Rounds
Sign up
Browse the help center
Help center home

Everyday messaging

Channels, DMs & announcements

Rounds has three kinds of conversation. Knowing which one to reach for keeps the right people in the loop without crowding everyone else.

Every conversation in Rounds is one of three types. They look similar, but they behave differently — and choosing well is the difference between a tidy workspace and a noisy one.

Where conversations start

When you sign in, Rounds opens the chat workspace at /chat. The left column is your channel list; the row of small icons at the top of it — beside the word Conversations — is where every new conversation begins.

The chat workspace — the highlighted icons at the top of the channel list start a new DM, group, or announcement channel.

Direct messages

A direct message (DM) is a private conversation between you and one other person. Use it for a quick one-to-one question, a handover detail, or anything that doesn't need the wider team.

  1. Open the chat workspace

    Sign in to Rounds — you land on the chat workspace. Find the Conversations header at the top of the channel list on the left.

  2. Click the new-direct-message icon

    Click the person-with-a-plus icon in the icon row. A New direct message panel opens in the main area.

  3. Pick a colleague and start

    Choose a teammate from your agency and click Start conversation. If you've messaged them before, the existing conversation simply reopens — you won't get duplicates.

  4. It stays between you two

    Only the two of you can read a DM. No one else in the agency, including admins, can join it.

Group channels

A group channel is a shared conversation for a unit, a shift, a project, or any group that needs to talk together — for example #shift-handoff or #wound-care. Anyone in the channel can post and reply.

  1. Click the new-group icon

    In the chat workspace, click the people icon in the Conversations icon row (third from the left). A New group panel opens.

  2. Name it and add members

    Give the channel a clear name and pick the teammates who should be in it, then click Create group. Rounds opens the new channel straight away.

Everyone can contribute

Every member can send messages, start threads, and react. It's a true group conversation.

Has members and a lead

Group channels have a defined membership and a designated channel lead — see channel leads & escalation.

A group channel — every member can post, and the header names the channel lead.

Announcement channels

An announcement channel is for one-way, agency-wide notices — policy updates, schedule changes, all-staff reminders. It looks like a group channel, with one key difference: only designated people can post. Everyone else reads, but doesn't reply.

That keeps an important notice from being buried under a dozen "thanks!" replies, and makes sure an all-staff message is exactly that — a clear signal, not a discussion.

  1. Click the megaphone icon (admins only)

    In the chat workspace, agency admins see a megaphone icon at the end of the Conversations icon row. Click it to open the New announcement channel panel. If you don't see the megaphone, you're not an admin — ask one to create the channel for you.

  2. Name it, describe it, add members

    Give the channel a name and short description, choose who receives its notices, and click Create announcement.

Which one should I use?

  • A quick question for one person — use a direct message.
  • A conversation a whole unit or shift needs — use a group channel.
  • A notice everyone must see but no one needs to reply to — that's an announcement channel (admins set these up).