Step 1: Setting up your account

The first thing is to set up your account so you can start to ask staff for their feedback.

Add staff records
 
You will need to add your staff members details and you can do this within the Staff Management tab on your menu on the left of your dashboard.
 
Please note that if you have already uploaded staff records, for example using Survey, you will not have to do this again and can proceed to create your first invitation.
 
First, add your staff members’ first and last names and email addresses to the available Excel file. You may be able to copy and paste these from your staff database, for example, SIMs. Leave the title for each column in place.
 
You can see details of how we use your data and comply with the General Data Protection Regulations here.
 
Create groups
 
To create groups you just need to choose what will work for your school. We have deliberately built this flexibly to meet the needs of different schools. For example, you can group staff by their department name, year group, job role, leadership group, etc. Just use what works for you.
 
You can add more than one group for each staff member to ensure you can include each of their peer, job, or other roles and up to a maximum of five. This means when you send out invitations to specific staff, you will capture the feedback you need. If they are in more than one group invited to any conversation they will only receive one invitation (rather than one for every group they belong to – we take care of that).
 
Add a group name against each staff member in the columns provided (one per column), though you do not need to complete all columns and staff can be in as few or as many groups as you need (between 1 and 5).
 
Names could be Teacher, Support, LSA (TA, HLTA, etc.), Office, Middle Leader, KS2, Phase Leader, SLT and depending on your school sector and phase. Invitations can only be sent to 8 or more people to protect anonymity. While you can add groups together and the system will help you manage this, if you can create groups that have at least 8 members, this is likely to make it even easier to use.
 
Just leave any columns that you do not use blank.
 
Once the Excel file is completed, click on the blue upload symbol on the right and select the file you have just created or you can drag your file across to the box. Your staff records will be added and this can take a few seconds and you will see a message to say they are added successfully.
 
Your staff will now show as a list within Staff management and below where you added the Excel file. You can also use this list to edit or delete existing records and to allocate user rights (see below)to other staff which will mean they have their own school account login.
 
Once you have uploaded the Excel file you you are ready for your first conversation. Sending your first conversation is in step 2.
 

Allocating user rights
 
You can assign full, viewing, or admin rights to individual staff members, so your senior team and other relevant people can access your dashboard.
 
  • Full rights mean the staff member can upload and edit staff, create invitations, respond to conversations, and allocate user rights. They will also be able to see all conversations and respond to any staff comments, making sure that these are not missed, even during absences.
  • Staff with full access rights can also grant access to other staff members. The account originator will receive email notification of who has granted access to a staff member and what access level has been granted.
  • Viewing rights mean staff members will be able to view conversations and comments only and not create invitations, respond to comments, or add or amend staff records.
  • Admin rights mean staff members will only be able to add and edit staff records, so you can delegate this to members of your office team or any other relevant staff member.

These rights can be revoked at any time by the main account holder (the person who registered for the account). You can change the main account holder by changing the name and email address in your Account tab in the menu.
When user rights are allocated, these are automatic and the relevant staff member will receive an email giving them their login information.
 

Adding new staff records
 
You can add new staff or add records to existing staff when needed.
 
To add new staff, go to Staff management and you can either add them manually by entering their details in the boxes shown, or use a new Excel file.
 
You can also download your existing staff records in an Excel file to make amendments and re-upload them. The one thing this will not do is delete any records, which you will have to do manually. This is because the Excel file can be used to simply upload new starters and this is recommended when you have a significant number. 
 
Adding manually is ideal for one or a very small number of staff and if you are allocating them to existing group(s).
If you need to create   , remove  , or rename   a group you can do this using  at the top of the staff list.
 
If you want to add multiple staff members and create new groups then you should use the Excel file (existing or new). Follow the steps above for uploading your file and these new records will be created.
 
If you are adding new information to an existing staff member then just add their email address in the Excel file (the email address is used to match records), along with the new information and this will add it to the existing staff record.
 
If their email address has changed you will need to amend this first using the edit button alongside their details.
 
If you need any support with staff records, please email [email protected] or click the request assistance button using your  Account tab in your menu.

Adding staff to an existing conversation
 
If you add new staff members (or replace incorrect details) you can add them to an existing conversation from within the  Conversations tab in your menu. Click on the bell icon and then select the additional staff to invite by ticking the checkbox by the relevant staff member. Or you can invite new groups of staff.
 
You can also use the bell icon to send an invitation again, for example, if a staff member says they haven’t received it.
 

Before sending your first invitation
 
Ask your IT department or technician to ensure that emails received will be added to your safe senders list. You can copy and paste the message below.
 
Please add the following email addresses to our safe senders list. 
 
 
 
Invitations for our survey and for staff feedback are sent from the above addresses and using Amazon AWS, They are sent via eu-west-1.amazonses.com

Without this, it is likely that some staff members’ invitations will be delivered to their spam folder. Even after doing this, it is still possible an invitation could end up in a spam folder and if any staff member tells you they have not received their email, please ask them to check spam before re-issuing it.
 
Before sending your first invitation you will want to let staff know about Voice and how to use it. To help there is a suggested message below you can adapt and send to them if needed.
 
Dear
Your wellbeing is very important and current events have obviously brought significant change. I know how much you have had to do to adapt to our new ways of working.
 
We are making sure we keep in touch and have put in place those things we think will help during this time and it will be really helpful to get your feedback on what is happening for you and what else we might do.
 
While I hope you will reach out if you do have concerns, ideas or feedback, I also want to make sure you can do this easily and, if needed, anonymously. To do this we will be using an external service from Welbee.
 
You will receive an e-mail invitation to provide feedback on (insert date). By clicking on the link you will be able to send comments and these will be anonymous and your identity will not be known.
 
I will be able to review your comments and feedback and also respond directly to you, though will not know who I am writing to. This will allow me and other senior leaders to provide better support and guidance, address concerns and listen to your ideas and solutions.
 
Unlike a survey you do not need to respond unless you have something you want to say. You can use this to provide feedback at any time that is right for you and the link will remain open for you to use in the weeks ahead and over the longer term.
 
I will also be able to send out further invitations to ask for feedback on specific areas and I hope you will take the opportunity to use your voice whenever it feels appropriate to you.
 
If you have any questions then please let me know.
 
Thank you for your continuing support and work during what I know are challenging times for all of us. Please look after yourself and stay safe.

Adding your school or MAT logo
 
If you didn’t add your school logo when you first registered your account, you can do this at any time. Adding your logo means it will show in your school dashboard and on staff invitations and responses sent out.
 
To upload go to your Account tab in the menu and click on upload a logo at the bottom of the first section. Add the file or drag it across to the box and your logo will be added to your account.