Start with the people closest to you.
A new cohort, a team that just merged, a class that's never been in one room. Run introductions inside one group so its people meet each other first, or only across groups so nobody stays in their silo.
Opt-in for every member, always. You choose who's included and when each round starts.
Whole organization
Everyone who's opted in, across every team.
One group
Only the people in one team, department, cohort, or class.
Across groups
Everyone, but never two people from the same group.
Event guests
The people at one event. See event pairing.
Even small groups stay strangers
It's easy to assume the people in one cohort or team already know each other. Usually a few do, and the rest only recognize faces. Meanwhile, the bigger organization is split along the same lines, with each team talking mostly to itself. Groups let you fix both on purpose: first help a group find its footing, then help it reach out.
How groups and cohorts work
Set up a group in a few minutes.Create your groups
A team, department, cohort, class, or interest. Make each one public, private, or hidden, and add the people in it from your organization.
Name a group lead
Give someone their own small console for one group, so they can keep its members up to date without seeing the rest of the organization.
Choose the scope
When you start a round, run it inside one group, or across groups so each person meets someone from a different one.
Introductions go out
Each person who's opted in gets a one-to-one introduction with a clear reason to meet. They both say yes, then pick a time.
Small enough to feel personal
The member
- Introductions to people in their own group, or deliberately outside it
- A clear reason for each one, like “You're both in the spring cohort”
- Opt-in, and free to pause or leave without explaining themselves
- A hidden group stays hidden from anyone outside it
The group lead
- Their own console for one group
- Add or remove members, one at a time or several at once
- No access to anyone else's group
- No spreadsheet of who has met whom
You, the host
- Every group in one place, with its size and type
- Rounds inside one group or across groups, started when you're ready
- How many meetings each group has had
- How many members aren't in any group yet
What you see. What you don't.
The host sees
- Each group's size, and how many confirmed meetings it has had
- Who was paired in a round and how far each pair got, with every look recorded
- Feedback as a total, once at least five people have answered
The host doesn't see
- Who said no to an introduction
- What anyone talked about, or their notes and messages
- How any one person rated their coffee
How to connect a new cohort
Five things that help any group, from a new-hire class to a merged team, become people who know each other.
- 1
Start inside, then go across
Run the first round inside the group, while everyone is new together. Once they know a few faces, run one across groups so they reach the wider organization.
- 2
Start early
The first two weeks of a cohort are when people are most open to meeting someone new. A round in week one beats a social in month three.
- 3
Keep groups real
A group should be a set of people with something in common: a start date, a team, a class. A list of random names gives an introduction no reason.
- 4
Give each group a lead
Someone close to the group keeps its membership current, which is the part a central team always falls behind on.
- 5
Keep it opt-in
Being in a cohort shouldn't mean being signed up for introductions. People who chose to take part show up; people who were enrolled often don't.
Good to know
The honest answers, including what it doesn't do yet.
- What kinds of groups can I create?
- Teams, departments, cohorts, classes, interest groups, or anything else. An office or a site works too, as a group of the people in it. Each group can be public, private, or hidden.
- How do people join a group?
- A host or the group's lead adds them, from the people already in your organization. Members can't join a group on their own yet, and there's no invite link for a group.
- What does an across-groups round do?
- It includes everyone who's opted in, and never pairs two people who share a group. It's the quickest way to connect teams, offices, or classes that rarely meet.
- Can a group lead start rounds?
- Not yet. A group lead manages their group's members. An owner or admin of your organization starts each round, and chooses which group it runs in.
- Do rounds repeat on their own?
- Not today. You start each round when you're ready, and the introductions and reminders then go out on their own.
- What does it cost?
- Nothing right now. Billing isn't on yet, so there's no card and no contract.
Help your group find each other.
Set up your first group and start a round in an afternoon. It's free while billing isn't on.
Get started