Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the four dimensions?
Responsive: How your team receives feedback, if they are open to different ideas, and how they look to their colleagues for suggestions.
Supportive: How your team promotes their colleagues ideas, assists with their goals, and works towards collaboration.
Varying: How your team changes as a way to increase their impact on the overall organization.
Productive: How effective your team is in achieving the goals set forth from the organization and/or external milestones.
What are the behaviors that you look at?
Each dimension has several unique characteristics that successful teams exhibit. Some behaviors Octahedron measures: submissiveness, micromanagement, opposition, defensiveness, authority, rigidity, apathy, and disagreement.
What defines a team?
A team is a group of people you work with. Your team could be those that report to the same manager, on the same project or in the same department. Teams come in all shapes and sizes. In Octahedron, you define your team. Your team can be any size to take an assessment. When completing prescribed activities, we recommend a team size of 10 but no less than 5.
Can I schedule an assessment for a team with less than 5 members?
While you can take an assessment for any size team, the small number of assessment responses may compromise the anonymity that Octahedron provides. When looking at the assessment results, it may create the opportunity for team members to guess who said what. This is counter to the Octahedron methodology.
Why do you recommend a team size of 10 or less for activities?
While you certainly can have teams of more than 10 people taking an assessment, we recommend splitting the team into two groups for more than 14 people. This team size allows for everybody to interact during the prescribed activities, which are crucial in accelerating team success.
What is a team assessment?
A team assessment helps determine how effective your teams work together. There are four dimensions: Responsive, Supportive, Varying, and Productive. These align to Octahedron’s research on your team’s ability to successfully speak freely and think differently within a team environment.
How do you calculate team assessment results?
Octahedron’s research-backed, proprietary algorithm determines where your team falls within each of the four dimensions of team success. Activities are prescribed for the behaviors that require immediate attention.
What’s the science behind Octahedron?
The Octahedron team spent three years reviewing concepts, studies, and the offerings of how to best assess teams without the high costs of hiring an outside consultant or focusing on individual assessments that do not take the entirety of the team into account. This research led Octahedron to focus on cognitive diversity (thinking differently) and psychological safety (speaking up). We mapped four dimensions to these focus areas and used additional factors based on our assessment questions (i.e. behaviors, assumptions, willingness, etc.). Assessment answers relate to an exercise that addresses the specific challenges within an organization. Through constant testing and updates, the Octahedron model enables teams to truly work together in a greater capacity than they thought possible. Read more on the Research page.
How does the Octahedron process work?
Visit the How It Works page to learn more.
Can someone outside my organization facilitate the activities?
Professional facilitators help your team be more open and get more out of your team's prescribed activities. Octahedron has certified facilitators that are subject matter experts within cognitive diversity and psychological safety that can deliver the exercises to your organization. Contact us at info@octahedron.app or specify during signup that you need an external facilitator and we'll get you set up.
How do I become a certified Octahedron Facilitator?
We are launching a certification program in 2024. Please contact us for more information.
What’s included in my free trial?
Before you choose a plan, it’s important for you to see how Octahedron works. The free trial enables you to create a team assessment and gather up to 10 responses. You can then see where your team lies on the four dimensions of team success. In order to view the assigned team activities and facilitator guides for each dimension, you’ll need to choose a plan.
What is a response?
A response happens whenever someone completes an assessment. This is similar to a seat license. Octahedron’s Pricing tiers are based on how many responses (team members) are needed for your team to take an assessment.
Is there a response limit?
Yes. Responses are calculated at the account level on a monthly basis. This is similar to a seat license. For example: you are on a plan that supports multiple teams with up to 50 responses total for your account. You have 3 teams and scheduled 3 assessments for this month. The total number of responses you can collect across all of the teams is 50 per month. To get more than 50 responses, you will need to upgrade your plan.
Why is there a 4-month minimum?
Change takes time. Even after taking an initial assessment, doing team activities for one month (four weeks) will change very little. Team success is a work in progress. For optimal results, your team needs to, at a minimum, work through the four exercises (one for each of the four dimensions) to build stronger psychological safety and cognitive diversity. After four months (16 weeks) of these activities, your team takes another (post) assessment. We recommend continuing the program for a year to achieve greater results.
How much does it cost?
Octahedron prices are often 80% more cost-effective than the alternative of hiring a consultant or external company to do similar work. If you are a large organization and need a customized package, send us a note at info@octahedron.app.
