move or delete a Mandatory Read at any time. These changes can only be made by Organizations Administrators or Content Moderators.
Editing
Making edits will not reset the state of confirmations at this time. If the change being made is a large one and requires that everyone must re-confirm that they have read the page, then the admin will need to create a new page.
Select the three vertical dots on the right-hand side of the Mandatory Read
Select Edit
Make the necessary changes to the Page
Click Update
Your updated Mandatory Read has now been published
Moving
This works just like moving any other page in the Hub. By moving a Mandatory Read you are likely to change the audience of users who need to read the Page - check the teams who have access to the new location BEFORE moving the document
Select the three vertical dots on the right-hand side of the Mandatory Read
Select Move
Choose the new location for the document
Click Move
Click Move and change the audience
Deleting
Deleting a Mandatory Read is very similar to deleting any Page within the Hub. If a Mandatory Read is deleted, all the data, Page content and record of confirmations will be lost and cannot be recovered - it is a permanent deletion!
Select the three vertical dots (burger menu) on the right-hand-side of the Mandatory Read
Select Delete
A warning box will appear - please read this carefully
If you're 100% sure the Mandatory Read needs to be deleted, type CONFIRM where required
Click Delete Page
The Mandatory Read is now permanently deleted and cannot be recovered
How to change the audience
If a Mandatory Read is a standalone document in a section and does not sit within a folder, an Administrator will be able to directly change the audience of the Mandatory Read.
If a Mandatory Read sits within a folder, then it will automatically have the same audience as the entire folder.
Click on the Mandatory Read in the Hub
Click Edit
Go to Audience and change the team
Click Update
The audience for the Mandatory Read has now been changed and the users who have access to this information has been updated
💡 Helpful Hint An Administrator can only change the Audience of a Mandatory Read if the document does NOT sit within a folder |
An Administrator can only change the Audience of a Mandatory Read if the document does NOT sit within a folder
How to activate or deactivate a mandatory read?
Administrators have the ability to make a Mandatory Read active or inactive. If a Mandatory Read is inactive, it will NOT ask the users to confirm they have read the Page, but it will still be visible in the Hub. When a Mandatory Read is re-activated, we recommend that a Reminder is sent to the audience so any users who have not confirmed the Mandatory Read will be notified again. Only Organization Admins and Content Moderators can make Mandatory Reads inactive or active.
Inactive
Select the Mandatory Read you wish to make inactive
Click Edit
Within the Page Properties will be an option for Mandatory Read
Turn the Toggle off
Click Update
The Mandatory Read is now inactive
Active
Select the Mandatory Read you wish to make inactive
Click Edit
Within the Page Properties will be an option for Mandatory Read
Turn the Toggle on
Click Update
The Mandatory Read is now active
How to send a Mandatory Read reminder
Mandatory Read reminders can be sent to the Audience of a Mandatory Read to remind them to Acknowledge and read the Mandatory Raed. Reminders will only be sent to individuals who have NOT acknowledged the Mandatory Read yet.
Sending a reminder to everyone
Select the three vertical dots on the right-hand side of the Mandatory Read
Select Send Reminders
A box will appear for you to send a reminder post
Give the post a title and/or introduction
Choose Post type
Click Share
Reminders will be posted in the Feeds to notify individuals who haven't acknowledged their Mandatory Read(s)
Sending a reminder to a specific group of your audience
Click on the Mandatory Read you'd like to send Reminders for
Either Send Reminder to the entire audience at the top next to Export
Or Send Reminder to a specific team e.g. just to Operations
Once selected, a post box will appear just as before
For this example, the Reminders will ONLY go out to the Operations team
How to access Mandatory Reads
When a Mandatory read has been published that you need to read, you will be notified in TWO different ways.
Via the banner
Select Read Now in the banner at the very top of the page
This link will take you straight to Mandatory Reads
The Mandatory Read(s) in Outstanding are the Pages that require your attention
Once you've read and understood the Mandatory Read, tick the box at the bottom of the Page, and then click Confirm to acknowledge the Mandatory Read
You have now acknowledged the Mandatory Read
Via the Hub
Go to the notification on the Hub icon (red dot - this colour may differ for your organization)
Scroll to Mandatory Reads
Select the Mandatory Read that is Outstanding and needs your attention
Once you've read and understood the Mandatory Read, tick the box and then click Confirm to acknowledge the Mandatory Read
Editing the Mandatory Read Confirmation Statement
Editing the Mandatory Read confirmation allows you to change the written statement for any Mandatory Read to something that may be more aligned with your intentions of the Mandatory Read. Editing the Mandatory Read Statement can only be done by Organization Admins or Content Moderators.
After you have either created, marked a Page as a Mandatory Read, or chose one that hasn't been published you will see the Page Properties have an Edit Statement option
Click that and a pop-up will appear
You will be able to edit the button text and select from these options:
Confirm
Acknowledge
Accept
Approve
Agree
You will also be able to choose or create a new statement by clicking 'New'. Each statement will be saved and can be reused. You can also delete any statement, except the default, by hovering over the statement and pressing the three little dots. Alternatively, you can press the 'Edit Statement' found at the bottom of the page. This will open the sidebar and allow you to edit it accordingly.
FAQs
How will people be notified a Mandatory Read has been sent? | A Notification Banner will appear on their device screen until they Acknowledge the Mandatory Read. A Push Notification will also be sent to a user's mobile device and desktop. |
I have a new user, will Mandatory Reads be available to them immediately? | When a new user joins Blink they will find their Mandatory Reads appearing once they open Blink for the first time. |
What happens to data in an inactive mandatory read? | If a Mandatory Read is re-activated, the previous data collected on who has confirmed a Mandatory Read is NOT lost. This data is still visible from within the Admin dashboard and users who have not confirmed will immediately be notified on re-activation. |
How often can I send a reminder? | You can send a reminder at any moment at any time. This means that you should be careful, and aware, of when are to whom you are sending this to. |