Cross-department by design
Put names from every team into one big list and the random shuffle does the cross-pollination for you. Engineers end up with marketing; that's the win.
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Team-building activity group generator
From escape rooms to scavenger hunts — split your team into mixed groups that don't just put the same desk-buddies together.
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Want a prettier print-ready pack?
The free version does the job. The optional template pack just makes brackets look beautiful for events, classrooms and clubs.
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When to use this
HR-organised away days, onboarding cohorts, departmental mixers and management training. Random groups force cross-team interaction, which is the entire reason for running an off-site in the first place.
Step by step
- 1
Paste staff names
- 2
Choose group size
- 3
Generate
Confidentiality
Employee lists never leave the browser. No upload, no signup, no analytics on the names — only on page views.
Why a generic generator works for this audience
There's a temptation to think a sport-specific or classroom-specific tool would be 'better' than a generic generator. In practice the opposite is true: the rules of fair team-splitting are the same whether you're dividing a Year 7 PE class or a Sunday-league football squad. What changes between audiences is the framing — the language used in the guide, the typical group size, the kinds of ratings people record. The underlying maths (Fisher–Yates shuffle, snake-draft balancing) is identical. That's why this site uses one generator across many audience-specific pages: the same engine, with copy and presets tuned to the context.
Save your roster between sessions
If you'll regenerate teams from the same roster repeatedly — every Tuesday training, every Friday game night — paste the names once, click 'Copy as text', and save the result in a note app or a pinned message. Next session, paste it back. There's no account system to maintain and nothing to forget; the names live wherever you keep your other notes. For coaches managing multiple squads, prefix each name with a one-letter squad tag (e.g. 'A Alex', 'B Sam') and use the filter step to keep only the relevant tag before generating.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I export to send to managers?
Yes — copy as text or export CSV from the result panel.
Is it appropriate to use this with under-18s?
Yes. The generator doesn't ask for personal information, doesn't display ads inside the tool itself, and runs entirely client-side. Many teachers use it weekly. See the trust and safety page for the full position on under-16 use.
Can I export the roster to a spreadsheet?
Yes — the 'Export CSV' button gives you a two-column file (team, name) that opens cleanly in Excel, Google Sheets, and Numbers. From there you can pivot, filter, or merge with attendance records.
What if someone arrives late?
Add their name to the textarea and regenerate. If you want to preserve the existing teams and just slot the latecomer in, use the 'Add to smallest team' shortcut instead of regenerating — it places them on whichever team currently has the fewest members.
Keep exploring
Related tools & guides
Office team builder
Mix departments fairly so every breakout group has a mix of design, engineering, sales, and ops — without picking favourites.
OpenHackathon team generator
Hand-picking hackathon teams turns into a popularity contest. Randomise it instead — and use ratings to balance senior engineers across teams.
OpenRandom groups of 5 generator
Five-a-side teams, project pods, study groups — paste your list and get evenly sized groups of 5 in one click.
OpenScavenger hunt team generator
Memorable team names + balanced groups = a scavenger hunt that doesn't fall apart in the first ten minutes.
Open
Ready to run your event?
Free forever for basic use. No signup required. The free version really does do the job.
Want prettier prints? See the optional template pack