Rolling Out to Your Team

Once you’ve connected your systems, configured your org chart, and tested your first routine, you’re ready to roll out Windmill to your entire team.

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Pre-rollout checklist

Before inviting your full team, make sure you’ve completed:

• ✅ Connected your chat system (Slack)
• ✅ If you intend on using 1:1s - make sure you have connected Google
• ✅ Connected your HRIS or manually built your org chart
• ✅ Invited key managers and admins to the platform

If you’ve checked all these boxes, you’re ready to roll out.

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Communicating with your team

Send a proactive announcement Don’t let Windy be a surprise. We strongly recommend communicating with your team before sending out your first routine or adding Windy to channels. Your announcement should explain:

• What Windmill is and why you’re using it
• How Windy will interact with them (in Slack threads)
• What they can expect (1:1s, Pulse Surveys, etc.)
• How it benefits them (improved 1:1s, better feedback, more recognition)
• Where to get help if they have questions

Sample announcement:

Hey team! We’re rolling out Windmill, a new tool to help us stay connected and support each other’s growth. You’ll start seeing messages from Windy, our AI assistant, in Slack. Windy will reach out in Slack to help prep for 1:1s, collect feedback or for performance reviews. Just reply like you would to any colleague. This helps us move away from lengthy performance reviews and toward continuous feedback and recognition. If you have questions, drop them in #ask-hr or reach out to me directly.

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Adding Windy to Slack channels

You can control which Slack channels Windy has access to. Most teams opt to have Windy in all public channels—this gives Windy the most context about team collaboration and helps identify the right moments to collect feedback. For detailed instructions on managing Windy’s channel access, see Adding Windy to Channels.

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Training and support

Windmill offers team and manager training sessions to help your organization get the most out of the platform. Available training:

• Team member training (how to interact with Windy, what to expect)
• Manager training (how to use 1:1s, configure surveys, interpret reviews)
• Admin training (deep dive into settings, integrations, and advanced features)

To schedule training, reach out via your shared Slack channel or email support@gowindmill.com.

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Setting expectations

Help your team understand: How to interact with Windy Windy will reach out in Slack threads. Team members should reply in the thread, just like they would to any colleague. If they miss a message, Windy will follow up with a reminder. For more details, see Talking to Windy. When to expect outreach Depending on your set-up, team members might hear from Windy once or twice per week. Continuous Feedback requests happen when colleagues have been working together. Pulse Surveys go out on a regular schedule. How to give unsolicited feedback Team members can always start a conversation with Windy to give feedback or ask questions, even when Windy hasn’t reached out first. Privacy and permissions Windmill only shows information people already have permission to access. Managers see their direct reports’ data, and individual contributors see only their own information. For more details, see Permissions and Access.

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Monitoring the rollout

After rolling out, keep an eye on:

• Windy’s interaction patterns - Are team members responding? Do messages feel appropriately timed?
• Feedback quality - Is the feedback Windy collects useful and actionable?
• Team sentiment - How do people feel about Windy? Are they comfortable interacting with Windy?
• Manager usage - Are managers using the reports and insights?

Make adjustments as needed based on what you observe.

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Example language - Performance review rollout

Hi Team, I’m excited to announce that starting this month, we’ll be using Windmill for our company-wide Performance Review! Windmill will help us run a simpler and more meaningful review cycle that highlights your impact, encourages continuous feedback, and supports your growth.  Windmill uses AI to help gather context (i.e., goals, projects, feedback) and gives everyone structured guidance directly in Slack throughout the process.  While Windmill uses AI to surface helpful information, AI is not evaluating anyone’s performance. Managers are still responsible for writing feedback and finalizing reviews. Our Performance Review timeline is below:

• 🗓 FILL OUT WITH YOUR SCHEDULE

You’ll receive a Slack notification from Windy, Windmill’s AI agent, with instructions when it’s your turn to complete each step. Thank you in advance for taking time to reflect thoughtfully, and for helping us make this cycle a success!

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Example language - What is Windmill and why we’re using it

Windmill is our new performance and feedback platform that integrates with our daily tools (Slack, Google Workspace, Github, Linear, Notion, etc.) and makes reviews easier and more reflective of real work. Why we chose it:

• Reviews grounded in real work:  Windy continuously collects feedback and activity data from your tools, so reviews are based on actual work, not distant memories or biased recollections.
• Faster and more consistent:  Instead of employees and managers spending hours writing from scratch, Windy surfaces a complete picture of employee performance, pulling in real examples, highlights, and feedback over the review period for you to review, revise, or approve.
• Higher quality feedback:  Windy is trained to prompt for specificity and balance. When responses are vague, Windy follows up with nudges focused on specific examples and outcomes rather than personalities, ensuring reviews are actionable, fair, and grounded in reality.

Windmill runs performance reviews directly in Slack — no separate platform, logins, or long forms.  When a review cycle begins, Windy (the AI Slack assistant) sends you a message to begin your review. The review is completed in Slack, conversationally, then automatically uploaded into the Windmill platform where you can make any tweaks or edits.  More information can be found on the Windmill helpdesk section titled Performance Reviews in Windmill.

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Getting help

If you or your team have questions:

• All Windmill customers have access to our team via a shared Slack channel
• Email support@gowindmill.com for additional help
• Browse this help center for guides and FAQs

Our SLA is under 24 hours, but we typically respond in under 10 minutes.