Monday, February 08, 2016

An Internal Communications Tool for Today’s Teams


By Megan Quinn

When I was told that we were implementing Slack in the office, my first reaction was, “What is a Slack?”

Slack is a collaboration platform that enables teams to converse and share files in various channels. It allows for open channels, private channels and direct messages and is accessible on all types of devices, from desktop computers to smartphones.

I enjoy Slack as a means of internal communication. What’s great about it, particularly when compared to basic instant messaging tools, is the fact that multiple people easily can be looped into a conversation about client work, regardless of their location. And if a certain project doesn’t concern all members of the staff, they don’t all need to be in the same channels. This makes group communication much more efficient and effective.

Our office administrator, Rose Strong, said, “Slack is such a great tool. I like being able to go back and forth in groups, channels and one-on-one. Slack is most productive when we communicate in well-organized channels, some about clients, some for internal use, and even one for articles that we want to share and access again and again.”

Managing separate client channels ensures that all messages don’t get mixed together like in an email inbox. You also can go back through a single conversation easily to pinpoint particular notes. If you have several channels, searching with the find tool can help you sift through multiple conversations.

Taking the Slack app to your smartphone makes travel easy. You can keep up with the latest client conversations even while traveling, which is very helpful.

We are far from the only ones enamored of Slack. Founded in 2014, the San Francisco-based startup is now the team communications tool of choice for everyone from NASA’sJet Propulsion Laboratory to Walmart to Comcast to the New York Times.

How do you help your internal teams communicate effectively and efficiently?

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