Diversity & Inclusion is a key success factor for innovation, collaboration, and employee satisfaction. Cultural diversity, in particular, serves as a source of new perspectives and creative solutions. It is also clear that diversity does not end with recruiting a diverse workforce — Inclusion, that is, actively involving, appreciating, and enabling all employees, is the crucial next step to empower them to contribute themselves and reach their full potential.
With RETRO, the D&I working group at Würth Finance International B.V. has now taken a concrete step toward implementing the D&I goals: every three months, a playful “matching” process — based on the concept of dating apps —randomly pairs two colleagues for a roughly 30-minute virtual or in-person conversation. Conversation prompts focused on cultural diversity, background, and personal experiences support the exchange — allowing people to get to know each other in a completely different way. In many of these conversations, participants discovered surprising connections, such as having attended the same college years apart, or realizing that their personalities and values are far more closely aligned than they initially assumed — while also uncovering cultural differences, for example in communication styles, gestures, or even eating habits, which can lead to light-hearted and funny misunderstandings.
These casual encounters break down barriers, foster empathy, and strengthen a sense of belonging — a practical step to make inclusion tangible in terms of belonging and psychological safety. RETRO has shown that diversity is not just something on paper, but lives in encounters, in the exchange of stories, and in a culture where all employees feel safe and valued.
