Effective Slack
By: Pavel Zbytovský
Tags: Productivity, Slack, Asynchronous, Communication

for better performance of teams

Slack can be a tremendously useful communication tool, but some rules have to be obeyed to leverage the full potential. Implementing this guide by your team could help deliver code faster with less bugs.

Changing people’s habits is often strainful, they have to understand the benefits clearly.

Why should you bother?

every context switch costs ~15 minutes [1]

costs ~15 minutes [1] developer needs distraction free time [2] — interruptions can lead to bugs

time [2] — interruptions can lead to bugs writing code in “flow” has impact on speed and good quality

remotely working team mates are not left out

1) Asynchronous communication 🙋‍♂️

If you need to ask a colleague, you don’t have to always do it personally. Just ping him on slack, he will come when he is ready. You won’t interrupt him inside his focus time.

2) Always tag relevant people. Not @channel. 👥

Use @channel only when it’s really urgent for everybody.

example: all hands meeting due in 5 minutes moved elsewhere

all hands meeting due in 5 minutes moved elsewhere @here notifies only people currently online — good in case of broken `develop` branch etc.

Usually you don’t have to tag anybody, just find relevant group (eg. #devops_team), add yourself in the group, write the message and eventually you will get a reply in a thread.

3) Make all the channels public. 📢

Helps anyone join meaningful conversation.

Helps new team mates discover all relevant channels.

Sharing is easier — just copy the message’s link, and it is expanded where you post it.

Helps communication to be more transparent.

instead of group discussions create #tmp-xx channels → people can be invited and see full history

eg. You can tag somebody from a different team and he is able to decide if he wants to join or not. Later he can leave the channel. And anytime he needs to contact the whole team again, he can join freely.

(To change private → public, rename the old one, create a new one and invite all previous members)

4) Use threads. Everytime. 💬

Thread messages in channel should serve as “conversation topics” instead of flow of topics and replies. Relevant discussions should always be carried away in their “threads”.

Only those interested in the topic will check the replies.

You may Follow/Unfollow any thread → (⋮) button

button mentioning anybody would turn on Follow for them

if you reach a conclusion, check “send to channel”. It allows all members to check the thread again

5) Manage your sidebar 📱

Keep relevant channels with unread content minimal:

Mute channels where you write occasionally, but don’t want to be subscribed. (eg. #general)

Use stars ⭐️ extensively and often. Treat starred channels as your “working set”. Example on the left.

Unfollow threads which went off.

6) Manage your notifications 🔕

You can turn them off in each channel →

eg. for a transition period you can get “only mentions” (+ no @channel)

there are more settings regarding threads popups

Maintaining these habits can help you receive less notifications that are more relevant.

6) Use DND mode when you are deeply focused 🎧

Let others know, they should not disturb you. They can (and should) still write to you, but you will receive the notification once your DND session ends. It’s good to set a reasonable end time like 30 minutes.

btw, if somebody needs you immediately, they can force the notification nevertheless.

Check your slack workspace default DND. If its too early (after 16:00), when many people are still at work, it leads people to use the force notification button. I suggest you set the default when no one is usually working. You may also use Slack status like: 🎧 + “Deep focus till 3pm”.

7) Use emoji reactions

Reactions like 👍 thumbsup or 👌 ok_hand express that you have read the message. You may use 👀 eyes or on-it if you just started to investigate the issue.

If possible, try to express your opinion with emoji reactions. It doesn’t notify/disturb others, but they can see it. This also helps threads to be less clunky. Here is the icon set mentioned below — everybody can upload custom emojis to your workspace.

Good practises:

this , upvote or downvote means you personally support the message

, or means you personally support the message start_a_thread to remind people to discuss in threads not main channel

to remind people to discuss in threads not main channel thx , pls , done , eyes , on-it , solved , urwelcome , hero , muscle , approved , merged … be creative 🙂

Good practises — from official Slack help

Pro tip: to add a reaction quickly, add a message below like this: +:thx:

8) Use Slack status when not in the office [optional]

Be sure to always notify your main chanel, eg #outofoffice.

🏡 housewithgarden + “WFH until lunch”

+ “WFH until lunch” 🏝 tropical_island + “Vacation till 23.1.”

+ “Vacation till 23.1.” 🤒 ill + “Sick Day”

+ “Sick Day” 👩‍⚕️ doctor + “Doctor till 11”

You may use “Outlook Calendar App” to set some statuses automatically.

To set up a Slack status on a phone, you have to press menu in top right corner: (⋮)

9) Pimp up your profile [optional]

It’s always easier to chat with somebody you know. Adding a profile picture, role, team or time zone helps.

Also, it would be very considerate of you, if you use the same avatar in all company services (slack, git, jira, confluence). Be it a photo even better.

Footnotes

[1] https://fs.blog/2017/12/maker-vs-manager/

Makers (=developers) generally avoid meetings and similar time-based commitments that don’t have a direct impact on their immediate work. A 30-minute meeting does not just take up half an hour of an afternoon. It bisects the day, creating serious problems. (…) It takes them a while — say, 15 to 20 minutes — to reach their prior state of focus.

If you want to switch between those roles:

during the managerial times — plan the day in five-minute slots

during the maker times — avoid calls or emails

[2] https://blog.trello.com/why-context-switching-ruins-productivity

https://leankit.com/blog/2016/06/5-minutes-true-cost-context-switching-kanban-can-help/

https://medium.com/product-manager-hq/how-to-prevent-context-switching-ba3a28eb0c3a https://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask