You can introduce virtual water cooler activities in a few ways. Here are the four main steps to take when implementing your first virtual water cooler. 1.Choose between 1:1 and group water coolers (or both!) Companies can prioritize individual connections or group bonds by implementing either 1:1 or group team water coolers. 1:1 water cooler 1-on-1 water cooler chats refer to only two people having a conversation. Some companies randomly pair employees across teams, which leads to interactions that may never otherwise happen. A brand new hire might get the opportunity to speak to the CEO, and someone on the marketing team might learn about an engineer’s day-to-day life. This is an excellent option for larger companies where people from different teams may never cross paths. Group water cooler Team water coolers allow multiple people to get together and chat, like a casual virtual social event. That can happen in virtual breakrooms, virtual happy hours after work, or interest-based virtual clubs. In virtual group water cooler chats based on interests, people talk about something they have in common, like favorite Netflix shows or painting as a hobby. Group chats are also an excellent opportunity to organize fun team activities. From trivia games to quick icebreaker questions that can help employees learn exciting facts about their coworkers, options are plentiful. 2.Choose a suitable channel, tool, or platform Some companies may encourage employees to organize virtual water coolers whenever they please. Other companies may use tools to pair employees and suggest time slots where both employees are available to facilitate scheduling the session and encourage workers to chat. Slack water coolers You can set up a Slack channel as an asynchronous water cooler environment. Employees can share memes and news or create themed channels to discuss specific topics like movies, sports, travel, or music. You can also add a plugin like Connections by Deel to your Slack workspace. This kind of plugin pairs people at a regular cadence—weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly—and integrates with Google Calendar to suggest a few time slots during which both employees are free. Employees can schedule a virtual meeting or chat without ever leaving Slack. Other tools and platforms If you wish to move away from Slack, you can use a simple video conferencing tool (Zoom, Microsoft Teams) to hold water cooler sessions or choose a tool created specifically for virtual water coolers. Here are a few examples: Mural, a digital whiteboard with plenty of interesting features, such as sticky notes, connectors for building diagrams, and drawing options Water Cooler Trivia, a platform that automatically creates and schedules trivia asynchronously and automatically every week Sococo, a platform that imitates a physical office environment by representing it on a map where you can see your coworkers’ avatars and find someone on a break and available to chat 3.Pick a cadence that won’t make water coolers feel like a burden Water cooler chats should be fun and keep your employees engaged. They should not feel like a task your team has to cross off their to-do lists. For us, a weekly cadence works. Weekly virtual water coolers allow everyone to relax and connect during the week without feeling overwhelmed or distracted. If unsure, ask a few team members to weigh in before setting things up. Some tools even let employees opt in or out of virtual water coolers so that each individual can find their perfect balance. 4.Consider adding structure to your virtual water coolers Most water coolers, especially 1:1 conversations, won’t have structure. Two or more people get to know one another organically, asking whatever questions feel natural. However, some structure and leadership may help break the ice and facilitate better conversations, especially for larger groups. You may choose to incorporate presentations, Q&A sessions, or sessions dedicated to cultural exchange conversations. If so, consider nominating one participant as the meeting host so they can explain the structure and get people talking. However, since virtual water coolers are supposed to be informal and enjoyable, straying from the suggested structure isn’t necessarily bad. Encourage the host to take a relatively hands-off approach once a lively conversation is up and running.