Meet Coach. A lemon bot revolutionizing work by creating safe, engaged, and authentic spaces for everyone online
Exciting things have been taking shape behind the scenes at Areto Labs, and we’re proud to announce the launch of our new product: Coach.
Coach is an HR tool that is revolutionizing online and hybrid workspaces by putting engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the forefront of company culture.
It’s hard to ignore the obvious: Work has changed for good. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re collaborating digitally more than ever — and much of what we say at work is sent via texts, posts, and chats. This brings new challenges for leaders to create positive, productive, and inclusive workplaces online.
Fortunately, digital communication and collaboration platforms also present unique opportunities to build culture in ways that didn’t exist before.
Enter: Coach.
Our newest bot combats workplace toxicity and turns “lemons into lemonade” by integrating with digital collaboration platforms like Slack to boost workplace culture (read more about why it’s important to fight toxicity in digital communities here).
Its combination of science-based behavioural nudges and AI-powered sentiment analysis engages diverse teams, boosts productivity, fosters collaborative relationships, and encourages knowledge sharing. It also provides leaders with actionable HR analytics and quantifies employee sentiment.
If all that sounds like a lot — it is.
But here’s the catch: we’ve leveraged tech to make these processes automatic.
Coach isn’t human; it’s a bot. Unlike us, it doesn’t have to balance its stellar professional life with an equally full (and fulfilling) life at home. Like so much of the tech, machines and AI being developed today, It’s specifically built to take on tasks that can be automated — leaving us with time and energy for other things.
Coach has inclusive culture and team building on its mind 24/7.
It also doesn’t “feel” the emotional labour that most leaders — especially women — do while working to keep their teams happy.
Emotional labour can show up as anything from “small” gestures like writing birthday cards (and making sure everyone in the office has signed them) to promoting “intangibles” such as psychological safety, collaboration, strong relationships, and maintaining high job satisfaction and retention. (We love this 2018 article by Quartz at Work, which describes how pervasive, devalued, and exhausting this labour really is).
Importantly, these efforts and gendered communication patterns also occur online — and in our Slack channels. Coach helps combat this inequity in labour and frees up leaders’ valuable time and resources that could be better used elsewhere (e.g., strategy, ops, sales, and growth).
Plus, Coach is EASY. We’re talking one-click-of-a-button-easy for leaders to install and use.
Here’s how it works:
Download Coach into your Slack workplace and add it to a channel of your choice. (Note that Coach is ideal for channels with 5-30 people, but can be adapted for any team size).
Choose one of our themed message packs, which you can customize to your company’s goals (think: DEI, productivity, health and wellness, or belonging).
Coach automatically schedules and posts conversation prompts into your channel, and your team can immediately start connecting in a fun, integrated and authentic way.
Coach uses machine learning to provide you with anonymized, aggregated insights on your team culture, engagement, and sentiment.
That’s just four steps to positive workplace culture.
In other words, Coach makes inclusive digital culture simple AND sustainable. It saves leaders time, energy, and money, and puts DEI front and centre.
(If you’re already curious about Coach, you can try it out now with a free 30-day trial. For more info, read on.)
Coach is for true leaders.
We designed Coach specifically for CEOs, founders and senior leaders who need an easy and accessible way of engaging their teams in remote workplaces or communities.
By taking part in the online conversations prompted by Coach, leaders can minimize differences in hierarchy or status and make personal connections with their team, as well as model positive leadership. Beyond this, they also receive real-time insights into employee engagement and sentiment and can measure their progress or make proactive changes when they’re needed most.
All in all, Coach is perfect for leaders at innovative, high-growth organizations using Slack who want to champion DEI — not just by talking about it, but by taking action. Read our most recent blog post for a guide to incorporating analytics into HR practices in order to benefit your business.
Coach is for humans (of all kinds).
Coach is kind of like everyone’s favourite work bestie and mentor. It’s fun, zesty, approachable, and supportive, without being preachy.
(Full transparency: Here at Areto Labs, we like to think of our bot as a combination of Beyonce, Leslie Knope and Oprah rolled into one little lemon.)
It’s also brilliant at bringing people of all ages, backgrounds, personalities, abilities, and interests together — and positioning our differences as strengths and reason for celebration, rather than disconnect. Plus, it helps team members learn about each other in an integrated and natural way (i.e., part of daily conversation), creating micromoments of connection that help build strong relationships at work.
But, that’s not all.
Coach is for companies that care.
Coach positions organizations as leaders in DEI, helps them attract top talent, and benefits them as a whole.
It fosters a sense of resilience, shared goals, and unity at all organizational levels, all while enabling leaders to tackle issues of social justice through innovative HR methodology. It also impacts the success of an organization by engaging and retaining both employees and customers. (Read here for a full discussion of the impact and importance of creating continuous micromoments of connection).
Coach is simple, affordable, and sustainable.
Coach is easy to download and use. You can find it by visiting the Slack App Directory or our website.
Plus — everyone receives a 30-day free trial. (Yes, everyone!)
At $99/month per Slack channel, it’s a price-savvy, sustainable solution to creating positive work culture online. We also offer enterprise packages, discounts, and referral programs for our partners. Head to our FAQ page or drop us a line at coach@aretolabs.com to learn more.
Coach is timely.
Coach represents the intersection of machine learning, automation, and behavioural science. The business world is constantly evolving, and it’s important that we change along with it.
Our newest bot pushes the boundaries of what it means to build great corporate culture, and leverages advances in tech to solve today’s most pressing, complex problems.
More than that, it inspires us to be better humans along the way.