Swirl: Authentic Connections at Work

Swirl enables authentic connections at work between colleagues with similar interests and differences in personal identity to build a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Swirl is a Slack app that builds a culture of inclusion and belonging at work by enabling authentic connections between colleagues with similar interests and differences in personal identity. We built Swirl to help organizations become more inclusive. In the US, a record 40 million people quit their jobs last year. I was one of them. The tech industry specifically has the highest rate of turnover costing employers more than 16 billion dollars annually, and this rate is only increasing. But why? It turns out, workplace culture is a key driver of turnover in tech, especially for employees from underrepresented groups. Nearly two-thirds of tech leavers would have stayed if their company focused on making their culture more inclusive. In addition to improved retention, companies with inclusive cultures are twice as likely to achieve better financial performance, 6 times more likely to be innovative, and 8 times more likely to achieve better business outcomes. Swirl can improve perceptions of belonging and inclusion at your organization by 11% in 3 months.* (results from early customers in our pilot program) How It Works: Our bot walks you through a series of questions about your background, interests, and personal identity to build out your profile in a conversational manner. Every other week, Swirl matches you to a different colleague based on your common interests but differences in your personal identity. We introduce you to your match via a direct message telling you what you have in common, and giving you some conversation starters. The expectation is to take 15-30 minutes and meet face-to-face to get to know each other better over coffee, lunch, or video call if you’re in two different places. Over time, we measure engagement and changes in perceptions of belonging and inclusion at your workplace to equip your HR team with insights that can drive strategy and decisions about your culture. I look forward to your questions, comments, and feedback!

I’m excited to try out Swirl for my company! As a remote workforce, a tool like this will l help everyone stay connected. Congrats on the launch! Can’t wait to watch y’all grow!

@darby_dupre1 Thanks Darby! Excited for you try it out as your team grows!

Swirl is an incredible Slack integration. The matchmaking logic separates Swirl from the crowd, as it uses innovative compassion-based thought to provide teams with a greater sense of connection and belonging. Thanks Swirl team!

@typewritepoetry Thanks Billimarie! I appreciate your feedback and kind words!

Exciting to see this coming together! Great work, and congrats for the launch!

@giovanniluperti Thank you so much!