Rolling Out to Your Team

Once you’ve connected your systems, configured your org chart, and tested your first pulse, 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 to use automatic 1:1 detection, connect Google Workspace or Outlook Calendar
• ✅ 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 Tell your team about Windy before you send your first Pulse or add the Windmill app to Slack channels. Your announcement should explain:

• What Windmill is and why you’re using it
• How Windy will interact with them in direct-message 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 will start to receive direct messages from Windy, our AI assistant, in Slack. Windy will contact you to help with 1:1 preparation, feedback collection, or performance reviews. Reply in the applicable direct-message thread. 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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Add Slack channels as context

You can control which Slack channels Windmill uses as context. Adding the app to a channel does not enable Windy conversations in that channel. Team members must use a Windy direct message or the Windmill Dashboard to chat with Windy. For setup instructions, see Add Slack channels as context.

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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 contacts team members in Slack direct messages. Team members must reply in the applicable direct-message thread. For more information, see Talking to Windy. When to expect outreach Message frequency depends on the features and schedules that your company enables. Windy prompted feedback uses recent collaboration signals. Recaps, Pulse surveys, 1:1 notifications, and performance reviews can each cause separate messages. How to give unsolicited feedback Team members can start a conversation in a Windy direct message or the Windmill Dashboard. They do not have to wait for Windy to contact them. 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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Phased rollout

Many organizations prefer to introduce Windmill gradually rather than launching all features at once. This approach lets you build familiarity, gather feedback, and refine your processes before expanding.

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Introduce features at different times

You can introduce Performance Reviews, 1:1s, Pulses, and Feedback at different times. Feedback is available to members by default. An Admin or HR Admin can separately enable Windy prompted feedback for selected employees.

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Suggested rollout phases

Phase 1: Performance Reviews Start with Performance Reviews to establish Windmill as your review platform. This gives everyone a clear, structured introduction to Windy and the platform. Phase 2: 1:1s Once reviews are complete, enable 1:1s to help managers and direct reports have more productive conversations. This builds on the review foundation with ongoing touchpoints. Phase 3: Pulses Add Pulse Surveys to gather regular sentiment data across your organization. By this point, your team is comfortable with Windy’s outreach style. Phase 4: Feedback Finally, introduce Feedback to your full team. Members can give and request feedback with Windy. You can also enable Windy prompted feedback after your team understands how Feedback works.

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Manage Windy prompted feedback

You must be an Admin or HR Admin to change Feedback settings. Proactive feedback and requested feedback remain available when Windy prompted feedback is off.

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Example rollout timeline

Adjust timing based on your organization’s size, review cycles, and comfort level. Some teams move faster; others prefer more time between phases.

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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 uses feedback collected in Windmill and activity context from your connected tools. This helps reviewers use recent evidence instead of memory alone.
• 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. Learn how to connect with us on Slack
• 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.