Set Up Employee Intros in Microsoft Teams

Employee Intros runs in Microsoft Teams. CultureBot pairs people from a Teams channel on a schedule you set, opens a private group chat for each pairing, and checks in to make sure they actually met. With Outlook calendar turned on, CultureBot can also find a time that works for everyone and book the meeting with a Teams link.

Ways Teams Use It

• Remote 1:1s: Pair everyone in a company-wide channel for a 1:1 coffee chat every two weeks.
• Break down silos: Use Cross Group Shuffle on Department so every group mixes people from different teams.
• Welcome new hires: Run intros in a new-hire channel and turn on the welcome message so newcomers know what to expect.
• Lunch with a leader: Use Lottery and add your CEO as a fixed participant, so one small group meets them each round.
• Book it for busy teams: Turn on auto-create so each pairing lands on everyone's Outlook calendar, with a Teams meeting link, the moment the intro goes out.

Before You Start

• Your Microsoft 365 administrator has approved CultureBot's permissions. CultureBot needs them to create the intro group chats. See Approve and Install CultureBot in Microsoft Teams (for IT Admins).
• CultureBot has been added to the team whose channel you want to use. For a private channel, invite CultureBot to that channel first.

Please note: Employee Intros is available on Standard plans.

How to Set Up Employee Intros in Teams

1. Open Intros: In the CultureBot web app, or the CultureBot Home tab in Teams, go to Intros, then Instances.
2. Create An Instance: Click Create instance.
3. Pick A Channel: Under Channel to pair people from, choose the channel. Only members of that channel are paired.
4. Set The Schedule: Choose a Frequency (every 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, or 12 weeks), a Day of week to send, and an Hour of day to send.
5. Choose The Intro Type: Standard pairs everyone in the channel each round. Lottery picks one group per round. Then set the Group size.
6. Add The Extras (Optional): Turn on a conversation starter, a welcome message for people who join the channel, or a custom intro message. Use Exclude specific people to leave anyone out.
7. Choose Who Messages Come From (Optional): Under Send Messages As, pick a person, such as your CEO or People lead, so intro messages appear from them instead of CultureBot.
8. Turn On Calendar (Optional): Under Calendar and meeting, check Allow employees to connect Outlook to find time. For Standard intros, you can also check Auto-create a calendar event when pairings are made (users can update later). Set Meeting link to Teams meeting to add a Teams link to each event.
9. Turn It On: Check Turn intros on/off and save.

An instance does not send until it has a channel, a day, and a time. If one is missing, a warning icon appears next to it on the Instances page.

Please note: the person you choose under Send Messages As must sign in to CultureBot once. Until they do, the form shows Needs sign-in next to their name and intro messages post as CultureBot. Click Resend sign-in request to send them a reminder.

What Your Team Sees in Teams

On the scheduled day, each group gets a new private group chat, named for the date and the channel (for example, Oct 22 Intro (Sales)). The intro message @mentions everyone and names one person, picked at random, to find a time to meet. CultureBot also posts in the channel that a new round has started.

Partway through the round, CultureBot asks the chat Did you get a chance to connect yet? If the answer is No, it reminds the chosen person to schedule the meeting. If the group already has a meeting booked through CultureBot, this check-in is skipped.

Every intro also includes a card where people can snooze or leave future pairings for that channel. See How to Opt Out of or Snooze Employee Intros.

Book Intro Meetings With Outlook

When calendar is on, CultureBot sends channel members who have not connected Outlook a direct message asking them to connect. Each intro chat also shows a Calendar card with two buttons.

1. Connect Outlook: Click Manage Integration, then Connect Outlook, and accept the calendar permission in the Microsoft window. Return to the card and click Refresh status.
2. Find A Time: Click Find Time. Pick a meeting length and a day, click See Availability, then choose a time that works for everyone who has connected Outlook.
3. Watch For The Confirmation: CultureBot posts in the group chat who scheduled the meeting and when, with the Teams meeting link if one is set.

With auto-create on, CultureBot books the meeting itself when the intro goes out, as long as at least two people in the group have connected Outlook. Anyone can reschedule or delete it from Find Time. About 30 minutes before the meeting, CultureBot posts a reminder in the group chat.

Please note: calendar features are available for Standard intros. Lottery intros do not show the Calendar card. If someone sees a page saying CultureBot needs calendar permission, their Microsoft 365 admin may need to allow it.

You will know it is working when the new round message appears in your channel at the time you set.