Slack has introduced a new spontaneous audio feature designed to replicate in-office interactions.
Slack Huddles let users start instant voice meetings with other users in a channel, with the intention of substituting chance encounters in an office hallway or kitchen.
Huddles can be started by clicking an icon in the bottom left corner of the Slack window, with users given the choice of whether to join or not.
Slack Chief Product Officer, Tamar Yehoshua, said: “Huddles is a lightweight, audio-first way of communicating in Slack.
“Huddles recreate the spontaneous and serendipitous interactions that happened outside of scheduled meetings
“Everyone in the channel is free to come in and out as they please, as if you see people congregating in a conference room and you just stick your head in and then leave when you're ready to leave, or it's like tapping somebody on the shoulder when you see them working at their desk, or a casual hallway conversation”
Huddles are usable in a channel or direct message thread, including with users in other organisations. Users are also able to share their screen.
The feature is being rolled out to paid teams this week.
Slack has also announced new video features designed to increase the use of asynchronous communication methods. Users will soon be able to record and share video, audio messages via Slack.
These messages can be viewed by the members of the channel at any time, with messages automatically transcribed and archived. The new features will be rolled out to paid teams over “the coming months”, Slack said.
Huddles and the multimedia messages mentioned above will all be compatible with another new feature that will let users schedule messages in advance.
