Using two decks, players move through four different levels of cards, each with a question or conversation starter. The lower levels consist of lighter hearted questions, such as your favorite snack, intended to be icebreakers. Once trust and comfort within the group has been gradually built up through these fun and sometimes silly conversational prompts, players move up a level, at which point the questions become increasingly more personal, intimate questions about life which lead to deeper and more open conversation.

The game’s creator is Michael Tennant, CEO of Curiosity Lab. Tennant left a comfortable position as head of branded content for PHD Worldwide in 2017 in order to work on what he was truly passionate about. He wanted to create tools which would help facilitate meaningful connections and expand conversations and perspectives amongst different types of people. Curiosity Lab was founded for this exact purpose and, when they launched Actually Curious a year later, it immediately sold out.

As well as being a success from a business point of view, Tennant found that in the intervening years its ethos has helped him to overcome his own difficulties. In a particularly harrowing three months in 2019, he lost two brothers, went through a breakup, and found himself reflecting on deep generational trauma amongst the men in his family. During that time he remembered how a game of Actually Curious with his family had helped him to speak honestly about his depression with them, something he’d never been able to do before.

Personal experiences such as that have served to spur him on to continue sharing Actually Curious, in the hope that it can truly help others open up when they need it most.

This ingenious idea is just the kind of outside-the-box thinking online coworking community Groove is famous for. The idea came after the company decided to remove themselves from social media. They started spitballing about how they could make an impact in freelancers’ lives without regular social updates, and the old school idea of a hotline came to them. The hotline is what they hope can relieve a freelancer the same way a coworker might over a five-minute cup of coffee.

The hotline launched in April and since then has racked up a number of calls; it seems to have a really positive reaction. It provides a little light-humored relief to freelancers who may be dreading writing a big email to their boss or writing a pitch document. Plus, with its evergreen nature, people can get introduced to it at any time. When you call the hotline, there is a menu with a few different options to choose from. If you want, you can spend your time going through each option until you have uplifted yourself with all the advice.

The Groove Pick-Me-Up Freelancer Hotline is a lesson in how to use traditional tried and tested methods to create customer satisfaction. If something is a good idea, it will stand the test of time.

Get the admin out the way before they start

There’s nothing that feels less welcoming than getting to work and being buried under a mountain of paperwork. Send this early so that their first day feels like a real first day.

Let them set their own goals

Hiring new people should be about creating the right environment for them to thrive. Helping them set their own goals is a part of this. Empower them to be the best for both themselves and your company.

Give people a good place to begin

Whether this means buddying up new people with old timers to know the lay of the land, or creating a useful document that fills in any gaps in the business, make sure you have this ready so that newbies can get stuck in straight away.

Meet in person often

This is key especially if you are a remote working company. Helping your employees put real faces to names creates bonds which helps with communication and feeling connected.

What is a good mentor?

This isn’t Cinderella, and a mentor shouldn’t be your fairy godmother waiting in the wings to grant you three wishes and propel you to success. In reality, they’re someone just a few steps ahead of you who may still be figuring the rest out themselves. A good mentor is a collaborator; they want to work with you as opposed to just lecturing you and giving you a grade. You needn’t feel like you’re trying to prove yourself to them.

But mentors aren’t where guidance ends.

What is a sponsor?

This is someone who is backing you. They’re the one who is going to use their connections to put you in that room and gush about you when you’re not in it. A sponsor is usually someone who works within your industry, most likely your company. They need to already have a seat at the table you’re hoping to get invited to sit at.

How do you find them?

Sure, you can find mentors through corporate mentorship programs, professional organizations, or networking events, but your best mentor might be someone you already know. Is there someone in your industry you feel inspired and motivated by? If you have someone in mind, ask yourself these questions: Do they understand the context of your work? Do they know you? Do you trust them? If the answer is yes, consider them for a mentorship.

How do you keep them?

The real question is are you ready to be mentored? You’ll have to relearn things you thought you knew, and you might not always like what you hear. You’ll need to be ready to be humbled. You also need to be a collaborator.