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Windy reaches out to your team in Slack to collect feedback, check in on progress, and run routines. Here’s everything you need to know about interacting with Windy.

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Always reply in threads

When Windy sends you a message in Slack, you must reply in a thread to get an effective response.
To reply in a thread:
  1. Hover over Windy’s message
  2. Click the Reply in thread icon (speech bubble)
  3. Type your response in the thread
  4. Send your message
Don’t reply directly in the channel or as a direct message. Windy won’t see responses outside of threads and won’t be able to process your feedback.

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What to expect from Windy

Depending on which routines your team has activated, Windy will reach out for different things:

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Feedback requests

Windy asks you for feedback on teammates you’ve worked with recently. These requests are contextual—Windy references specific meetings, projects, or activities you completed together. Frequency: Once or twice per week for most team members.

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Recaps

Every week, Windy automatically generates a list of your activities from your connected systems (GitHub, Jira, Google Drive, etc.). Windy shares this recap with you to review and edit before it’s sent to your manager. Frequency: Weekly, typically on Fridays.

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Pulse surveys

Windy checks in on how you’re feeling about your work, team, and company. These are quick 1-2 question surveys that take less than a minute to complete. Frequency: Varies based on your team’s configuration (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly).

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Custom routines

Your manager or HR team can set up custom routines for specific check-ins or data collection. Windy will reach out when these routines run. Frequency: Depends on routine configuration.

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How often Windy reaches out

On average, expect to hear from Windy once or twice per week. Windmill believes more feedback is better—feedback is a gift. We optimize to minimize effort while maximizing the value of the feedback collected. If Windy’s frequency feels too high or too low, talk to your manager or HR admin about adjusting routine settings.

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Starting conversations with Windy

You don’t have to wait for Windy to reach out. You can start conversations with Windy anytime.

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Give unsolicited feedback

Open a direct message with Windy and say:
“Hey @Windy, can I give some feedback to [person’s name]?”
Windy will guide you through providing feedback to your teammate.

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Request feedback

“@Windy can you get some feedback about me from [person’s name]?”
Windy will reach out to that person on your behalf.
You can give feedback to multiple people at once. Just ask Windy—they can assist with that.

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Ask questions

Windy can answer questions about routines, feedback, and Windmill features. Just start a conversation and ask.

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Roles and expectations

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For individual contributors

As an employee, Windmill brings your accomplishments to light, ensures your work isn’t overlooked, and enables timely feedback. To get the most out of Windmill, all you need to do is reply to Windy when they reach out. Windy will:
  • Ask you for feedback on teammates once or twice per week
  • Share your weekly recap for you to review and edit
  • Check in on your wellbeing through pulse surveys
  • Collect responses for any custom routines your manager sets up

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For managers

As a manager, Windy helps you stay connected to your team without constant check-ins. Windy surfaces insights about your direct reports’ activities, feedback they’ve received, and responses to surveys—all in the Windmill Dashboard. You’ll interact with Windy in Slack just like your team does, but you can also view aggregated insights and reports in the dashboard.

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Windy follows up

If you miss a message from Windy, don’t worry. Windy follows up with reminders to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You don’t need to remember to respond—Windy will nudge you if needed.

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Next steps

Learn how to add Windy to Slack channels so Windy can gather more context about team collaboration.