This page is part of The Toolbox by Danny Smith.
If you use Slack, it’s important to set a clear expectation that everyone should know how to use it really well. But it’s also important to set clear expectations about what’s expected when it comes to replying. Every company will have different agreed expectations, but here’s a good place to start…
Basic Expectations
❌ Not expected: | ✅ Expected: |
Reading and responding to Slack messages immediately. We’re asynchronous by default and trust you to not miss important stuff. | Reading or responding to conversations that are related to your work or when you have been @mentioned. You can catch up with your Slack messages whenever’s best for you, but make sure you let folks know by acknowledging their message in good time. Here are a few ways you can acknowledge receipt:
– React with an appropriate emoji (such as 👀 )
– Send a short response saying that you’ll come back to the message later and/or ask for a timeline when a response is needed. |
Interacting with Slack when you’re not working. By default, we assume that your notifications are turned off during non work hours (it’s your responsibility to do this in your preferences) and that you’ll pick up messages when you start your working day. | Being considerate when @mentioniong people who you think should be aware of a message. It can be helpful to clarify urgency in your message, ie: “No need to respond until you’re back online” or “This can wait until next week”, especially if you are in a leadership position. |
Participating in every conversation or being in every channel. Feel free to include yourself when you wish to add to a discussion or join a channel when you need to be a part of it. Don’t feel pressured to participate in order to be seen. | Practising respect, kindness, and consideration. Regardless of channel, we expect everyone to be open and inclusive in their communication. Keep in mind that others may disagree with you at times, and that’s ok! We build trust by elevating each other, and we thrive together because of that trust. |
Follow Good Slack Etiquette
Just like real life, it’s important that we following proper etiquette: when you’re having conversations in Slack have the following in mind:
- Default to public: Because we care about openness, you should always communicate in the open where possible. That means defaulting to public channels and public conversations. However, always think about your audience (ask yourself “who should know this?”) and in where you post, to avoid confusion and ensure the right people.
- Look before you post: If you’re asking a question or making a request, always the knowledge base and run a quick search in Slack. This helps reduce noise and lower redundant communication.
- Give yourself and others time: If it takes time for you to read or answer a message, let them know with an appropriate emoji. If you’re waiting for a response, give others time to get back to you. If it is a time-sensitive thing, say so right away.
- Communicate to be understood: Always consider the purpose of your communication. You are sending a message to be understood. Anything you can do to make the intended recipient's life easier will help with this. So be considerate of others and use Slack's features to convey your message clearly.
- Follow the conventions: We have conventions in place to make it easier for other people to understand what's happening.
- Be mindful of the noise - In large organizations, Slack can get very noisy. Be considerate, choose the right channel, communicate effectively and stick to our guidelines.
- Open door policy: You can freely join or leave channels depending on your need, except for
Core Channels in Slack and Team channels.
- Streamline communication: If you have notified someone about something through a different tool/communication channel don’t notify them through Slack as well. Pick one main channel for that communication and stick with it.
We’re All Gardeners in Slack
We all have a part to play in keeping our Slack space clean and functional. Yes, we have IT administrators who own technical aspects of maintaining our workspace, but it’s up to all of us to keep it curated and uphold our conventions.
Feel free to nudge each other (and be receptive to nudges) if you wander from our Slack principles. We are all learning new behaviours together, and it can be hard to form new habits!