Coffee Roulette keeps employees connected

To help employees adjust to the new normal of working from home and help them stay connected to others, Wells Fargo employees in the UK started an initiative of “Coffee Roulette” which encouraged people to get to know colleagues that they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to engage with. After registering their interest employees were matched with someone for a short chat.

Sandy Chow is part of the EMEA HR team and took part in two roulette sessions. Sandy is pictured above with Wells Fargo colleague Krasi, from the Risk and Controls team. “What I love most is that you don’t have to talk about work. For someone who really enjoys meeting new people, it was great to find out all the fascinating stories and hidden talents amongst our Wells Fargo colleagues.”

“I have met two new colleagues from the London office so far, both are inspirational women in their own way. It was great to learn about what they do in their day job, but it was even more fascinating to discover the stories outside of their professional success. Behind our desks, we share many things in common – love of travel, food and creative ways to keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy during this unusual time.  We also exchanged tips and life hacks when normal resources are not available to us – online yoga classes, how to make bread without yeast (Irish soda bread) and virtual pub quizzes.”

The initiative, which is open to all employees in the region, has been such a success that the EMEA and APAC regions paired up to take part together which meant that colleagues from 14 countries were able to connect with each other for conversations.

“We enjoyed our chats so much so we have scheduled repeated catch up ourselves,” Sandy says. “I look forward to the day I can meet them in person for coffee, until then… best to dig out more recipe ideas for our next exchange.”