Coaching in Grain is a dedicated space for managers and coaches to analyze team conversations, identify patterns, and provide targeted feedback. It combines AI-generated insights, interaction metrics, and personal scorecards in one place.
Note: Coaching is available on the Business plan and above.
Prefer a video? Watch a tutorial here!
How Coaching works
For coaches, the power of Grain lies in its ability to provide a dual lens of qualitative and quantitative feedback. It allows for:
Personalized Feedback: tailoring feedback for individuals based on their engagement and interaction.
Measurable Progress: setting clear, measurable goals for individuals and tracking their progress over time.
Constructive Follow-ups: using specific instances from recordings to structure follow-up sessions with actionable advice.
The Coaching page
The Coaching page shows a list of external calls from your team. Only external calls appear here (internal team meetings are excluded).
Use the filters at the top to narrow the list:
Click any call to open it in the panel on the right, where you can review the video recording, meeting overview, scorecard, metrics, and comments.
Navigating the Coaching page
Overview
Grain uses AI to generate a structured summary of key decisions, action items, and participant alignment. This overview highlights what was discussed, agreed upon, and planned next, offering teams a quick, contextual snapshot of the conversation's outcomes without reviewing the full meeting.
Scorecard
Grain’s Scorecard feature helps managers and coaches evaluate key behaviors during a call by scoring specific conversation areas like rapport building, qualification, and closing. With a simple 1–5 scale, it provides a structured way to identify strengths and areas for improvement—making it easier to give targeted, consistent feedback and uncover meaningful coaching opportunities.
Each call on the ‘Coaching’ page shows an AI-generated scorecard alongside the option to submit a manual assessment.
AI-generated scorecards
Grain automatically scores each external call across several areas using a 1-5 scale. Scores of 1 or 2 in any area contribute to a call being flagged as a coaching opportunity.
Default scorecard sections:
Rapport Building: how well the rep connected with the customer
Customer Qualification: quality of discovery and qualification questions asked
Needs Identification: how effectively the rep uncovered the customer's specific problems, goals, and requirements
Value Demonstration: how well the rep explained the product's features and benefits in the context of the customer's stated needs
Objection Handling: how effectively the rep responded to pushback
Closing: how well the rep drove toward a decision or commitment
Custom scorecards
Admins can create custom scorecards with tailored sections and question types.
Click ’+ New Scorecard‘
Add a title and description
Select ‘+ Add question’ and choose between 1-5 rating scale or Yes/No format for each question
Reorder questions by dragging them
Save and assign the scorecard to your team.
Once created, custom scorecards can be added to meetings:
Navigate to the coaching page where and select the ‘Scorecard’ tab
Click on the ‘Scorecard‘ dropdown
Select ‘+ Add Scorecard’
Select the person you want to submit the scorecard for, the scorecard you want to use, and who can view it
Answer each question in the scorecard (if a question is not applicable, mark it as N/A)
Add any necessary notes or comments for each question
Select ‘Submit’ when done
You can continue to view or edit the scorecard from the ‘Scorecard’ tab on the ‘Coaching’ page. Switch between multiple scorecards by selecting the scorecard you want to see from the ‘Scorecard’ drop-down.
Note: Any changes made to scorecard templates will not affect existing submissions due to version control. Old versions of the scorecards are retained to maintain data integrity.
Metrics
Understand who is contributing and how often. These metrics can guide coaches to encourage more balanced participation and identify those who may benefit from additional support.
Grain automatically calculates five interaction metrics for every external call, visible on the ‘Metrics’ tab of the recording panel:
Metric | What it measures |
Talk time | Percentage of the call during which you spoke |
Filler Words | Frequency of "um," "uh," "like," and similar per minute |
Talk Speed | Words spoken per minute |
Longest Monologue | Duration of the longest uninterrupted speaking period |
Patience | Average pause time before speaking after the other person finishes |
Each metric shows your result alongside the recommended range. Hover over the information icon next to any metric to see the benchmark.
Time-stamped Comments
Coaches can leave precise, time-stamped comments on recorded sessions. This feature allows for pinpointing exact moments in a meeting that are teachable opportunities.
Listen by speaker
On any recording page, the ’Timeline’ tab shows individual speaker bars. Click the play button next to any speaker's name to play back only their portions of the recording. This is useful for reviewing how a specific rep communicated without watching the full call. See Timeline for more information.
Coaching Best Practices
When using Coaching in Grain effectively, there are several best practices that can help optimize the coaching process:
Consistent Review: regularly review meeting recordings to maintain a steady flow of feedback and ensure no coaching moments are missed.
Focus on Specifics: utilize time-stamped comments to address specific moments in the conversation. This makes your feedback concrete and actionable.
Encourage Self-Review: invite team members to review their own participation in meetings using the tab, fostering self-awareness and self-directed learning.
Balance Positive and Constructive Feedback: highlight both strengths and areas for improvement to encourage a growth mindset without discouraging your team.
Set Clear Objectives: before meetings, define clear objectives for communication and collaboration that can be reviewed in the Coaching Tab.
Track Progress Over Time: use metrics to track how individuals’ contributions evolve over time, recognizing improvement and persisting challenges.
Facilitate Peer Feedback: encourage team members to give each other feedback using the tab, promoting a collaborative environment.
Privacy and Sensitivity: ensure that feedback given is private and sensitive to the individual’s development needs, maintaining confidentiality as required.
Coaching in Grain is more than just a feature; it's a comprehensive approach to fostering growth and communication excellence within teams. By integrating AI feedback, insightful metrics, and the ability to leave nuanced comments, Grain becomes an essential asset for any coach aiming to transform potential into performance.