Frequently Asked Questions
How is SpeakUp different than other internal communication tools?
Am I charged for users that are invited but don't register?
How many users does my company SpeakUp account need to be useful?
What types of users are there?
What happens if someone posts inappropriate content in my company's SpeakUp account?
What happens to posts when there is no manager to make decisions?
Can I post a solution without posting a problem?
How do I track the progress of solutions and ideas once they've been approved?
What is SpeakUp?
Pro tip: Checkout our explainer video
SpeakUp enables businesses to capture and curate their team's best thinking. It makes the problem solving process more inclusive and it makes ideation more collaborative.
The best part about SpeakUp is that it is structured collaboration that results in concrete decision making - decisions that result in better products and happier customers.
Companies that figure out how to extract the best thinking from their teams, will have a competitive advantage!
Want more information? Take the tour
How does SpeakUp work?
Come across a problem? Create a problem post. Know how to solve the problem? Create a solution post. Have a great idea? Create an idea post.
Not interested in posting, but still want to participate? Vote and comment on the team's posts.
Managers are presented with the top voted solutions and ideas to approve, amend, or deny. The whole team can see what decision was made and why.
How is SpeakUp different than other internal communication tools?
SpeakUp is enterprise software (as a service) but it was made with end-user experience in mind. We strongly believe that enterprise software is (mostly) terrible, and we are doing our part to change that.
SpeakUp is not just more yammering and chattering - it's a structured communication tool that provides companies with a simple way to define problems, solve them, and generate new ideas. Hence, employee-sourced innovation.
SpeakUp results in concrete decision making. Conversations are great, decisions are better. The discussion is important, but what we really counts are tangible decisions that improve business performance.
How much does SpeakUp cost?
Am I charged for users that are invited but don't register?
No. You will only be charged for the number of active users on your account at the end of each billing cycle.
How many users does my company SpeakUp account need to be useful?
Highly engaged teams as small as five people can benefit from using SpeakUp. More people involved means better curation (via voting), more new ideas, and more problems solved. Invite your entire team!
What types of companies use SpeakUp?
SpeakUp is for any company that has a talented team, problems that need to be solved, and are in need of new ideas to keep the business growing.
The common traits are:
Knowledge workers - the team is paid for their brainpower
Engaged and motivated employees looking to make positive change
Remote workers and/or multiple offices (although SpeakUp works great in a single office environment)
Can users post anonymously?
Yes. Sign up as an employee and you have the option to “post anonymously by default.” This setting can be changed at any time.
When a manager takes over administrative access of an account, they are presented with the option to disable anonymous posting.
Should I post anonymously?
If you want your name attached to your best ideas, problems and solutions, then anonymous posting is not necessary.
Users that post anonymously typically do so for one or more of the following reasons:
The post is controversial
The user does not want their name, title or reputation to influence others' votes/comments
The user does not typically SpeakUp at work and feels safer posting anonymously
I'm a manager, should I allow my team to post anonymously?
Yes, unless there's a good reason not to. It's important to let everyone feel like they can contribute constructively without fear of embarrassment or repercussion.
Remember that downvoting helps obscure posts that aren't useful and flagging takes care of inappropriate posts. Managers also have the ability to delete posts.
What types of users are there?
Employee
Create posts
Vote
Comment
Create groups
Invite other users to SpeakUp (only if there is no Company Manager)
Group Manager
Everything an Employee can do, plus:
Edit/delete groups you created
Assign group manager to someone else (note, there can only be one group manager per group)
Approve, amend or deny posts (for that group) - paid accounts only
Company Admin (paid accounts)
Everything a Group Manager can do, plus:
Add/remove users
Assign other admins (note, there can be multiple company admins)
Change the company manager (note, there can only be one company manager)
Update credit card details
Disable anonymous posting
Company Manager (paid accounts)
Everything a Company Admin can do, plus:
Approve, amend or deny posts (for company group)
What are groups?
Groups are a way to organize your SpeakUp account. You can create groups to match functional teams, company hierarchy or in any way that's useful to you. Each group has its own feed and its own manager for decision making. For instance, if you have a post that is highly specific to the marketing team, you may only want to post it in the “marketing” group.
Group name examples:
Sales
Engineering
Latin America
Innovation Team
Customer support
What happens if someone posts inappropriate content in my company's SpeakUp account?
Come across an inappropriate post? Flag it for removal. Is there a post that is of little value, or one that you disagree with? Downvote it. Want to have full control to delete posts and/or disable anonymous posting? Upgrade to a manager account (link) or invite a manager to take over administrative access of your company's account (link).
What happens to posts when there is no manager to make decisions?
Employees can collaborate by creating new posts, commenting and voting. Conversations are great, but decisions are better. To get the most out of your SpeakUp account, invite a manager or upgrade your company's account to enable decision making.
Can I post a solution without posting a problem?
No. A solution post must be attached to a problem post - either your own problem post, or someone else's.
How do I track the progress of solutions and ideas once they've been approved?
We suggest that you formally add approved/amended solutions and ideas to the company's existing project management process to ensure that the work is assigned to an owner, given a timeline and is seen through to completion. If you don't currently have a process for this, we can help.
Is SpeakUp secure?
The posts you make are only visible to other registered SpeakUp users from your company. All members of your company's SpeakUp account must verify their company email address before they're granted access. Company Managers (paid accounts) have the option to invite people with non-company email addresses.
We use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption - the same technology used for online banking and e-commerce sites. Your credit card information is securely stored in an encrypted vault by our PCI compliant payments provider.
What browsers do you support?
SpeakUp is optimized for the latest versions of the major browsers including: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
What if I have a question that is not answered here?
Simply click on the chat icon at the bottom right of any SpeakUp page and ask away! Or, email us, we'd love to hear from you: info@getspeakup.com
