Originally posted on Medium
Companies build tools that help people communicate more efficiently and to increase productivity. However, over the last couple of months, I’ve seen an increase in people debating/arguing/discussing about the decrease in productivity due to Slack’s distraction level, including the very awesome Justin Pervose. And that got me thinking…
So turns out being in 25+ Slack channels plus all the DM's is actually worse than using email to communicate with people
— Justin Pervorse (@justinpervorse) October 25, 2017
Based on my experience, Slack is a wonderful tool, and if you and your team use it right, it can definitely boost productivity and overall communication within your team. But the thing about productivity, it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. Be it task management or communication, we all use different measurements for what we deem productive and that’s the challenge — unfortunately, for the user.
A gift and a curse to the user
For us at Iris, we’re a fully remote team, and Slack is our lifeline. After some months of getting into a groove, we figured out (and are continually refining) our processes and the perfect level of communication. But ultimately, we are heavily dependent on it so learning how best to use it was key. This would be the same with any of Slack’s competitors. We have a slew of integrations that keep everyone in-the-know, shut channels down if they weren’t very active, and try to find a happy medium for a place to get work done, have random work-less discussions (this happens in our #lunch-room) and channels specifically for groups to limit the notification fatigue. (GIFS with cats in the #general channel excluded 😜)
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We press the importance of Do Not Disturb, and for the most part, all have them set. If you’re deep in the zone working, you can at least ignore the messages without feeling bad and check it out later. But ultimately, it becomes important for company DNA to actually respect that your teammates can be active but currently working.
Would you really take someones headphones off if they were in the office? No, but you find that tapping the shoulder happens and that’s equally as terrible. Communication is one thing, but getting things done is equally as importance. Finding a happy balance is key for any team.
In addition to Do Not Disturb, we have a doc showing times where, in general, each time member is actively working, simply around if needed and the times not included they are not working. For instance, when I’m in class, I’m not working but I’m typically available if the servers explode. Except Sundays. I’m reading on Sundays.
Things get a bit more difficult as the team grows though and it’s important that the leads of the team are continually aware and actively working to maintain productivity, communication and eliminate anxiety within the team. Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to use Slack within a larger team of 70+ people. Given Slack was distracting for some but not all was proof enough.
How you use Slack is a mirror of your company’s culture
If people in your team constantly mention you, “want” your attention, don’t respect your work and focus time then Slack’s not the problem but your company’s culture. Communication tools are here to help you get things done and communicate with more efficiency and realistically not everyone uses tools the same way or the way they were intended. How did we ever get work done when AIM was around?!
Whether it’s email or chat or anything else, it’s rarely the tool that’s the real problem. — Benedikt Lehnert
Realistically, there are people that use it for more than just work. Like Justin said in his tweet, 25+ channels are a lot and at one point, things get unmanageable. If you’re using it predominately for work, I’d suggest cutting back on the number of extra Slack chats you have going. There are only so many messages you can follow and engage with anyway.
However, if you’re using it for personal chats, side projects, etc. this might be okay for you. But at the end of the day, there’s only so much that can be done before your brain starts to ignore.
Educate employees how to use the tools that your company use
I firmly believe that every company needs to educate their current and new employees about how to to best use their communication tool so long as they’ve found it’s the best way to do so for the team. And every team is different in their needs. I’m very specific here about the tool because many times this tool’s left out of company’s on boarding process and docs. If a company set some standards about how to use it then employees will become much more efficient and productive and not distracted while communicating with ease with the rest of the team.
And if you join a team that looks like they could use some help in this department, be sure to reach out and suggest some best practices on how to use it.
Maybe Slack may do this one, maybe they won’t, but in the meantime, find out what works best for your specific team and capitalize on it. Find a happy medium with communication and use the tool to ensure everyone is always aware of what’s happening, even when they’re not present.
I hope that through post I brought some clarity why a communication tool can help your team and that the problem is people using it the wrong way. How’s your experience with Slack so far and what’s one of the things that you absolutely love about it?