# How RandomCoffee works

What to expect as a participant, from joining RandomCoffee to meeting your matches, by email, Slack or Microsoft Teams.

import { Steps, TabItem, Tabs } from '@prosefly/astro-components';
import Callout from '@components/Callout.astro';
import WelcomeEmail from '@components/app-screens/screens/WelcomeEmail.astro';
import OptInEmail from '@components/app-screens/screens/OptInEmail.astro';
import MatchEmail from '@components/app-screens/screens/MatchEmail.astro';
import SlackWelcomeMessage from '@components/app-screens/screens/SlackWelcomeMessage.astro';
import SlackOptInMessage from '@components/app-screens/screens/SlackOptInMessage.astro';
import SlackMatchMessage from '@components/app-screens/screens/SlackMatchMessage.astro';
import TeamsWelcomeCard from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsWelcomeCard.astro';
import TeamsOptInCard from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsOptInCard.astro';
import TeamsMatchCard from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsMatchCard.astro';
import TeamsBotCommands from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsBotCommands.astro';
import TeamsSnooze from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsSnooze.astro';
import TeamsMyActivity from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsMyActivity.astro';
import TeamsMyNetwork from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsMyNetwork.astro';
import TeamsMyPrograms from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsMyPrograms.astro';
import TeamsProgramTab from '@components/app-screens/screens/TeamsProgramTab.astro';
import DefinePassword from '@components/app-screens/screens/DefinePassword.astro';
import OptInDeclinedPage from '@components/app-screens/screens/OptInDeclinedPage.astro';

RandomCoffee helps you build connections across your organization by matching you with colleagues for virtual or in-person meetings, often over a coffee. Organizations use it for many reasons, but they all share one goal: open up new opportunities for each of you.

## What to expect as a participant

<Steps>

1. **Join RandomCoffee.**

   Depending on how your admin set up the account, you are added to RandomCoffee automatically, or you join by filling in a form shared by your admin.

   When your admin adds you, they can send you a welcome email. In Slack and Microsoft Teams, the RandomCoffee bot also welcomes you (see below).

2. **Receive an invitation or a match.**

   Your admin can invite you to several programs, when the audience of a program matches your profile. When a session is planned for a program, what you receive depends on the participation type your admin chose:

   - **"Ask for participation"**: you first receive an opt-in message asking whether you want to join the next session. If you accept, you later receive a match message with the details of your match or matches.
   - **"Automatic participation"**: you receive the match message directly, on a date set by your admin.

   Your admin can also mix both: only some members are asked to opt in, and all the others are matched automatically.

3. **Schedule your coffee.**

   It is up to you to schedule the meeting with your match or matches, ideally within a week.

4. **Meet.**

   Meet your match or matches, virtually or in person, and enjoy the conversation.

</Steps>

<Callout type="tip">
  Not sure how to start the conversation? Try our [conversation starters](/members/meetings/conversation-starters/).
</Callout>

## What you receive on each channel

Depending on your admin's configuration, RandomCoffee messages reach you by email, Slack or Microsoft Teams. Choose your channel below.

<Tabs syncKey="channel">
<TabItem label="Email" value="email" icon="lucide:mail">

**Welcome email**

When your admin adds you to RandomCoffee, they can choose to send you a welcome email. Its content depends on whether your admin gave members access to the Member Portal.

If Member Portal access is on, the email invites you to create your RandomCoffee account:

<WelcomeEmail alt="Welcome email from RandomCoffee: Sara Nguyen has set up your RandomCoffee account for Acme, with the &quot;Get started&quot; button" />

<Steps>

1. In the email, click "Get started".
2. Choose your password and confirm it. It must contain at least 12 characters, with one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, one number and one special character.

   <DefinePassword alt="The &quot;Define password&quot; page for a new member's email, with the &quot;New password&quot; and &quot;Confirm new password&quot; fields, the password rules and the &quot;Set new password&quot; button" />

3. Click "Set new password". Once your password is saved, follow the link to log in.

</Steps>

You can now use your [Member Portal](/members/getting-started/member-portal/). The first time you sign in, you also receive a second email that welcomes you to it. If you have not signed in a day after the invitation, a reminder email is sent to you.

