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VIRTUE brings back small talk with the launch of Chit Chat

Right in time for virtual Christmas office celebrations this Slack application allows companies to enable small talk straight from people’s web browsers at the home office.

Check out the video HERE ​

16 December, Amsterdam - Today VIRTUE, the creative agency by VICE, launches Chit ​ ​ Chat, a new app for Slack users that mimics the coincidence of coffee machine ​ conversations by connecting people to a randomly selected colleague from around the company to enjoy a few minutes of chatting. Especially now that companies are looking at alternative ways for their annual Christmas celebrations, this tool comes at the perfect time.

Most of us have managed to transfer to digital workflows. However, the mostly practical, digital work collaboration doesn’t guarantee human connection. The digital workflow means we’re missing out on the light-hearted watercooler or coffee machine chit chat that drives human connection, team building and office culture. It also means that we are missing out on randomly bumping into your colleagues at this year's annual Christmas celebration.

But also after the holiday season, Chit Chat enables staff to connect with people they generally might not talk to the company at a local and global level, unlocking the collective knowledge potential, fuelling new ideas and optimisations.

The app aims to increase bonding of teams and colleagues as seeing colleagues in their home environment drives empathy and understanding amongst each other. Not only in times of COVID-19 where lots of people are working from home, but also to improve connections with colleagues across different countries in the future.

Chit Chat allows users - teams, local colleagues and even whole Global companies, to enjoy a few minutes of chatting with a randomly selected colleague for five minutes after which they’ll be connected to someone else.

“Operating as a borderless creative agency we developed Chit Chat to get our global teams to bond. Seeing the power of uniting a team spread across 21 countries, we decided to transform it into a Slack app that is available for everyone and any company willing to chat. Says Pascal Rotteveel, Executive Creative Director Western Europe at VIRTUE. “With Chit ​ Chat we do aim to drive team building and effectiveness in the long run, but also tackle the biggest miss of the current WFH situation that we are in; casual conversation.”

How does it work? Chit Chat is available in the Slack App Directory. Once approved by a workspace Slack admin they can customise the look and feel of the chat window for their organisation as well as set regular reminders in a channel of their choice using the Chit Chat bot.

When members of a Slack workspace click through to Chit Chat they are matched securely with a random colleague of their workspace for a five minute video chat (with the option to extend if things get interesting!), before automatically being connected to someone else. If conversation runs dry there’s a random topic generator, or you can just skip to the next team member.

Here you can find more information about the application, how to install it and an option to ​ download it. ENDS

For more information: Laura van Horssen [email protected] +31(0)6 55 13 00 00 ABOUT VIRTUE Virtue is the creative agency born from VICE. With presence in 21 countries, Virtue crafts campaigns, platforms, and IP for some of the most important brands on the planet. Using proprietary tools, access, and intelligence, Virtue finds new ways for brands to matter to the world through an entertainment-centric approach that plunges its hooks into audiences’ subconscious and refuses to let go.

Virtue is behind the award winning work Q the Genderless Voice, Carlings adDRESS the Future, Weedmaps’ Museum of Weed, and Dove’s Dear Future Dads.