Adding Stage Rules to Document Workflows

You can add stage rules to your document workflows to automatically generate an action based on the details of your standard, policy, or procedure. OneTrust supports the creation and management of these rules to provide more control and flexibility to the workflows that you have created in the tool.

The workflow stage rules will be evaluated each time the document reaches the stage in which the rule is configured. Rule conditions are optional and are qualifiers to the rule action execution.

Available Workflow Stage Rule Actions

Currently, workflow stage rules can be configured to initiate the following actions automatically:

Action

Description

Set Stage Expiration Date

Once initiated, this action will set the stage expiration to automatically move to the next workflow stage in the specified amount of time after the document advances to a certain stage.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Set Stage Expiration Date .

Set Expiration

Once initiated, this action will set the document expiration date to automatically let the document expire in the specified amount of time after the document advances to a certain stage.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Set Document Expiration .

Publish

Once initiated, this action will publish the document.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Publish a Document .

Send Email Notification

Once initiated, this action will send email notifications to all approvers selected.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Send Email Notifications .

Route Based on Document Expiration Date

Once initiated, this action will route a workflow to a stage based on the document expiration date.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Route Based on Document Expiration .

Send Entity Report

Once initiated, this action will send the entity report selected to specified recipient(s).

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Send Entity Reports .

Update Attribute

Once initiated, this action will update attributes to the value assigned in the rule action configuration section.

For more information, see Configure Stage Rules to Update Attributes .

To add a workflow stage rule

  1. On the Policy menu, select Setup > Workflows. screen appears.

    The Workflows screen appears.

  2. Click the View button on the workflow type you would like to configure.
    The Workflows screen appears.

  3. Click on the name of the workflow in which you would like to add a workflow rule.
    The Workflow Details screen appears.
    Tip:

    If you would like to create a new workflow, see Adding and Editing Policy Workflows.

  4. Go to the Rules tab.
  5. Click the Add Rule button.
    The Workflow Rule Customizer appears.
    Note:

    Workflow stage rules cannot be configured on the first stage of a workflow.

  6. Enter a rule name that describes the rule.
  7. Optional: Configure workflow stage rule conditions. If no condition is configured, the stage rule will be evaluated each time a document enters this stage. For more information, see Workflow Stage Rule Conditions.
  8. Configure workflow stage rule actions. For more information, see Workflow Stage Rule Actions.
  9. Click the Save button to add the workflow stage rule to your document workflow.

Workflow Stage Rule Conditions

Note:

Conditions are not required. If no conditions are configured, the stage rule will be evaluated each time a document enters this stage and the workflow stage rule action will initiate.

The document workflow stage rule conditions are an optional configuration used to initiate certain actions if any or all of the conditions are met. You can create individual conditions or combine conditions using the Add Condition button to create complex automation logic.

When combining multiple conditions, you can choose whether any of the conditions can be met to initiate the rule action or if all conditions must be met to initiate the action. This section explains how to configure single or multiple conditions to initiate workflow stage rule actions.



Section

Field

Description

Conditions

Add Condition

Click the Add Condition button to add more conditions to the workflow stage rule.

ALL
If you select ALL, the stage rule will only be initiated if all of the conditions are met.
Note:

This option only appears if you add more than one condition to the workflow stage rule.

ANY
If you select ANY, the stage rule will be initiated if any one of the conditions are met.
Note:

This option only appears if you add more than one condition to the workflow stage rule.

Condition Block

Conditions

Select the condition(s) that must be met before initiating the workflow stage rule action. The following condition are available to configure:

Attribute - This condition will launch the stage rule action if the system or custom attribute you configured for the condition is met.

Organization - This condition will launch the stage rule action if the organization related to the document matches what you configured for the condition.

Attribute
Select the attribute that will be linked to this condition.
Note:

The attribute field is only available when the Attribute conditions is selected.

