Top 14 Team building software to boost engagement
Physical team-building activities and casual team outings are no longer the only options. Today, when almost 80% of employees either work in a remote or hybrid setting, you need innovative tools to help bring your employees together wherever they are.
Software and team building apps can help you do just that. These programs offer gamified challenges, integrated communication features, and other fun ways to foster meaningful connections across departments, locations, time zones, and even cultures.
These platforms help your teams work better together, boost morale, and increase engagement, and are scalable and flexible to your company’s goals.
In this article, we’ll look at 14 of the best team-building software solutions to help your employees feel connected, supported, and inspired.
Our top choice of team-building software to motivate your team
When building strong, collaborative teams, having the right team-building app or software makes all the difference.
Below, we highlight 14 team-building software options to enhance engagement, foster connection, and drive collaboration across your organisation.
1. Teamupp
Teamupp stands out for its adaptability and global reach, offering you multilingual support for your employees in different locations. Whether you are focusing on team building, running short-term challenges to improve collaboration or looking for corporate event ideas, Teamupp provides a solution tailored to your team’s needs.
Cost: From £0,5 to £1 per employee.
Key Functionalities:
- Seamless integration with existing health apps makes it easier for your employees to track challenges and fitness goals
- A wide range of physical team-based activities, including step challenges, marathons, cycling challenges and more
- Real-time leaderboards and communication features to keep your team motivated and connected, no matter where they are.
2. Kahoot! 360
Kahoot! 360 is useful for engaging employees in knowledge-based activities. It can be used for company competitions that blend learning and team building.
Cost: Plans start at $25 per host per month.
Key Functionalities:
- Interactive quiz creation for team bonding sessions and knowledge sharing
- Analytics dashboards to track employee participation and engagement
3. Mentimeter
Mentimeter transforms traditional presentations into interactive experiences. It enables your teams to engage with live polls and quizzes.
Cost: Starts at $11.99/presenter per month
Key Functionalities:
- Interactive tools like live polls, quizzes, and word clouds
- Engagement tracking to assess audience participation
4. Blink
Blink is a communication hub designed for desk-less and frontline workers. It offers newsfeeds, instant messaging, and task management, ensuring everyone on your team stays connected and informed during your virtual team events.
Cost: You will need to contact Blok for a quote
Key Functionalities:
- Centralised communication for frontline teams
- Real-time updates to improve team cohesion
5. Gather
Gather provides a virtual platform where your teams can meet, collaborate, and connect in customisable spaces.
Cost: Pricing starts at $5.59 per user/month
Key Functionalities:
- Virtual spaces for casual and formal interactions
- Customisable layouts to replicate real-world environments
6. Hey Taco
Hey Taco is a recognition platform that gamifies appreciation within your teams, especially during charity team-building activities. Employees award “tacos” to colleagues for their contributions.
Cost: Starts at $3 per user per month.
Key Functionalities:
- Peer recognition through “tacos” as tokens of appreciation
- Leaderboards to gamify team-building activities
7. Trivia by Springworks
Trivia is a platform for virtual trivia games that includes customise quizzes based on topics of interest.
Cost: Free basic plan; premium starts at $1/user per month for first 25 employees
Key Functionalities:
- Custom trivia sessions for virtual team bonding
- Detailed analytics to track participation
8. Slides with Friends
Slides with Friends enables you to create dynamic group activities to replace regular team meetings. It can also be used for workshops.
Cost: Starts at $8/month.
Key Functionalities:
- Interactive slides with polls, quizzes, and word clouds
- Real-time engagement metrics for meetings and events
9. GoProfiles
GoProfiles enables your team members to create detailed profiles showcasing their skills and interests. It can be an option if you’re struggling to connect across departments.
Cost: Custom pricing.
Key Functionalities:
- Employee profiles to promote networking within teams
- Advanced search for finding shared skills or interests
10. Pingboard
Pingboard helps you visualise your organisational structure and provides a searchable directory for teams. It can be used for onboarding, creating connections, and understanding team dynamics.
Cost: Starts at $149 per month for up to 20 users. Each additional user will cost you $3 extra.
Key Functionalities:
- Org charts with employee profiles
- Directory search to enhance internal networking
11. Polly
Polly offers instant feedback tools which can be used during virtual meetings to helps team collaborate.
Cost: Free plan available; premium starts at $1 per monthly user for Slack.
Key Functionalities:
- Instant polls and surveys for team input
- Real-time feedback collection during meetings
12. Donut
Donut pairs team members for casual chats or mentoring sessions that enable staff to speak to each other more easily.
Cost: Free basic plan; premium starts at $49/month per workspace.
Key Functionalities:
- Automates introductions for team bonding
- Icebreaker prompts that encourage teams to talk to each other
13. CoffeePals
CoffeePals matches your employees for informal chats, building trust and camaraderie.
Cost: Free plan available; premium pricing starts at $49 for up to 25 users per month.
Key Functionalities:
- Encourages virtual coffee chats among employees
- Custom pairings for team-building conversations
14. Goosechase
Goosechase’s scavenger hunts enable you to organise team challenges where participants earn points, making it ideal for events or icebreakers.
Cost: A free plan for up to 3 participants is free. Paid plans start at $850/month for up to 50 teams or 250 participants.
Key Functionalities:
- Scavenger hunt creation for team engagement
- Real-time leaderboard updates for gamified experiences
Must-have functionalities in team building software
According to a study titled “Team Building for Employee Morale and Productivity”, team building improves the productivity and morale of your team.
