Slack: A Crucial Tool for Remote Staff
The business communication platform Slack was not new to the College community when most staff went remote due to the pandemic. In fact, the College created a Slack account in October 2014. But when the abrupt switch to remote work occurred last March, Slack suddenly became a crucial tool for getting work done and staying connected to colleagues.
Approximately 1,250 staff, faculty, and students are registered Slack users. Between 200 and 300 users are active on the platform each day. The majority of users engage in direct messaging with coworkers, while about 15 percent post to public and private channels.
Emerson’s Slack has 164 channels. The public channels with the most users are: #general, #random, #staff, #chuckslist, and #cliftonstrengths. There also well-loved channels dedicated to pets, cooking, and the sharing of good news and inspirational quotes (#emersonpets, #whats-cookin, and #goodnewsdaily, respectively).
If you’re wondering how to view all of the current channels, hover over the word “Channels” in the left navigation bar of Slack and you will see a + sign. Click on it and choose “Browse channels.” You can then sort and filter the channels in a variety of ways.
As noted above, most staff use Slack to communicate directly with their colleagues. IT staff are on Slack every day. Dan Persons said, “It’s really critical for my job. I need to be able to communicate with other people on my team constantly to keep projects moving and avoid miscommunication. Phone calls and meetings are essential but wouldn’t be enough.”
David Ertischek (Communications) also uses Slack to communicate with colleagues. “I think Slack is useful because it’s easier than other communication platforms like email or Gchat to have flowing online conversations with numerous people,” he said.
Tim Douglas (Academic Advising) and Estelle Ticktin (CSD) are long-time Slack fans. Douglas said, “I’ve long felt that Slack could be a key resource in addressing the siloed nature of our various departments….After COVID hit, my team embraced Slack, and we use a private channel constantly to keep in touch and share important updates. It’s been a really great way for us to feel continuity from our disparate locations.”
Ticktin was an avid Slack user even before pandemic times. She said, “Slack has been vital during COVID to feel the connection to everyone on campus virtually. I use it often for asking a quick question about a process, such as for Workday, or to answer someone else’s question—especially for those who were hired during COVID and who have never been on campus.”
Remote staff have also been using Slack as a virtual “water cooler” of sorts to connect with each other on a more personal level. Tom Barry (IT) is active on the #articles and #goodnewsdaily channels. He posts inspirational quotes almost daily on #goodnewsdaily. He said, “I started posting the quotes because they helped me deal with the negative situations of the past year (COVID, politics, etc.). I figured others could use a boost as well.” He credits Slack with helping him maintain relationships with colleagues and bringing some joy to his workday during this difficult time. “Seeing pictures of people’s pets or Kellie Fuller’s baby sharks makes my day a lot brighter.”
Kellie Fuller (HR) has found Slack to be helpful for event promotion (e.g., the Pet Parade and Emerson’s Top Chef). She also created the #cliftonstrengths channel to encourage conversation around a weekly Strengths topic. She has enjoyed learning new things from and about colleagues through Slack. “It has been great to see posts from other people about topics I may not be exposed to otherwise. As someone who likes to know what’s going on and what other people do, I find Slack to be an easy, unobtrusive way to learn some of that. My favorite channel (besides #cliftonstrengths) is #emersonpets. Random pictures of cute animals are always a welcome bright spot,” she said.
If you are a more casual user of Slack and are interested in learning how to use it to maximize your productivity (and connectivity), IT recommends these Slack articles:
An Email Veteran’s Guide to Slack
Keep Up With What’s Important in Slack
Also, be on the lookout for upcoming Zoom courses from HR and IT on the topic of Slack Apps. Apps allow you to sync your Google calendar, Gmail, and Zoom with Slack and create polls. Read more here:
See you in Slack!
Nancy Howell (Communications and Marketing)