Blog and News > canddi > Why we host a daily virtual game show for our team
Why we host a daily virtual game show for our team
These are strange times.
I know this because marketing usage of the words “uncertain” and “unprecedented” is... certainly unprecedented.
But when looking for a silver lining, ours at CANDDi is the fact that remote work really fits in well with our culture. So much, in fact, that we’re actually ditching the office altogether!
A lot of our ability to thrive when remote working is undoubtedly the simple fact we’re a tech business.
But I’d also like to think it’s because of the strength of the team. And no, I’m not just saying that in case my colleagues read this blog… I’ve been assured that none of them ever do.
Anyway, this brings me to how we’ve managed to maintain this fun culture while working remotely: our 12:30 gameshow!
The Game Show Format
The 12:30 gameshow is a daily 30-minute call. Everyone in the company dials in, and no one is allowed to discuss work.
We’ve had a few different formats so far; you may have read my blog about our show-and-tell… unless you’re one of my colleagues, of course.
We had also had a good run of Would I Lie To You, in which we ripped off the popular comedy panel show. I discovered that my colleagues were all fantastic liars and that I should never trust them again. Very fun!
More recently we’ve tried Room 101 where 3 team members a day argued their case for eradicating a single annoying thing from existence, while the rest of the company vote for the winner.
The key on these calls is a fun format that allows everyone to join in.
See, the 12:30 calls started out as a simple social free-for-all, but with around 20 people in each call you can imagine the chaos that ensued! The structure of these gameshows provides some order to the fun, and ensures that quieter members of the team aren’t simply drowned out and left to feel isolated.
The Prizes
Every day, the game show ends with us winning the greatest prize of them all: friendship.
Before you click away in disgust, the benefit of these daily calls really is an upbeat, focused and close-knit team of individuals.
It may seem like overkill to host the daily, but the results speak for themselves; my colleagues often comment that they know more about each other now than ever before, and our team morale is the highest it’s ever been.
And while I recognize that a 30 minute daily virtual gameshow may not be right for everyone (that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write) it’s worth making sure to have some kind of regular team building exercise in place.
Whether it’s a virtual break room which people can join to chat at lunch, or a bi-weekly quiz night… the ultimate impact on morale and productivity might just surprise you!
