Slack's Best Practices

Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge

What is Slack and why we’re using it.

Slack is a channel-based instant messaging platform. With Slack, people can work together more efficiently and effectively, connect all their software tools and services, and find the information they need to do their best work — all within a secure, enterprise-grade environment. In order to bring transparency and collaboration to the Bushburg team we will communicate primarily through Slack instead of email, text messages and WhatsApp. A Slack workspace is made up of channels, where team members can communicate and work together.

When to use Slack:

• Instead of (internal personnel only) Email

• Instead of WhatsApp or Text Message

• Instead of Google Chat

• Instead of a phone call - unless there is an emergency

Slack will be divided into:

• Channels - organized conversations, that can be public or private. You can bring attention to a team member in a conversation by typing @teammember or to a whole department like @accountingdept

• Direct Messages - Direct messages (DMs) are smaller conversations in Slack that happen outside of channels. They can be one-to-one, or include up to nine people. DMs work well for one-off conversations that don’t require an entire channel of people to weigh in.

• Threads - Threads in Slack create organized discussions around specific messages. Need to give feedback on a file? Want to add context to someone else’s observation? Those moments are ideal for starting a thread. We will use threads most often in busy channels where it’s more courteous to contain extended discussions in threads instead of the main channel. We also tend to use them for deep discussions around a specific topic without clogging up the channel with details. Threads also help us rely less on direct messages to ask and answer follow-up questions. Instead, related questions get asked in threads in public channels, where the details remain transparent and can be found via search.

• Slack Channels vs Direct Messages (DMs) - When the question or the comment you are going to Slack is not pertinent to any existing Channel and it’s just a quick question or comment that no one else will find useful, then use direct message, otherwise, if it’s something that can be useful for a team member then Slack it in a channel.

Guidelines for Channel Names

• #proj- For cross-functional teams working together on a given project (Ex: #Proj-ConferenceRoom, #Project-BBINC Website)

• #team- For teams to coordinate their efforts and work, also for daily stand-ups. (Ex: #Team-Accounting, #Team Leasing)

• #help- To seek help for given areas or from a specific department. (Ex: #help-accounting, #help-maintenance, #help-leasing)

How to Alert a Group or an Individual Your Message is Directed to Them

• @Name - alerts the individual in a specific channel you want to bring a message to their attention

• @Here - alerts every online member in this channel of your message

• @Channel - this alerts everyone in the channel there is an urgent message to review such that it will pop up even if you’ve placed ‘do not disturb’ or ‘busy’ on your Slack

• @Group Name - this alerts the specific multi-member group in a specific channel of your message

Using Emoji Reactions to make work more efficient. When someone shares a message you should reply quickly using the following emoji’s

👀 = “I saw your message”, "taking a look"

✅ = done

👍 = Great Job

➕= “I agree”

🎉 = Congratulations

🅰️🅱️ = can be used to create quick Poll

Using Gifs

Work should also be fun! We can include gifs on our conversations to include emotions, reactions and to make conversations more lighthearted. In order to use Gifs, we should type in Slack: /giphy [ any word], this will bring up the image of a gif, which you will then click on Shuffle until you see a gif you like, then click SEND.

Setting your online Status

This is key to working with Slack more effectively, it tells your teammates when you are available. Types of Status:

• Active - Status stays until manually changed.

• Away - Status stays until manually changed.

• In a Meeting - Status clears after 1 hr. This should ideally be linked to your Google Calendar

• Focused work DND - when you need some uninterrupted time, clears after 1 hr.

• Out Sick - Status clears after 1 day

• Vacationing - Status stays until manually changed.

• Working Remotely - Status clears after 1 day
  

Why Use Slack

• Organize your work - Channels bring order and clarity to work — you can create them for every project, topic, or team. When there’s a channel for everything, you can focus on the conversations and work that matters most to you. In Slack, team members send messages and share files in channels. You can make channels private for conversations that shouldn’t be open to all members, or you can use shared channels to collaborate with external organizations from your own workspaces.

• Create alignment and transparency - Channels provide you and your team a shared view into the work being done. With access to the same information, everyone in the channel can work in lockstep, and new members have full context when they join.

• Be more productive - As you work in channels, your conversations and files become a searchable archive that gets more useful with time. Find answers, get context and make better decisions without having to chase down people or information!

• Work together, no matter how you work - Channels are flexible spaces for all the people, tools, and files you need to get work done.

  • Public channels - These channels are open for anyone at your company to join or find in search. Increase transparency while allowing everyone to benefit from the context of your conversations.

  • Private channels - For sensitive or confidential conversations, you can use private channels. Only those who are invited can view the channel or find its contents in search.

  • Slack Connect - Work with multiple organizations in a channel. Speed up communication with clients, vendors, agencies, and more.

  • Communicate better with your entire team - When you can turn to one tool to quickly reach every member of your team — either individually and in organized groups — you can in turn get your work done faster.

  • Connect remote team members - Bring your company together with a virtual office where everyone can communicate. Group team chat keeps colleagues from across locales in sync and included in team or project discussions.

• Bring context into the conversation - Get important updates, discuss them, and take action — all without switching tabs. By connecting other work tools to Slack, you can have richer, more informed conversations.

• Put your work history to work - Work smarter by referencing your private messages or open conversations in channels across your company, all of which are automatically saved and searchable.

• Always at your fingertips - Stay up to date on all your conversations and keep them going from anywhere with dedicated Slack apps for desktop or mobile.

• Slack calls You can start a voice or video call with any other members of your workspace right from Slack. Share your screen to show your teammates exactly what you see on your computer — you can even draw on your screen while you’re screen sharing.

• Integrating tech tools of every type - Your department’s critical apps always have a place in Slack. Slack connects with Wrike, Box, Google Drive, Gmail, GCal and Notion, and many others. So we can work efficiently and have everything connected. Bushburg Gmail has already been connected with Slack, so now we can forward an email directly to a channel and continue the conversation in Slack.

• Workflows - Allow you to take care of routine and repetitive tasks, so you can get answers, approvals and more with way less effort.