We use campfire to do 90% of our conversation even with our team all in house. It helps kick off conversations, save them for later and keep everyone in the team on the same page. I think before you start hiring remote talent you need to build in that communication strategy to your core team.
Very much agree that in-person bonding, whether working side by side or having a beer, are important. If you do have a remote team- try to build in time for the whole team to be in a single office every other month at least.
We're the same. Even though the bulk of our devs are in the office, we still use campfire because it's the central hub of communication. (commit messages, CI build notices, when stories get updated in Pivotal,etc.)
And it's searching ability is very nice. Pro-Tip: Keep that searchability in mind when you discuss a candidate's interview in campfire..they might be reading it later when you hire them. Dohp!
Very much agree that in-person bonding, whether working side by side or having a beer, are important. If you do have a remote team- try to build in time for the whole team to be in a single office every other month at least.