[hrktb]

If you have IM clients with easy to use group chat features I think IRC might not be the best choice for professional use. Keeping it within the IM clients allows to have a single place to log discussions and you know everyone is using roughly the same features.

Actually making it an explicit task to invite the right people to discuss when you need a group chat can be a feature in itself.

Now I love IRC, but for private use only.