Today, with more and more people working remotely, it is important to maintain relationships through communication with virtual teams or freelancers. The ability to quickly and easily communicate with coworkers who are both in and out of the office has become vital to office efficiency and transparency. Of late we have experienced an explosion of various software platforms and apps all fighting to help businesses collaborate while staying organized and focused.
A while back, I received a text message from my sister asking if our office uses Slack. I quickly responded with a straight, “No, what is this oddity of which you speak?” – only to get a response of her ranting about how it is such a great online collaboration app and tool to stay connected with coworkers in the office. Is that not what Skype and email (even with its limitations) are for?
Since that day, I began seeing Slack pop up in online advertisements, blog posts, and social media channels – well played, cookies. In addition, a few of our own clients began including us in their Slack groups. I decided to investigate what exactly Slack can do to help teams, and an office as a whole, be more productive when it comes to communication. Having garnered over 2 million users in only two short years, ranging from The New York Times to Walmart, and having been valued at more than $1 billion in 2014, I was excited to find out what the hoopla is about.
My first impression of Slack is a great example of why so many people are riding the Slack train. The interface is straightforward and streamlined – things that are becoming rare with technology today. Upon visiting Slack.com, one simply enters an email address, creates a username, and agrees to terms in order to get Slack up and running. Slack is free of charge but businesses can pay a fee for extra features.
I am informed via the welcome screen that Slack is “a messaging app for teams” – another way of saying welcome to communication in the digital age. A rundown of various features within the product gets me familiarized with the app. The product employs open and private channels, chat rooms based around a topic or team, as well as direct messages, private one-to-one messages, and file sharing to provide an integrated channel for communication that avoids users having to switch between multiple applications. I also notice Slack has added a shortcut to my desktop similar to any other computer application for easy access in the future.
There is also the ability to integrate other services that you might use, such as Skype. Furthermore, features that I have not yet found necessary but that many users applaud are the seamless transition between Slack on desktop computers to mobile devices (Android and iOS apps), the automatic archiving of all conversations (a tool that Slack founder sees helpful when onboarding and getting new employees up to speed), as well as the customization users can apply to notifications.
Lastly, in a March 1, 2016, press conference, the company shared plans for future growth, including the integration of video chat and an updated billing system to assist the finances of large corporations. Now in beta stages, the conference-calling feature allows for fast, direct calling between colleagues without the need for any addition plug-ins.
For good reason, Slack is the fast growing enterprise software, however, I detect a few problems with the integration of the app into office communication efforts. In my short time working with Slack, it is easy to see that the app is just one more thing to pay attention. For many, notifications from various apps are already controlling what little attention span they have, so why have another pop-up nagging you?
For most public relations teams, there is also going to be the use of email outside of Slack creating the possibility of over exposure and therefore creating inefficiencies rather than increasing productivity.
While Slack is great for pinging your coworker or acquaintance, the app seems too personal to rely on when pitching journalists or reaching out for business development or networking purposes. The aforementioned notifications are customizable and able to be controlled, so it is important, to retain your sanity, that you find what works best for you in terms of push notifications.
Lastly, Slack’s privacy policy warrants a thorough read because of certain legalities in regard to business communications. According to The Verge, executives of companies using Slack Plus are legally permitted to obtain all messages that go through the app if requested. That being said, it is possible for almost every employer to legally track all workplace communications, from phone calls to email. By no means is Slack crossing new privacy boundaries, but the feature is important to note.
Dismissing Slack as just another chat room would be misleading, but I can easily see how a tool meant for collaboration and efficiency can lead to anything but. With a new round of funding in the pipeline for Slack, I am excited to see what is to come from the app.