Do you offer volume discounts?
Yes, we offer volume discounts for organizations that require more than 100 team assessment responses per month. Please reach out to info@octahedron.app.
Do you accept purchase orders?
Yes, we can accept purchase orders. Please reach out to support@octahedron.app.
What information do I need to provide when signing up?
Just an email address for the free trial. And a credit card once you choose a plan. Creating an account helps you to administer team assessments.
What other information do you capture?
Company and team name(s). You can choose whatever names you want. Many people run assessments for multiple companies/teams. This helps you keep track of which assessment is for which of your teams. It also helps us connect multiple assessments to the same team, which helps you see team progress. The company and team name(s) are used to personalize the assessment reports that you share with your team(s).
How will my email address be used?
Your email address is only used to access the Octahedron site, where you can manage assessments and results. We do not sell or share any email addresses outside of the Octahedron platform.
Why do I have to provide my email address if the assessment is anonymous?
Your email address is used to access the Octahedron site, where you can manage assessments and results. Your email address is used as a primary contact for your teams, in case anything requires your attention. Your email address does not get associated with your assessment answers, only the reporting and management aspect of your account. Assessment responses are anonymous.
Who can identify my responses?
Nobody. Whether you set up an Octahedron account or completed an assessment, all responses are anonymous. This is done intentionally to provide the utmost security. Anonymous assessments increase honest answers by 75% and is an example of high psychological safety. Octahedron does not store any personal information related to assessment results.
What information is stored when someone completes an assessment?
Each assessment has a unique code that allows your team to take the assessment anonymously. The only assessment information Octahedron captures are responses to the assessment questions, a timestamp of when the assessment was completed, and the assessment code to help group team responses. No names, email addresses or other personal information is captured. It is fully anonymous.
What should I do if my login credentials don't work?
Reset your password. Still having issues? Please email us at support@octahedron.app.
What should I do if I forgot my password?
I don’t understand how a certain part works. Who can I contact to help me?
Reach out to us at support@octahedron.app for any support questions.
How long does it take to complete an assessment?
It takes ~3 minutes to answer the 24 assessment questions.
Are the questions always displayed in the same order?
No. Questions are randomly ordered every time someone takes an assessment. This is done to ensure data integrity and reduce anomalies in data due to survey fatigue.
What is a team assessment report?
A team assessment helps determine how effective your teams work together. There are four dimensions: Responsive, Supportive, Varying, and Productive. These align to Octahedron’s research on your team’s ability to successfully speak freely and think differently within a team environment.
How are the scores in the assessment results calculated?
Octahedron’s research-backed, proprietary algorithm determines where your team falls within each of the four dimensions of team success. Each dimension has multiple behaviors associated with it. Activities are prescribed for the behaviors that require immediate attention.
How long should my team use Octahedron to see results?
We recommend a minimum of four months (16 weeks) to see optimal results. Your team takes an initial assessment, works through four exercises as a team during that time period. Each month the team focuses on one activity (four weeks). They take another (post) assessment that shows the gains (or losses) your team has made in that time. This repeats until all the dimensions have been worked through.
How much time will this take for my team?
Your team only needs to commit to as little as 30 minutes a week. You’ll spend this time together on a prescribed team activity. You can spend up to 60 minutes per week if you want to go deeper and/or you have a larger team.
What are the zones at the bottom of each chart?
The Danger Zone, Comfort Zone and Growth Zone are areas that indicate where team responses lie on the successful team range. Most teams are somewhere in the Comfort Zone, where things could be both better and worse. The Danger Zone indicates an area for a team to address immediately. The Growth Zone exhibits teams with high psychological safety and cognitive diversity but with an opportunity to improve.
What is a good score for my team?
Team success is always a work in progress. It can take time for your team to move towards the Growth Zone. Your team’s goal is to score in the Growth Zone in each of the four dimensions.
What is an Executive Report?
The Executive Report is a comparison of the last two assessments your team takes. Once your team has gone through four months of exercises and takes the post assessment, the Executive Report compares the results and shows where your team scored from the previous assessment.
Why doesn’t the Executive Report show me all the previous assessments?
The Executive Report compares the previous two assessments to show where your team has grown and where it may still need work. You will always have access to your previous reports.
What does it mean if my team drops down in a dimension?
