Slack can be a blessing and a curse.

But if we all apply some slack etiquette we can make the best of the tool. Find here some useful information:

General Communication Guidelines

  • Be respectful of others' time!

    • Clarify expectations when someone is available

    • Don´t expect immediate response.

  • Be respectful of your own time!

    • Set expectations when you are available.

  • Due to time difference a big amount of our communication is asynchronous. Please communicate as clear as possible to avoid room for misinterpretation.

  • We live in different locations and often have very different perspectives. Please consider language and cultural differences before sending and interpreting a message.

Slack

Slack is a collaboration hub where all MOSTLIES can work together to get things done.

  • Fill out your profile and add a photo

  • Make sure each project has its own channel - this way only relevant team members will get notifications. We want to follow Slack’s standard prefixes to keep channel names consistent and descriptive.
    Here are some of our favourites:

social-

For miscellaneous topics, not related to work.

Examples:
#social-plants

#social-pets

#social-music

#social-books

#social-pride

#social-sports-and-workouts

#social-arts-and-crafts

#social-movies

#social-sustainability 

#social-vegetarian-and-vegan

#social-cooking

#social-remote-work

#social-parents

team-

For teams to coordinate work and activities.

Examples: #team-design, #team-sales

proj-

For cross-functional teams working together. 

Examples: #proj-redesign, #proj-vienna-office-closure

announce-

For important announcements your team needs to know.

Examples: #announce-sales, #announce-new-features

event-

To plan and execute events, large and small.

Examples: #event-company-picnic, #event-product-offsite

Customers:

#p #c WR

If you are a member of the Sales Team, please see the Customer Communication guidelines for naming conventions.

  • Create channels for specific topics (may or may not be work related) and add a channel description

  • Mind the channel’s purpose - it defines the kind of information that should be shared in the channel

  • Don’t bloat the channel - let’s keep it easy to find information and follow conversations within

  • Write well formatted messages to make text easier to scan and help minimize follow-up questions and messages.

  • Use threads - to help organize conversations and declutter a channel

  • Use workflows

  • Use audio and/or video clips

  • Message someone before adding them to a new slack channel

  • Consider an emoji reaction to replace a follow up message.

    • Emojis and gifs are an amazing way to supplement written communication and pass on the right intent. We can use emojis as a quicker way to visualise, give quick feedback and acknowledgement. Extra points for the usage of diverse and inclusive emojis.

    • Here’s some examples:
      ❗For important matters
      👀 When someone makes a request via a Slack message, responding with 👀 can help others understand that you "got this” / it has been seen!”.
      👍🏿When you agree with or understand something
      ✅ When a topic is solved or a conclusion was reached
      🥺 How can you say no to a request that ends with this emoji?

  • Use the Do Not Disturb feature to reduce off-hours pings

  • When you are the owner of a slack channel set response expectations at the channel level in the channel purpose section

  • Acknowledge messages and requests - give a short answer that you will review it later and use the Reminder feature!

  • Alternatively, you can use of the following features:

    • Mark unread

    • Add to saved items

    • Pin a message to a channel

  • Discuss topics calmly and logically - that means no name calling, insults or foul language!

  • There are some useful integrations eg. Gsuite, Leapsome….. - consider integrations to automate your workflows

  • The @here command lets you grab the attention of team members in a channel who are currently active

  • The @channel command notifies all members of a channel – active or not. Be careful using this command and keep in mind that some MOSTLIES are not in the same timezone as you are

  • If you don’t want to receive any notifications from a channel you can mute it

  • Don’t expect to always receive an answer immediately – be sure to check on a members status (“in a meeting”, “home office”, “on vacation”)

  • Know when to ditch Slack - use phone/video calls or other ways of synchronous communication to “real time” challenges

  • In the left menu at the bottom, you can invite new members to Slack; within a channel simply use /invite @someone [#channel]

  • For more useful shortcuts and commands check the Slack page “Use shortcuts to take actions in Slack“

  • Channels can be open to everyone or closed to certain members

  • If you discuss something of interest to more than one person, use a channel over a PM so that if you add additional people later to a conversation, they can follow up on everything that’s been discussed so far in the channel

  • You can create temporary channels which can be easly opened and archived. Name them as #tmp-YOUR TOPIC and invite relevant members

  • Don’t forget to join popular channels such as #greenteam, #mostly-workout etc. 

  • Use inclusive language (of course not only in Slack) - we have a slackbot that reminds us that there are different words than “guys” to approach a group of people

Most importantly: Don’t let Slack ruin your productivity!

At MOSTLY AI we want to stimulate public discussion and encourage constructive discussion – this also includes giving constructive feedback that always intends to improve an idea or process. Generate a constructive conflict and don’t avoid critical issues, since we all want to improve!
But keep in mind – negative feedback should never be personal!

Asynchronous vs. Synchronous communication

Synchronous communication is communication that happens in “real time” — two or more parties are exchanging information in the same moment with one another.

  1. In-person meeting

  2. Phone call

  3. Video conferences or (e.g., via a tool like Zoom)

  4. Synchronous learning environments such as online programs that use class time for group discussion

  5. Asking the teammate across your desk a quick question 

  6. Water cooler conversations

Asynchronous communication is any type of communication that includes a lag between when the party imparting the information sends the message, and when the party receiving the message interprets it.

  1. Email

  2. Project management tools (such as Trello)

  3. Company wikis and workspaces (such as Confluence or Notion)

  4. Text messaging via mobile devices

  5. Video messaging (using tools like Loom)

Slack can be used either synchronously or asynchronously.

Know when to use which

Synchronous Communication:

  1. You want to build rapport with people (e.g., in one-on-ones, team meetings or company retreats)

  2. You need to provide critical feedback or discuss sensitive topics

  3. You have a lot of unknowns and you want to brainstorm different ideas and solutions

  4. There are a lot of moving variables and you want to bring everyone on the same page quickly, e.g., a project kickoff meeting

  5. A crisis happens that requires immediate attention

Asynchronous Communication

  1. You don’t require immediate feedback, and you want to respect your recipients’ time

  2. You need to collaborate with someone in a different time zone who isn’t at their desk at the same time you are

  3. You need to communicate a message to group of people who can’t all be in the same place at the same specific time, or whom it’s difficult or expensive to get together

  4. You want to provide context before or after a real-time event

  5. You need to explain a complex concept in a way that people can go back and reference later

  6. You’re providing a response to a piece of asynchronous communication you received

  7. You're coordinating an online course that allows learners to complete coursework on their own schedule

With video, the human touch that synchronous communication provides is still largely present — you can still convey additional meaning through gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions and other nonverbal communication. But you can also send video messages in your own time frame, and the recipient can consume it at their leisure. You can attach further context. You can share your screen, and talk through why you made certain decisions about your design, or financial model, or product roadmap.

Next time, before you send a slack message, you might consider to send a short video message instead.