CoffeePals Update: Automated Booking, Manager Relationships, and Spreadsheet Updates

What's New in CoffeePals

Finding a time that works for everyone is the least fun part of a coffee chat, so we took it off your plate. With automated booking, matches land straight in people's calendars, and CoffeePals now knows who reports to whom, so nobody spends their coffee chat with their own manager. Grab a coffee, here's what's new.

Automated Booking: Matches Land Straight in Everyone's Calendar

Finding a time is where a lot of coffee chats stall. With Book meetings automatically, CoffeePals finds a time when everyone is free and adds the meeting to their calendars. Participants don't need to do anything, whether they're on Slack, Teams or email.

How it works:

• A workspace owner or admin opens Calendar in your workspace settings and connects Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace once for the whole organization
• For Microsoft 365, click Approve in Microsoft 365, or send the instructions to your IT admin from the same screen
• For Google Workspace, a super admin authorizes CoffeePals once in the Google Admin console, using a form CoffeePals fills in for them
• In each program's match schedule settings, choose Book meetings automatically
• Matched people find the invitation in their calendar. If there's no time when everyone is free, the match goes out without a booked meeting

Automated booking is included in Pro plans and above.

Keep Managers Out of Their Team's Matches

Most people would rather not spend their coffee chat with their own manager. CoffeePals now knows who reports to whom, so you can make sure that doesn't happen.

How it works:

• Your workspace now has a Manager attribute. Set someone's manager from their profile on your member list with Set manager, and they appear under Direct reports on their manager's profile
• HRIS connected? Turn on Sync managers from your HRIS and managers stay up to date for you
• In an Advanced Matching program, add the rule Don't pair a member with their… and pick Manager. It also keeps people apart from their direct reports
• Want a buddy or mentor link instead? Create your own Relationship attribute

The Manager attribute is also the groundwork for new features we're building, so stay tuned.

Update Everyone From One Spreadsheet

Click Upload spreadsheet on your member list, download your current members, change the columns you need and upload the file again. Each row is matched to a member by email and blank cells keep what's saved, so you can set everyone's manager, department or start date in one go.

Under the Hood

• Bug fixes and reliability improvements across Slack, Teams and email
• Clearer messages when something needs your attention
• Security improvements across the platform

Ready to take scheduling off everyone's plate? Connect your calendar and switch a program to Book meetings automatically.