Staff chat
Wardens, the front desk, managers and the owner chat with each other inside SmartMy, one to one or in groups, with files. The chat sits next to the hostel screens, so nobody needs a personal phone number to reach a colleague on duty.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The night warden messages the manager on a personal WhatsApp, and the message leaves with the warden.
- A new caretaker has to collect five phone numbers before they can ask anything.
- Photos of a broken geyser and a room report go to a family group by mistake.
- When a staff member leaves, the hostel's conversations go with their phone.
How it works
- Click Chat in the main menu of the back office. It opens under the usual menu bar, in the light or dark theme you use.
- Click New, then Message someone, and choose a colleague. There is only one chat per pair of people, so an old chat opens again.
- For a team, click New, then New group, give it a name such as Night shift Block B, and tick the people.
- Type and send. Click the paperclip to add photos or files. Enter sends; Shift + Enter starts a new line.
- Use Mute for a busy group, Search to find an old message, and Leave to quit a group you no longer need.
Everything it does
Who you can message
- Every active back-office user of the Entities you work in: hostel staff and colleagues of other SmartMy products
- Residents and guardians are not in the list; they are reached through the notice board and the hostel's messages
- A group can only hold people you may message yourself
Conversations
- One-to-one chats and groups you make; your organisation's channels
- Group name: up to 60 characters
- Message: up to 4,000 characters, with photos or files
- The list shows the last message, the time and the unread count, groups first
- Ticks on your own messages: one when sent, two when everyone has seen it
- New messages appear by themselves within a few seconds
What it does not do
- No voice or video calls and no voice notes
- No notification to a phone for chats between colleagues; the unread count shows in the chat list
Who uses it
Warden / CaretakerReports to the manager and asks the desk, from the back office.
Front Desk / AccountsTalks to wardens about arrivals, keys and payments.
Hostel ManagerRuns group chats per hostel or shift and answers staff.
Owner / AdministratorTalks to the managers of every branch in one place.
Where you use it
- Web: Chat in the back office's main menu, in place of Discuss. The same screen opens at the address ending in /chat on a phone browser
- Not in the SmartMy Hostel Staff app: chat is on the web only
- Not with residents or guardians: there is no hostel chat with residents
- Not a phone alert: unread messages show when you open Chat
Works with
SmartMy HRMSHostel staff and HR colleagues of the same Entity can message each other in the same chat.
Questions
Can residents chat with the warden?
No. Staff chat is for colleagues only. Residents are reached through the notice board, notices about their stay and the hostel's messages.Do messages come to the warden's phone?
Not as a phone alert. The warden sees the unread count when they open Chat in a browser. Chat is not in the staff app.Can we send photos of a damage?
Yes. Click the paperclip, choose the photos or files, and send them with a message.What happens to a chat when a staff member leaves?
Archive their user. The conversations stay in SmartMy with the hostel, and the others in the group keep reading them.Can a warden see chats between the manager and the owner?
No. Each person sees only the conversations they are in.Related features
ROLESWho sees which hostel and which stayEach member of staff sees only the hostels where they are named as manager, warden or front desk. Residents and guardians see only their own stay, and the owner sees every hostel of the Entity.DAILY LIFENotice board and pollsPost notices to whole hostels, some blocks or some floors, pin the important ones and let them expire by themselves. Add a poll to a notice and residents answer on the portal or in the app.PORTAL AND APPSThe staff app for wardens and the deskSmartMy Hostel Staff puts the warden's and the front desk's day on a phone. Wardens approve leave, mark residents out and back, and take the night roll call, even without signal. The desk searches residents, checks them in and out, takes payments and records inspections, incidents, late entries, visitors and meter readings. Any of them can press SOS to call the other staff for help.ACROSS SMARTMY HOSTELNotificationsSmartMy Hostel tells the right person the moment something happens. That can be a bed booked, a leave to approve, a resident not back, an absence at roll call, an invoice, a notice, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients: the resident, the guardians, the wardens or the payer. Messages go in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.