3 simple steps to conduct the BEST virtual debrief
One of the things I most loved about my team at Gap Inc. was the focus on continuous improvement and we did so by dedicating time to conduct debriefs. We debriefed following a conference our team put on, at the end of a program cycle, or even a quick “what went well” and what are “even better if’s” for the future following a meeting with a senior leader.
When conducting a debrief for a more significant project or event, we leveraged a virtual tool to gather initial thoughts. Over the years, we used various virtual tools, but the one I love the most and highly recommend is Trello (bonus: it’s free!). Here’s how:
Update debrief template: Create a Trello account + update my debrief template according to your team’s needs (i.e. adjust lists as makes sense for whatever you’re debriefing; my template is intended for an event like a webinar or conference).
Instruct team to provide their feedback: Give team members a week to fill in items (Trello calls them ‘cards’) with their insights. I recommend leveraging a start/stop/continue approach, meaning folks provide their suggestions as follows:
🙋🏽♂️ What to START doing next time
🚫 What to STOP doing
✅ What worked well that the team should CONTINUE doing next time
Pro Tips:
Color code each suggestions/card (start = blue; stop = red; green = continue by clicking ‘edit label’ on a specific card).
Encourage folks to include their name or initials on their cards so you can identify who said what if you need further clarification.
3. Pull out items for larger team discussion: Review feedback and flag any items that warrant broader team discussion. Reserve at least 30 minutes at your next team meeting to discuss those items with the goal of aligning on a go-forward plan for the future.
The next time you embark on a similar project, you have all you need to do it EVEN better!
Pro Tip: one of the most helpful tools for a debrief is insight from the end-participants themselves (ex: event attendees), so be sure to have attendees complete a quick survey to provide their feedback. I recommend including a combination of quantitative (i.e. rate this workshop on a scale of 1-10) as well as qualitative (ie quick sentence or two). Keep open-ended response questions to a minimum as folks tend to prefer easy-to-answer questions. Think of Lyft providing options for you to share HOW your driver was so great so you don't have to come up with it yourself.
Have you used Trello to debrief? Have other recommendations for a rock-star debrief? Share in comments!