Operator

Select the relationship that must be met between the field and value. The following operators are available for each attribute type:

Numerical Single Select:

  • Contains Any

  • Does Not Contain

Numerical Text:

  • Equal To

  • Not Equal To

  • Greater Than

  • Greater Than Or Equal To

  • Less Than

  • Less Than Or Equal To

Value

Select the value that applies to your condition(s).

Add Condition Button

N/A

Click the Add Condition button to add more conditions to the workflow stage rule.

Workflow Stage Rule Actions

Configure Stage Rules to Set Stage Expiration Date

Note:

If Set Stage Expiration Date is selected for the next action, Route Based On Expiration Date will not be listed.

You can configure workflow rules to set the stage expiration to automatically move to the next workflow stage in the specified amount of time after the document advances to a certain stage.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Set Stage Expiration Date.

Next Workflow Stage

Select the workflow stage the document should move to once the rule conditions have been met.

Set Expiration Date To

Configure the number of days, weeks, or months after meeting the rule conditions that the workflow stage should automatically move to the next stage.

The document will be moved to the next stage after this amount of time.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Set Document Expiration

You can configure workflow rules to set the document expiration date to automatically let the document expire in the specified amount of time after the document advances to a certain stage.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Set Expiration.

Set Expiration Date To

Enter a numeric value and use the field selector to define the number of days, weeks, or months after the document will be set to expire.

The document will be set as expired after this amount of time configured has been met.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Publish a Document

You can configure workflow rules to automatically publish the document.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Publish.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Send Email Notifications

You can configure workflow rules to automatically send email notifications to all approvers selected.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Send Email Notification.

Subject

Configure the subject with text and variables as needed.

Body

Configure the body with text and variables as needed.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Route Based on Document Expiration

Note:

If Route Based On Expiration Date is selected for the next action, Set Stage Expiration Date will not be listed.

You can configure workflow rules to automatically route a workflow to a stage based on the document expiration date.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Route Based on Document Expiration Date.

Next Workflow Stage

Select the workflow stage the workflow should route to based on this rule.

Set Stage Advancement Date To

Configure the number of days, weeks, or months after meeting the rule conditions that the workflow stage should automatically move to the next stage.

The document will be moved to the next stage after this amount of time.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Send Entity Reports

You can configure stage rules to automatically send an entity report to specified recipient(s).



Field
Description
Actions

Select Send Entity Report.

Report template to use

Select the templates to base the report on.

Recipients

Select the recipients that will be sent the report. You can select from system users, user groups, or user type attributes.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Configure Stage Rules to Update Attributes

You can configure stage rules to update attributes to the value assigned in the rule action configuration section.



Field
Description
Actions

Select Update attribute.

Add Action

Click the Add Action button to add more actions to the workflow stage rule.

Document Stage Rule Use Cases

Use Case #1: Create Annual Review Process

You can configure workflow stage rule actions to create a yearly review process by following the steps outlined below:

Step One: Configure the Set Expiration Rule

Create a stage rule with the Set expiration action to set a document to expire a year after it moves to the approved or published workflow stage. This ensures that the document is flagged for review annually.

The stage rule configured below will set the document expiration date to 12 months after the document is moved to the Published stage.



Step Two: Configure the Route Based on Document Expiration Date Rule

Create a stage rule with the Route based on document expiration date action to automatically move the document to the Review stage once the document expiration date is reached. This ensures that the document remains in the workflow for reassessment.

The stage rule configured below will move the document to the Review stage once the Expiration Date attribute in the rule condition is met.



Step Three: Configure the Send Notification Rule

Create a stage rule with the Send Notification action to send email notifications to the designated reviewers and owners. This ensures that those responsible are held accountable and take timely action on the document.

The stage rule configured below will automatically add a Policy Approver and Policy Owner when the document enters the Review stage. The rule will also send an email notification to all the approvers added on the Stage Details screen.



(Optional) Step Four: Configure Set Stage Expiration Date Rule

The purpose of this optional configuration is to set the stage to expire 30 days after the document enters the Review stage. This ensures that the document is automatically escalated if no action is taken.