Let’s get your team working in Loomio

You have set up a new Loomio group and believe it can help your group collaborate on projects, make decisions and get work done - but members of your group aren’t engaging!

We know that everyone has their favorite tools and work habits, and many people are reluctant to learn a new tool.

Here are some tips that may help you and your group to actively participate in discussions, make decisions together and progress work to an outcome.

  1. Warm up your group
  2. Bring your work plan into Loomio
  3. Use a Loomio thread instead of writing an email
  4. Seek participation with a Poll
  5. Point people to Loomio as the preferred place for communication

Warm up your group

To warm up, I suggest starting a thread with an open question that will get people posting their first comment.

Questions that are relevant to your group, provoke a response and are easy to answer are best.

Here are some examples;

  • Last year was crazy! What is one thing you learnt?
  • The work we do together is important. What should we focus on for the biggest impact?
  • What are you most excited about?

Next, start a new thread with a document attached, or a link to an article, and invite people to comment - “what do you think about this?”

Start a Check poll in the thread asking everyone to confirm they have read the document or article and left a comment in the thread..

If people can sign in to Loomio, read a thread, post a comment and vote in a poll, they have the basic skills needed to use Loomio :-)

Bring your work plan into Loomio

To get work done in Loomio, you need to bring your work into Loomio.

As everyone begins to understand that Loomio is the place to go to find the information they need, to discuss and make decisions about their work; new work habits begin to form.

What are the outcomes you need to achieve? For example:

  • Draft and approve a strategic document
  • Plan and deliver an event
  • Seek advice and prepare a recommendation to stakeholders
  • Submit a proposal to a customer, or to seek funding

Run your work program on Loomio, where everyone can find the info they need, keep up to speed on progress, contribute to discussions, participate in decisions and celebrate key milestones.

Use a Loomio thread instead of writing an email

Next time you need to communicate with your group, instead of writing another email, start a Loomio thread!

Even if people have not accepted your invitation to the group, you can invite them to the thread with their email address.

They can reply via email and their comment will appear in the Loomio thread. And it may help encourage them to join the group, where they can comment and leave a reaction within Loomio.

Here's how:

  • Make the email subject line the title of your thread.
  • Write your email content in the thread context.
  • Invite your team to the thread with their email address or Loomio user name.

A Loomio thread means that:

  • All info about a topic is organized in one easily accessible place.
  • People can respond without generating reply/reply-all email chains that risks leaving people out.
  • You can see who has read the message and who needs a nudge.
  • You can progress actual work to an outcome, and cut down on the amount of email.

Seek participation with a Poll

Have a report to approve? A recommendation seeking endorsement? Or simply need acknowledgement that your team has read a document and had the opportunity to ask questions?

Raising a proposal tells your group that something is happening! It's a great way to progress a discussion towards an outcome and invites people into active participation - to say they approve, or not, and why...

Loomio's proposal and polls conform to a structured pattern where a clear question is asked, a deadline is set, people are invited to vote, a reminder is sent 24 hours before close, and a clear outcome is posted.

Use proposals to uncover problems, agree principles first, seek mandate, invite engagement, run a 'temperature check' and to make a decision with your team - whether an advice, consent or consensus decision.

Point people to Loomio as the preferred place for communication

Responding to questions from the team via email, chat or phone message?

Start a "Questions" thread, where people can post their questions as comments, and anyone in the group can respond by replying to the comment.

Or encourage members to start their own thread with their question - someone in your group may have a great answer!

  • It takes time to break old habits, and nudging people to communicate on Loomio helps everyone to engage, and to find info in the one place - not scattered in snippets of inaccessible email or chat conversations.
  • Shoulder-tap some members to share their question, report, work or information.
  • Encourage and acknowledge people posting with a comment or reaction.

I hope this helps. Do let us know how you get on, and tell us what works for your group!

Email contact@loomio.com or Contact us.🙂