In the Executive Report, your team’s score may drop in a particular dimension. This is normal as teams become more aware of how they interact. As your team grows over time, their scores should steadily increase. This is why we recommend at least one year to see impactful change.
Is my team done after the 4-month (16-week) cycle?
Team development is constant work. We recommend taking assessments and completing the team exercises for at least a year. Change takes time. Octahedron has enough team activities to last several years, allowing them to become stronger and more productive.
The dimension results charts say Response 1, Response 2, etc. Is Response 1 on the Productive Dimension Results chart the same person as Response 1 for Varying Dimension Results?
No. Responses are anonymous and randomized to keep focus on the team average. The responses in the charts are mixed so that, for example, Response 1 on one dimension chart is a different person than Response 1 on other dimension charts. This helps avoid a situation where someone may try to deduce who said what by comparing charts.
How do I send an assessment to my team?
Visit the How It Works page to learn more.
A team member tried taking the assessment and got a message about reaching the maximum number of responses. What should I do?
After logging in, select Billing from the menu to upgrade your plan. For organizations that require more than 100 team assessment responses per month, reach out to info@octahedron.app.
A team member tried taking the assessment and got a message that the assessment hasn’t started or is already complete. What should I do?
After logging in, select Assessments from the menu and view the assessment that corresponds to your assessment code. The status will show “In progress” for any active assessment. Assessments that have not started will have a start date in the future. Assessments that are complete will show "Complete" in the status.
How do I invite my team to take an assessment?
You can use the email template on the Assessments page in the “Share assessment with team” section.
How do I send email reminders to team members who have not completed their assessments?
Because responses are anonymous, there is no way to tell who completed the assessment. You may need to send the reminder to everyone on your team. You can use the email template on the Assessments page in the “Share assessment with team” section.
What is an assessment code?
An assessment code is specific to a team. A code is generated once you schedule an assessment. This code allows your team to take an assessment.
How do I share an assessment code with my team?
A code is generated once you schedule an assessment. On the Assessments page, go to the “Share assessment with team” section. There, you can copy an email template that has instructions for taking the assessment.
Why is my assessment link not working when I click on it directly from the email?
Try copying the link and pasting it into your web browser address bar. You can also go to https://octahedron.app/assessment and enter in your assessment code. If you are still having issues, please reach out to us at support@octahedron.app.
How do I add a new team member to an in-progress assessment?
Simply share the assessment link with your team member. They can complete the assessment as long as your plan supports the number of responses (seats). After logging in, select Assessments from the menu and find your assessment in the “Share assessment with team” section.
How do I delete a team member from an open assessment?
Because the answers are anonymous, all responses stay visible. You can create a new assessment and share the new assessment code with only the people you desire.
How do I update my email address?
After logging in, select Settings from the menu and update your email address.
Can I see who has completed an in-progress assessment?
The only thing you can see is the number of responses for an assessment. Because responses are anonymous, there is no way to tell who completed the assessment.
My team has not received an email to take the assessment. What should I do?
Octahedron does not send emails to others on your behalf. Only the person who signed up (the account owner) receives emails from Octahedron. After logging in, select Assessments from the menu and find your assessment in the “Share assessment with team” section. You can email your team directly with this information.
Can I run the assessment report without every team member’s responses?
You can either end the assessment early if you know everyone has taken it or send a reminder email for your team members to take the assessment before it closes. After logging in, select Assessments from the menu. You can see the number of assessment responses. You cannot reopen an assessment if you end it early or after the end date passes.
When will I receive the team assessment report?
Once the assessment is complete (either the end date has passed or you manually end the assessment early), you can access the assessment results.
What if a new team member is added during the middle of the activities?
This happens often. Have your new team member participate in the next activity. This helps build team camaraderie and will only help your team success going forward.
I have a new team member that I'd like to add to an old assessment. Can I do that?
No. Once an assessment is complete, no further responses are accepted. You can include them in in-progress or future assessments.
How do I share assessment results with my team?
After logging in, select Results from the menu to see all completed team assessments. There, you can download a PDF report of the results that you can share with your team.
How can I share all of the results for my team with someone else?
Octahedron keeps track of all of your completed assessments. After logging in, select Results from the menu to see all completed team assessments. There, you can download a PDF report of the results that you can share with anyone.
If my team has taken multiple assessments, how can we compare our current performance to the past results?
After your team completes two assessments, you can view your Executive Summary or your team report(s) on the Results page. You can also see the prescribed activities for each assessment.