How MSPs Can Structure Client Review of Policy Changes for Trusted Rollouts

Coordination with clients about policy changes with operational consequences minimizes potential deployment issues. In this guide, we discuss how to structure a client review process to bridge the gap between policy creation and rollout.

How to review and update a policy collaboratively with MSP clients

An effective client review process fosters collaboration, transparency, and clear communication. When done correctly, there should be minimal surprises, confusion, and helpdesk spikes. This section provides tips on how to create your client review process.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, make sure you have the following:

• A standardized template for summarizing policy changes
• Defined thresholds (“change triggers”) that require client review
• Communication workflows tailored for client input and approval
• Reminder mechanisms and tracking tools for sign-off status
• Documentation logging to capture feedback and approvals

Step 1: Define which changes require client approval

Understand what changes require client approval. Typically, policy changes that will affect operations need to be communicated to the client. These include policies that:

• Affect end-user workflows (e.g., new MFA requirements)
• Change system behavior or usability (e.g., patch reboot schedules)
• Carry compliance or risk implications (e.g., disk encryption policies)

Knowing which changes need client approval improves your client communication by preventing overcommunication.

Step 2: Prepare a policy summary for the client

Give your client a concise document containing the most salient points. Documents can vary for each client and MSP, but make sure that you have the following details:

• What’s changing (e.g., “Password expiration reduced to 60 days”)
• Why it matters or why the change is being implemented (e.g., improves security posture)
• Impact on users (e.g., more frequent password resets)
• Recommended next steps (e.g., internal communications)
• Tentative timeline (e.g., “Planned deployment: 2025‑09‑15”)

💡 Tip: Condense your summary into a one-pager and use tables when possible. This prevents overloading your clients with information and makes communication more efficient. Remember, visual clarity helps with efficient comprehension.

Step 3: Initiate and facilitate a review session with the client

For most IT policies, review and development entail discussing the policy with your client. During the review, open the floor for clarifications, questions, insights, and other concerns with the policy changes from your clients. This is the time to eliminate any confusion and ensure everyone’s on the same page.

💡 Tip: To ensure good communication, make sure to have the review session in whatever format works best for your client. Some examples of review session formats include:

• A quick ~15-minute video call walkthrough
• A shared doc with comment capability
• An email summary allowing inline feedback and approval reply

⚠️ Important: During the review session, it’s also important to have a clear signal of client confirmation. If your client approves of the policy change, make sure to capture confirmation via email, ticket note, or signed acknowledgment.

Step 4: Confirm approval, update clients, and provide continued support

After the review session, send a follow-up email to your client to confirm their approval. Once approval has been confirmed, schedule your policy deployment and notify clients with a follow-up that includes key dates and support availability.

💡 Tip: Sometimes, clients can take some time to respond. Rather than waiting and potentially missing their approval, you can automate reminders for yourself or the administrator in charge to send a gentle follow-up to the client.

Best practice: Document your review and approval process

IT documentation keeps everything recorded, encouraging accountability for both MSPs and clients. Using a concise tabular record of your process also prevents confusion, while keeping things readable.

Here’s an example of how you can log your review process:

How NinjaOne helps your client review process

NinjaOne primarily helps with the deployment process. While it won’t structure your communications with your client, its features help with automating and documentation.

Examples include:

• Storing client policy summaries linked to service tickets in NinjaOne.
• Tagging policy change tickets as “PendingReview” and blocking deployment until sign-off.
• Using NinjaOne alerts to trigger both reminders and post-deployment follow-ups.

Minimize client confusion during policy changes with a structured client review process

Adding a client review to your policy change process creates transparency, trust, and service consistency. MSPs can reinforce quality customer service and professionalism through streamlined approval workflows, concise summaries, and detailed documentation.

Related topics:

• What Steps Should MSPs Take to Support Client Compliance?
• Complete Guide to Document Management for MSPs: Tools, Processes, and Best Practices
• How to Communicate Value as an MSP in 2025