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There’s no question that when used properly, Slack can be an amazing tool for businesses today. It allows you to chat locally with your coworkers, supervisors and collaborators through a closed channel where you can separate channels by topic and share information with each other in real-time. This is a fantastic tool for hybrid or remote offices that need such a tool to keep correspondence with their remote employees. Slack is much faster and easier than email and because of this it has quickly become a favorite amongst a number of different kinds of businesses. Any of us who have worked in any kind of remote situation has probably used slack and experienced first hand it’s convenience. However, it can also become a distraction for employees, as it’s layout is similar to a public forum or social media platform. Let’s hear from a few business leaders about the pros and cons of this new and popular tool, and how you can think about implementing it into your company’s daily operations.
The biggest benefit of using slack is that it consolidates and streamlines communications between our coworkers, making problem solving and task delegation light years faster than relying on email. “Slack is a great way to keep a stream of information about your business activities on a daily basis. This can be extremely useful when unpredicted issues arise and you need to backtrack on what might have happened,” said Ajay Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Birthdate Co. Unexpected issues do arise, and having a quick communication line can save your business hours of time solving unpredicted problems!
Quick communication means slightly more casual communication, which can actually make it a lot easier for team members to share information back and forth. “Slack creates a casual communication atmosphere where coworkers can communicate in real time while keeping things light when they need to be light. This helps keep your team motivated and welcome at their place of work on a daily basis,” said Nicholas Vasiliou, CEO of BioHealth. This helps take the pressure off and gets employees going on the work they need to be doing.
Much like other social communication tools, you can open multiple channels with your various coworkers and departments. Plus, you can easily set them to private or public depending on your preferences. Travis Killian, Owner and CEO of Everlasting Comfort said “One of the best features of slack is being able to create different kinds of channels like public, private or multi-workspace meaning that you can have channels with your vendors and other partners right on your company page. This makes communication quick and easy between collaborators.”
This can help keep valuable information private and discreet which can be extremely important when dealing with sensitive business deals. “Slack has fantastic security support, which means your information is always protected on your Slack channels,” said Jonathan Simkin of Swiftly. “Data security is becoming more and more important and whatever tools you use, you’ll want to make sure they are completely secure like Slack.”
If your business collaborates with third vendors or contractors, Slack is a great tool for your business. “Slack enables our team to collaborate with our brand partners, manufacturers, and vendors throughout the day,” said Jared Pobre, Co-Founder of Caldera + Lab. “Whether we’re researching new formulas, working on ways to reduce our footprint, or strategizing new marketing campaigns, we’re usually working under the pressure of tight deadlines. And Slack is a convenient way to receive an immediate response when the clock is ticking.” Bring your vendors and collaborators into the mix on Slack channel as soon as possible to avoid communication delays!
Slack can also be useful in maintaining your company’s culture! It can feel isolating to work remotely, as Amanda E. Johnson, CEO and Chief Marketing Officer of TatBrow tells us. “One of the largest pros of Slack is its ability to maintain your workplace culture and humanity. Indeed, as a result of the pandemic, more and more remote workers are feeling isolated, and like a mere cog in a machine. However, with Slack, you can communicate to your employees in fun and exciting ways. Consider creating channels for particular activities, hobbies, and interests of your employees. This will allow them to feel connected to their employees outside of work, and create a sense of unity + togetherness. However, One of the cons of Slack is that it can lead to a confusion of priorities. When all tasks are communicated via Slack, they lose their importance. As such, my rule is this: communicate quick tasks and clarification questions via Slack, and project-based alignment and analysis via email. That way, there will be company-wide alignment.”
It certainly doesn’t replace in-person communication, but this can help employees feel more in the loop and connected with their team. “The worst thing you can do for your employees working remotely is to keep them out of the loop,” said Scott Garland of Pact. “Not only does this isolate them, but makes them feel unimportant and overwhelmed. Your team will be unmotivated unless they feel the support of their coworkers from day to day.”
When introducing any new communication tool, it can add unwanted distractions into the workday. It functions very much in the same way that many social tools do, and it’s easy for employees to get distracted by side conversations throughout the day. “Slack is a great tool, but sometimes it can feel like just another social distraction. The notifications about activities not pertaining to your department can get extremely distracting as well, making it a tool that one should use sparingly,” said David DiLorenzo, President of Valentino Beauty Pure.
Encouraging self regulation with Slack is a must amongst your team. It can be very useful, but Adam Reed, CEO of Crown and Paw seconds it’s similarity to a social tool. “At times Slack can feel a bit too much like a social platform. For the right team, it can be the most essential tool to be able to communicate and quickly problem solve between departments and locations. However some teams may not find it useful or even distracting from their daily work.” Additionally, Slack can move fast, meaning that if you’re not on top of it you may miss important information. “Slack can move very quickly, and if you’re not watching your notifications you can easily miss important information and be out of the loop. It’s a good idea to have a few, more secure places to store information, not just slack,” said Jordan Nathan, Founder and CEO of Caraway. Slack works great as an additional tool to your already existing infrastructure and communication methods.
Slack works great as a day-to-day communication tool, but at the basic level has limited storage capabilities. “Slack has minimal file storage, making it a frustrating expense for companies to upgrade their storage on their slack account. It also deletes conversations after 14 days, so it’s not the best application to rely on for your file and information storage,” said Ashwin Sokke, Co-founder of WOW Skin Science.
It can also take up space on your computer and phone, which for some might already be filled with files and applications. “Slack works best in the mobile app rather than in the browser. The mobile app allows you to use it as a separate application and functions as an additional tool rather than just another tab in your web browser. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can be annoying to download new applications and take up additional space on your devices,” said Jeff Henretig, President of Apothecanna.
All in all, when used with intent Slack can be a powerful addition to any business’s internal communication and problem-solving operations. While it can be a distraction, the benefits ultimately outweigh the cons of Slack as a way to streamline communication and makes things go just a little bit smoother, especially for remote or hybrid work environments. Consider the work habits of your employees to determine what kinds of limitations your team should use when corresponding in Slack. Make sure your employees understand that while it is a positive tool to communicate with co-workers and fortify company culture, it should still be used with respect to work priorities and productivity. As with any work communication, we need to find the middle ground between being distracting and nurturing your relationships at work. These relationships are indeed important to nurture, just make sure you aren’t blowing up their Slack every day!
