Slack's New Huddles Feature Adds Casual Voice Chats For Remote Workers

Slack, the robust chat-based service popular with remote working teams and large companies, has added a new feature called Huddles. With this feature, users are able to 'huddle' with one or more coworkers in a voice chat, imitating the kind of conversations you may have previously had by heading over to someone's office or cubicle to talk in person.

Many companies are transitioning to remote workflows, meaning teams of people who used to share the same office space now find themselves working from their home offices, bedrooms, and the local Starbucks. This is largely fine for many types of work but does require the right tools to facilitate communication without hassle.

Slack is one popular solution to this issue, allowing teams to create channels, message each other, share files, use commands with third-party services, and more. The new Huddles feature expands this by adding casual voice chat into the mix, the same kind you may have enjoyed in the office.

The new functionality is similar to the voice chat feature offered on Discord; users simply turn on the Huddles feature for the channel, then join a coworker or existing Huddle to participate. The feature includes the option of sharing your screen, which will make it easier to get help with an issue or get input on a project.

Huddles can be started in DMs, as well, for those times you need your conversations to stay limited to one person. If the Huddle is in a channel, anyone who is in that channel can pop into the conversation similar to the way they'd be able to overhear your conversation in a physical workplace. The feature is rolling out now to paid teams.