If Member Portal access is off, the welcome email simply presents the RandomCoffee initiative:

<WelcomeEmail portal={false} alt="Welcome email from RandomCoffee: Sara Nguyen has added you to RandomCoffee at Acme, with a presentation of RandomCoffee and no button" />

**Opt-in email**

When a program asks for participation, you receive an opt-in email before each session. Use the buttons in the email to accept or decline.

<OptInEmail alt="Opt-in email of the ☕ Virtual coffees program, with the &quot;Yes, I'm in!&quot; button, the &quot;Not this time, thank you&quot; link and how it works" />

- If you accept, a confirmation page tells you that you will soon receive an introduction with your new match. In some workspaces, the page first asks you to click "Confirm availability". When the program has a registration form, the page also invites you to fill it in with "Tell us about yourself", so that RandomCoffee can find you the best match.
- If you decline, a page asks why you could not make it this time. Answering is optional. If you change your mind, click "No, I still want to participate in this session ❤️".

<OptInDeclinedPage alt="The page shown after declining an opt-in, with the Acme logo, &quot;No problem Maya, next time maybe. Have a good week!&quot;, four reasons to choose from, the &quot;Send feedback&quot; button and the &quot;No, I still want to participate in this session ❤️&quot; link, then the links to &quot;My connections history&quot;, &quot;My preferences&quot;, &quot;My profile&quot; and &quot;Snooze&quot;" />

When you have access to the Member Portal, these pages also link to "My connections history", "My preferences", "My profile" and "Snooze".

**Match email**

The match email introduces the members of your group, with their names and email addresses. Get in touch with them to choose a day and time for your coffee, ideally within a week.

<MatchEmail alt="Match email of the ☕ Virtual coffees program introducing Maya Thomas and Marcus Lee with their email addresses, and the &quot;🗓️ Schedule your virtual coffee&quot; button" />

</TabItem>
<TabItem label="Slack" value="slack" icon="simple-icons:slack">

**The RandomCoffee app**

In Slack, RandomCoffee appears in the "Apps" section of your sidebar. Its "Messages" tab shows the messages from the RandomCoffee bot, starting with the welcome message the bot sends you the first time you open the app. Its "About" tab presents RandomCoffee.

<SlackWelcomeMessage alt="The RandomCoffee app in Slack, selected under Apps in the sidebar, with its Messages tab open: the bot's welcome message, &quot;👋 Hi @Maya. Welcome to @RandomCoffee, the app that helps teams create informal meetings between coworkers over a coffee!&quot;" />

**Opt-in messages**

The RandomCoffee bot sends you an opt-in message for each program you are part of. You can:

- join the session, by clicking "Yes, I'm in";
- skip the session, by clicking "Not this round". Slack asks you to confirm.

<SlackOptInMessage alt="An opt-in message from the RandomCoffee app in Slack for the ☕ Virtual coffees program and the #coffee-break channel, inviting Maya to meet a new colleague, with the &quot;Yes, I'm in&quot; and &quot;Not this round&quot; buttons" />

**Match messages**

The RandomCoffee bot sends your match message in a group conversation that includes all your matches. Reply there to plan your coffee together.

<SlackMatchMessage alt="A match message from the RandomCoffee app in the Slack group conversation &quot;Marcus, RandomCoffee&quot;: the ☕ Virtual coffees program, Hello @Maya, @Marcus, the two members with their emails and the &quot;Schedule your virtual coffee now!&quot; link" />

</TabItem>
<TabItem label="Microsoft Teams" value="teams" icon="simple-icons:microsoftteams">

**The program tab in your team**

When a RandomCoffee program is linked to a team, a tab for the program is added to the team. Every member of the team can see essential information about the program and its activity, which is useful when you are new:

- the context and goal of the program;
- its schedule, with the upcoming sessions ("Sessions" tab);
- the participation chart over time and the "Top Randomers" of the program ("Results" tab).

