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Humanity runs on coffee
When 20,000 colleagues in the UK started working from home overnight, we missed the personal connection most. Where we used to stop by each other’s desk for a quick hello or go for a walk in the afternoon, suddenly we were at home.
So Lemiaye Taylor and her colleagues from our communications team set up a virtual Coffee Club. The idea was simple – help colleagues stay connected through a fun and informal way to meet new people and learn more about our business. And it wouldn’t be a club if it weren’t for some rules: commit, be present and enjoy yourself.
Every week, we matched our colleagues at random to have a virtual coffee together. Even our CEO took part – and loved it. And we shared ‘match stories’ to encourage even more to join. In the first two months, over 1,500 people signed up – that’s a lot of chats (and coffee).
The Coffee Club was part of The Wellbeing Movement, a UK-wide virtual timetable of activities – from yoga classes to pets therapy – updated weekly to help colleagues look after their health and wellbeing.
Following its success in the UK, other countries in our network set up their own coffee clubs too – in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland. The best part of it all? Looking forward to having coffee chats in person again.
Further reading
There’s a light that never goes out
Hundreds of colleagues found comfort in music during lockdown in Italy as they joined lively sessions organised by a colleague turned DJ from their living room.
Hello, how may A.I. help you?
Help often comes from unexpected places – a friendly robot, for example. Wendy helped answer COVID-19 questions from older people across the Netherlands.
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