You want to make sure that the team-building software you choose has features that promote collaboration, encourage engagement, and facilitate participation. The right features can turn your team’s routine activities into more meaningful experiences that knit the members together and build morale.
We asked our experts for key functionalities, and here is what came out:
1. Customisation options
Your software has to be flexible enough to fit the needs of your unique teams and situations. Activities, challenges, lengths and themes should be customisable so everyone feels included, whether it’s a company trivia quiz or a fitness challenge to boost wellness.
2. Gamification features
Leaderboards, badges, and points make activities more interactive and engaging. Gamification taps into your team’s natural competitive spirit and encourages participation while fostering camaraderie.
3. Multi-device compatibility
With hybrid and remote work a given, team-building software needs to be able to work on different devices seamlessly. It will ensure that your employees are involved, whether sitting at their desks or on the move.
4. Analytics and insights
Good software will give you data about engagement levels, participation rates and feedback. The data should be clear to read and help you to fine-tune strategies and determine the success of your initiatives.
5. Collaboration tools
Look for software that has real-time communication features, such as chat rooms or discussion boards. It will keep your team members engaged and active. They can talk about their experiences in real-time, making the whole experience more enjoyable.
When you prioritise these functionalities in your team-building software, you can ensure your chosen software delivers impactful and enjoyable team-building experiences.
How to choose a team building software?
Because it can be really challenging to choose the tool your company need, here is a step-by-step guide to consider when choosing team-building software:
1. Define team goals and objectives
First, find out what you want to achieve with team-building software. What are you trying to improve: communication, collaboration, or employee morale?
You will be able to choose the best software if you are clear about what you want.
2. Determine your team size and activity preferences
There are different tools for different team sizes and interests. If your team is big, your software must support high participation without compromising performance. Also, think about what your team likes to do — quizzes, scavenger hunts, trivia games — and see if the software you’re using offers those.
3. A user-friendly interface
Ease of use has a huge impact on participation rates. If the interface is simple and intuitive, it will encourage your teams to participate more. Use test demos or trials to determine how easy the platform is for everyone (technical skills or not).
4. Look for customisation options
It’s all about customisation to cater your activities to your team’s own culture and preferences. Find software that will let you change challenges, themes, and features to suit your goals and values.
5. Integrate with existing tools
Ensure the software seamlessly integrates with the tools your team is already using, like communication tools (Slack or Teams) or HR management systems. It will help you to reduce administrative burden and improve the user experience.
6. Look at activity variety and engagement features
Your team is motivated by engaging activities. Go for software that has different types of challenges, like gamified challenges, leaderboards or team quizzes. These features will boost participation and promote good competition.
7. Think of remote and hybrid compatibility
As remote and hybrid work becomes the norm, the software you choose needs to be available across locations and devices. Find cloud-based solutions that allow all your employees, irrespective of location, to be part of the team.
8. Analyse tracking and analytics capabilities
Analytics features help you see participation rates, engagement levels and team performance. These metrics are helpful in gauging how your team-building initiatives are affecting your team and areas to improve.
9. Check user feedback and reviews
Go through user reviews to understand the experiences of other organisations. Feedback on usability, performance, and customer service can reveal important details that aren’t always evident in marketing materials.
10. Find out the cost and potential ROI
Make sure your software fits into your budget. See how pricing tiers, features, and plans scale with your organisation’s needs while still delivering the same quality and ROI.
11. Make sure they have good customer support
You will need reliable customer support, as technical issues are bound to arise during activities. Look for software solution providers that offer live chat or dedicated account managers.
12. Think scalability for future growth
Last but not least, as your organisation grows, your team-building needs may expand. Pick software that grows with your team size and evolving needs so you don’t have to keep switching !
What are the key functionalities of software to improve engagement?
Because at the end of the day, it’s all about engagement, your chosen team-building software needs to have features and functionalities that encourage your employees to interact and collaborate with each other.
Here are the key functionalities to look for:
Real-time interaction and communication
Real-time communication through team building software creates immediate collaboration and connection. Newsfeeds, live chats, discussion boards, or activity-based messaging feature keeps your teams engaged and allow participants to share ideas, feedback or encouragement during challenges.
Gamification
Points, badges, and leaderboards make activities fun. By activating these elements, your employees get to tap into their competitive spirit and participate while having fun and being productive.
Peer recognition and rewards
Recognition is a powerful motivator. Peer recognition features in team-building software allow your team members to celebrate each other’s contributions. Rewards like badges or prizes will only increase morale and help reinforce team bonds.
Collaboration tools integration
Team-building software that integrates well with tools your employees already use, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Workspace, avoids workflow disruption. This will streamline participation and stimulate engagement without reliance on additional platforms.
Personalised challenges and goals
Personalisation adds relevance and inclusivity to team-building activities. Look for software that allows you to tailor challenges and set individual or team goals, as this will connect your employees to the initiatives.
Feedback and survey tools
Understanding your team’s preferences and experiences is essential for improvement. The software should include built-in feedback and survey tools to allow staff to give feedback so you can adjust the activities to suit your teams better.
Software solutions that include these functionalities can help drive meaningful engagement, foster collaboration, and build a more cohesive and motivated workforce.
Choosing the right team-building software can significantly enhance employee engagement, improve collaboration, and boost team morale, as long as you find the right software to use.
Ready to experience how Teamupp can elevate your team-building efforts?
Schedule a demo today and see how our customisable platform can help you foster a more engaged and connected team!
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