Organizational Culture is one of the most important differentiators of any company and an important way that it is supported is through informal personal office interactions such as coffee breaks and group lunches. As such, Lawline’s leadership team prioritized ways for us to continue to connect with each other personally and maintain high morale as we transitioned from an in person office to a remote company. Thus, we were thrilled when we discovered the slack channel called watercooler.
Through the watercooler channel, the Slack bot, Donut generates a topic for us every morning, which allows employees to engage in conversations throughout the day. This is a fun exercise because we have been surprised on how much we have learned about one another based on one simple question and the subsequent conversations. Some of our employees even shared that they feel more personally connected to their team members than they were in the office since the bot generates questions which sparks deep conversations that are much more insightful than the usual breakroom conversations about weekend plans or the weather.
These questions create conversations that can last for hours and even create tangential slack groups. For example, below the bot asked what our goals are for 2021 and it shows the initial answers and the ensuing conversations that took place throughout the day.
Sometimes, the bot will generate a question that would include pictures, such as this one below! Kathleen, that plate looks delicious!
Donut questions are a fun way to learn about one another and each other’s personalities. You learn what your coworkers like and what they dislike which forms connections in a remote environment.
If your company has recently gone remote, I would encourage you to get Donut to help form those conversations to break up the day. Our watercooler channel has engaged all our employees in one way or another and helps incorporate conversations between different departments that you may not usually speak to.