Two weeks ago we introduced you to the underlying technology that powers our directory. As we continue to expose the inner workings of IABB, we'd like to introduce you some of the tools we use to increase efficiency. The first tool we’ll be discussing is Slack. Don’t be fooled by the name, Slack is a powerful tool that has transformed the way our team collaborates. It has truly improved our productivity, and we honestly don't know how we would survive without it.
Slack has affected our business positively by minimizing the need to use email. All of our conversations are organized by topic or as Slack calls them - channels. Each team member can subscribe to the channels that matter most to them and only receive notifications for those subscribed channels. This prevents the team from being inundated with irrelevant emails. Another key feature of Slack is its ability to integrate with other tools that we use. For instance, we use the Bitbucket integration to be notified about source code updates. We also use the RSS feed integration to receive Google alerts about topics that are relevant to our business.
Slack minimizes effort compared to traditional email and it offers apps that can be used to monitor some of our key business operations. Slack provides its application as a dedicated Mac app, web app, iOS app, and Android app. It plays well with most major devices, which is helpful when your team uses technology that spans across different operating systems. So far, I've only covered the tip of the iceberg, there are several features we’ve yet to use. If you need to improve collaboration among your teams and increase productivity, please consider adding Slack to your communication strategy.
Here's what the rest of team has to say about Slack:
- Lee - Traditional email makes it very difficult to categorize and organize discussions. Slack facilitates conversations so that the team can stay focused on one topic at a time. It increases efficiency and ensures that details don’t fall through the cracks.
- Gabrail - I like Slack because even if I’ve missed a conversation, Slack’s channels make it easy to quickly come up to speed and contribute to the dialogue.
- Mike - I like Slack’s direct messaging capability and its accessibility. If I need to reach out to a team member about a particular topic, instead of writing an email, I can send a message and receive a response almost immediately. Most of my messages and responses are sent right from the app.