With busy workloads and lives we talk to each other less. The idea behind RCTs is to get people talking to each other again. Participants register to take part and are paired up at random with someone else in the organisation to have an informal conversation. Participants meet and have a chat for about 15 minutes or so. RCTs help us connect with our colleagues, learn from, and about each other, and help break down silos. It’s free, easy and informal!
So back in May we held our first randomised coffee trial (RCT) in the Christie
Most meetings were held during Mental Health Awareness Week
We had 56 participants forming 28 pairs for coffee
35 of these responded to our survey
80% met up
94% didn’t know the person they met
100% would do it again!
What did people get out of the meeting?
I learnt about her role in a different team than I work in and I thought my partner was a fascinating and inspirational woman
Very good idea in addressing loneliness/individualistic culture. I introduced the idea within my workplace but it was very close to the deadline. I think repeating the event regularly would encourage more people to get involved
I found the meeting to be very interesting as it allowed me to discuss how I felt within my Job with my partner. We both spoke in depth about our journey’s so far at the Christie and our plans for further/future development within our respective roles.
Great insight into what someone else in the hospital does, even though we had very different roles we had a few people/projects in common. We also found we had other random things in common which was a funny highlight. We are from quite different generations and we’re by no means best buddies but I think if we saw each other around the hospital we’d say hi, we’ve not had contact since but it was still a positive experience.
This worked well. Good to connect with colleagues for personal well-being, as well as learning about other aspects of the Trust and broadening our network to help us work effectively in our roles.
Next steps and suggested improvements
- Positive feedback so we are planning our next one for the week 8th -12th October
- Improve communication about the event – not just via the newsflash
- System of back up match if a person turns out to be unavailable
- System to be able to return a match if you already know each other!
- A few prompt questions to help conversation
- Hope you will join us for the next RCT