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If you are new to Slack, we recommend that you read our beginnerās guide. š
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<aside> š If youāve used Slack before, but you need a refresh on advanced features, read our advanced features overview. š
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šĀ Continue reading
All caught up? Great! Continue reading to learn how we use Slack at Oyster.š
Welcome to our guide to using Slack at Oyster!
Thereās a lot of information about Slack online, including Slackās fantastic help center. The importance of this guide is that itās our source of truth for how we use Slack at Oyster.
In these guides, you will find information on:
Slack is a messaging tool, that is at Oyster used for asynchronous communication. Here is how we use it at Oyster:
š¬Ā 1. To provide a platform for people to engage in discussions that are meaningful to them. We use Slack to connect people around various topics, work-related or otherwise.
š§ Ā 2. To stay informed. Slack is our most used communication tool, where we reference all new information. It gives us insight into whatās going on across Oyster.
šĀ 3. For convenience. Slack is super simple and intuitive, which makes it easy to get in touch with someone to jump-start a conversation than by sending an Email.
<aside> š If an outcome of a certain discussion needs to be documented - it is done outside of Slack (E.g. ā£ or ā£)
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Due to the distributed nature of Oyster, itās critical that weāre collectively using Slack in a way that best supports our needs. To help everyone understand this and how Slack works for asynchronous communication in a distributed environment, weāve set some core principles for Slack that we uphold at Oyster.
To successfully follow the sun, we need to take to heart key aspects of how we communicate and how that influences our expectations working with Slack at Oyster.
| āĀ Ā Not expected: | ā Ā Expected: |
|---|---|
| Reading and responding to Slack messages immediately. Due to the asynchronous manner of communicating at Oyster, we trust you will find some focus time to go through your Slack messages. | Reading or responding to conversations that are related to your work or when you have been @mentioned. As in our follow the sun philosophy, you can catch up with your Slack messages when best for you, but make sure you let folks know youāve acknowledged their message. Here are a few ways you can acknowledge receipt: |
| ā React with an appropriate emoji (such as šĀ ) | |
| ā Send a short response saying that youāll come back to the message later and/or ask for a timeline when a response is needed. | |
| Interacting with Slack when you are not working. By default, we assume that your notifications are turned off during off-hours (it is your responsibility to set this in your preferences) and that you will become aware of the message only once you start your working day. | Being considerate when @mentioniong people who you think should be aware of your message. It can be helpful to clarify urgency in your message, ie: āNo need to respond until youāre back onlineā or āThis can wait until next weekā, especially if you are in a leadership position (the project lead, someoneās manager, etc.). |
| 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. Donāt feel pressured to participate in order to be seen. | Practising respect, kindness, and consideration with all Oysters šĀ Regardless of channel, we expect all Oysters to be open and inclusive in their communication. Keep in mind that others may disagree with you at times, and thatās ok! We build trust by elevating each other, and we thrive together because of that trust. |