Using Conversations (NextGen)

Note: The following article shows the Betterworks NextGen interface. If the steps and/or screenshots do not match what you see in your organization's Betterworks instance, try this article that shows the same feature in the Betterworks Classic interface.

Contents

• Overview
• My Conversations
• Track Your Conversation Progress
  • Actions
  • States
• Conversation Workflow
• Feedback Summary panel
• Edit Requests
• Searching & Filtering
• FAQs

Overview

The Betterworks Conversations feature provides a structured experience for managers and direct reports to complete performance and coaching check-ins. This module reduces cognitive load and improves transparency by providing a clear roadmap of your conversation cycle and the precise next action required.

My Conversations

The My Conversations homepage is your central hub for all conversations. It's divided into three tabs to help you prioritize your work.

• To Dos: This is your default landing page. It lists all conversations where you have an outstanding action, such as answering questions, sharing your responses, or confirming that a meeting took place.
• Pending: Contains conversations where you are waiting for your counterpart to take action (e.g., a direct report waiting for a manager to share their responses).
• Closed: Stores fully completed conversations or those where the cycle end date has passed. These are available in a read-only format for future reference.

Track Your Conversation Progress

A timeline stepper is located at the top of the conversation detail page. It tracks your conversation progress.

Actions

The stepper only includes actions that have been configured for that specific conversation cycle. These may include:

• Answer Questions: Drafting your responses.
• Admin Review: Shown if your organization's administrators have added an Admin Review Period (specific submission and review deadline dates will be included).
• Share Responses: Making your drafted answers visible to your counterpart.
• Wait Until: Shown if specific dates must pass before sharing or submitting responses is allowed.
• Confirm Meeting: Acknowledge that the conversation occurred.
• Answer Confidential Questions: Completing private responses intended for administrators.

Note: The stepper is only displayed for cycles that have multiple configured actions. If your conversation only has primary questions, the stepper will be hidden to keep the interface simple.

States

The stepper automatically transitions as you complete each action:

• Completed: Represented by a filled checkmark icon.
• Current Step: Highlighted with an outlined circle.
• Pending: Shown as an inactive numbered circle.

Conversation Workflow

1. Answering Questions: Locate the conversation in your To Dos tab and click Answer. 
   • You can format text, add structures, and include links using the rich text editor to provide more meaningful feedback. 
   • To make long forms easier to navigate, sections like descriptions and question blocks are collapsible. 
2. Sharing: Once your responses are drafted, click Share. 
   • If enabled by your organization's administrators, you can view your responses and your counterpart's responses simultaneously to encourage alignment during your discussion.
3. Confirming the Meeting: If enabled by your organization's administrators, a Confirm Met button will be available.
   • The button appears after you have shared your responses to the primary questions. 
   • Either participant can trigger this action, and once clicked, the action is irreversible; the conversation is marked as Complete even if one participant did not answer the primary questions.
   • If you share responses but haven't clicked Confirm Met, the conversation stays in your To Dos tab, but if you click Confirm Met and your counterpart hasn't completed their primary responses, the conversation moves to your Pending tab.
4. Confidential Questions: Confidential questions are private and are never visible to the other participant in the conversation.

Feedback Summary panel

To support with the content of your answers, a Feedback Summary is visible in the right-side panel of Conversations. This enables managers to quickly review employee feedback during their check-ins. Users can toggle between a "By Provider" tab showing individual feedback entries, and a "Summary" tab which aggregated feedback per cycle, with data filtered by business period and defaulting to the current one. 

Each summary item is presented showing the cycle name, last received date, and provider avatars with statuses. Clicking into a cycle opens a detailed read-only summary view, or the option to return to the list.

Edit Requests

If you need to change your responses after your conversation is marked complete, you may need to submit an edit request. If your administrator has enabled Auto-approve, your request is granted immediately. You will receive an email notification, and the status of your confidential questions will update from Completed back to Answering.

Searching & Filtering

For users with a high volume of conversations, the user interface provides several navigation tools.

• Search Bar: Quickly find conversations by searching for the conversation name or the name of a participant.
• Filters: Narrow your list to view only conversations with your direct reports or those with your manager.
• Reporting Line View: Managers can view the Reporting Line to see conversations taking place between their direct reports and their teams.

FAQs

What happens if I forget to click Confirm Met?

The conversation will remain Incomplete until at least one party clicks the button, unless the cycle end date passes, which will move it to the Closed tab.

Can I edit the date for the Confirm Meeting button?

Administrators can edit the activation date as long as that date has not already passed. This setting cannot be changed during an active cycle.

How do I know what to do next?

Always look for the next action button in your conversation list; it will change contextually (e.g., from Answer to Share to Confirm) to guide you through the process.

What if my conversation doesn't track my progress?

The timeline stepper is only displayed for cycles that have multiple configured actions. If your conversation only has primary questions, the stepper will be hidden to keep the interface simple.