We use Hipchat at my workplace for team communication and team building. Generally, we leave the app open on all devices during the day and it is probably the most frequently used mode for communication.
Hipchat is interesting in a few ways – 1) It allows for both channel and private messaging, 2) has settings that allows for less or more frequent “alerts” for a specific channel, and 3) allows for synchronous video. Some of the ways it has benefited my worklife, and that I also feel are best practices for using this kind of tool, are exampled here:
- Used for onboarding new team members -use it to meet team members traveling or remote through the video function. It is much more personal than email.
- Different channels serve different needs – for example, there is an “announcement” channel for major announcements, a “lounge” channel for personal commentary, resources, and sharing (great for team building and getting to know each other – for example, sharing photos of a new baby or other event), there is a channel for a specific part of the team to discuss issues (such as an ID channel).
So across the whole department, Hipchat has been used to bring the group together as a whole (global), create spaces for smaller groups to bond and discuss, and allow for shared resources and training with input from a variety of perspectives.
Web Learning 2.0 