<TeamsProgramTab alt="Tab of the &quot;☕ Virtual coffees&quot; program in a Microsoft Teams team: the program's description and its &quot;Sessions&quot; tab, with the calendar of the opt-in and match dates" />

**Messages in your team**

Once the RandomCoffee app is installed in a team, the RandomCoffee bot posts a welcome message in the team's general channel to introduce RandomCoffee to all members:

<TeamsWelcomeCard alt="The RandomCoffee bot's welcome card posted in the General channel of a Microsoft Teams team: &quot;👋 Hi there, welcome to RandomCoffee!&quot;, an illustration, What is RandomCoffee? and How it works, the next steps for administrators, and the &quot;⚙️ Complete setup&quot; and &quot;Learn more&quot; buttons" />


**Opt-in and match cards**

The RandomCoffee bot sends you opt-in cards and match cards in a private chat.

The opt-in card asks whether you want to be matched in the current session. Click "Yes, I'm in" or "Not this time, sorry".

<TeamsOptInCard alt="An opt-in card in the RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams: &quot;⏱️ Tick Tock.. a new RandomCoffee session is coming!&quot;, the ☕ Virtual coffees program and its Coffee break audience, the invitation for Maya with how it works, then the &quot;✅ Yes, I'm in&quot; and &quot;⛔️ Not this time, sorry&quot; buttons" />

If you accept, you later receive a match card, on the schedule set by your admin, where you discover your match or matches:

<TeamsMatchCard alt="A match card in the RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams: 🎉 Your new RandomCoffee intro is here!, the ☕ Virtual coffees program, the match text for Maya and Marcus, 👤 Your group members, then the 📅 Schedule your meetup, 💬 Start a chat and 📞 Start a call buttons" />

From the match card, you can:

- **"Schedule your meetup"**: create a Microsoft Teams (Outlook) meeting with your match or matches. See [Book a meeting with your match](/members/meetings/book-a-meeting/).
- **"Start a chat"**: open a chat with your match or matches.
- **"Start a call"**: start a video call with your match or matches.

**Chat with the bot**

You can chat with the RandomCoffee bot directly. It suggests three commands:

<TeamsBotCommands alt="Chat with the RandomCoffee bot in Microsoft Teams: above the message box, Teams suggests the bot's commands &quot;Help&quot;, &quot;Feedback&quot; and &quot;Snooze&quot;, each with its description" />

- **"Help"**: learn how to use RandomCoffee and get support.
- **"Feedback"**: send a message to the RandomCoffee team.
- **"Snooze"**: pause your participation for a while. Choose a duration (7, 14, 21 or 28 days), then click "Snooze". See [Snooze your participation](/members/profile-and-preferences/snooze/).

<TeamsSnooze alt="Chat with the RandomCoffee bot in Microsoft Teams: after the &quot;Snooze&quot; command, the bot asks to select a snooze duration; the list is open on 7 days, 14 days, 21 days and 28 days, above the &quot;Snooze&quot; button" />

**Your personal RandomCoffee app**

Besides the messages and cards, you have your own RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams, with three tabs:

- **"My Activity"**: all your RandomCoffee activity, such as the sessions you took part in, your new matches, and upcoming or past sessions.

  <TeamsMyActivity alt="My Activity tab of the RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams: the member's latest events, such as joining the next round of a program or a new connection with a &quot;Get in touch&quot; button" />

- **"My Network"**: your matching history, to remember everyone you met through RandomCoffee and in which context. From there, you can start a new chat or book a new coffee with a previous match.

  <TeamsMyNetwork alt="My Network tab of the RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams: the member's previous matches, with the date and program of each connection, and buttons to start a chat or book a meeting" />

- **"My Programs"**: all the RandomCoffee programs you take part in, across all your teams, with the context of each one.

  <TeamsMyPrograms alt="My Programs tab of the RandomCoffee app in Microsoft Teams: one card per program, with its number of teams, group size, next round date and the admin who added it" />

</TabItem>
</Tabs>