From complete chaos to order: how I manage production in Slack

Hello everyone, I'm Sasha and one of my current work directions is the development of the production of roller shutters, gates, and cabinets for parking spaces. We have a small team - 10 people. Production is in the Moscow region, the office is in Moscow, and some employees work remotely, including myself.

In this note, I will tell you about my path of implementing a corporate messenger, give a step-by-step algorithm, and also share an approximate template for setting up a workspace for production. Lastly, I will talk about future plans.

How we usually work in our niche

Most often these are work chats in Telegram or, forgive me, WhatsApp.

Here are some examples of how we used to work

1. Email: the manager talks on the phone with the supplier, then sends him an email.
2. WhatsApp: the manager wrote to the installer in WhatsApp to ask about available slots.
3. Telegram: the surveyor sent a voice message and a photo of the drawing in Telegram.
4. Phone: an employee of the management company called the manager's personal phone and asked a question about project documentation.

Why this doesn't work well

With such a zoo of messengers, information within the company circulates chaotically, and there is a high chance of missing something important. Often, this important and necessary thing remains out of reach for other process participants.

Many things are tied to a specific person, and they may forget or lose key information.

Classic messengers, WhatsApp, and Telegram, are used for personal communication, and I couldn't organize a somewhat convenient and working structure of chats/groups.

And I didn't really want to, as I understood that it was a dead end. By the time of my enlightenment, I already had extensive experience working in distributed teams and decided that it was time to implement this solution in our company.

I immediately chose Slack as a messenger solution

Pros:

1. It is a separate program in which there can be no personal contacts separate from the project - this allows you to maintain focus.
2. Threads - these are discussions within discussions. A genius thing that allows you to delve into the context without inflating the number of messages in the chat.
3. The ability to integrate with other services, powerful API.
4. In one client, you can add as many workspaces as you like. If you work on several projects, simply switch the workspace to a new one in one application.
5. Links to messages. It's very convenient when you can send a link to a specific message.
6. Channels - public and private.

My implementation path

It is important to follow a plan, here is mine:

1. Write a list of channels that you plan to implement in the company.
2. Take a break and look at the prepared list with fresh eyes. The main goal is to make sure that there are no channels with repeated meanings, and that all questions that arise in the work process are somehow resolved in their relevant channel. If after the launch, the main activity is in the #general channel, then you did something wrong.
3. Set a day when each employee should have the client installed, from this moment on, communication in other messengers for work issues should be prohibited. Make sure to explain the importance of complying with this rule to employees.
4. Send invitations to everyone and add them to the necessary channels. The description of each channel should indicate the questions and topics discussed inside.
5. Prepare instructions for communication and organize a meeting where you will tell more about the innovation and the potential benefits that you see for the process. It's better to use specific examples and cases. Answer questions.
6. Appoint a person who will help employees get used to the new program in the first time.
7. Monitor in the beginning that all employees use the software.

PROFIT! YOU ARE

What were the problems and objections

Any innovation encounters obstacles on its way. That's how human psychology works. Here are some examples of messages I received after announcing the move:

1. I don't need Slack.
2. Telegram is better, maybe we'll leave it?
3. How can we live without stickers?
4. It was more convenient for me to use WhatsApp.

Here, I prepared a message and sent it to my colleagues:

Colleagues, very soon Slack will become the only place for work communication in our company. This is a necessary step to increase the efficiency and quality of our work processes. Please familiarize yourself with the instructions and start using the program as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Future plans

We have been using Slack for several months now, and I can confidently say that it has improved our work processes. There are several plans that we have for the future:

1. Expand the use of bots and integrations to automate routine tasks and make communication even more productive.
2. Introduce more detailed instructions for working in Slack to new hires, so they can quickly adapt to the new system.
3. Conduct periodic training for employees on the use of Slack to refresh their knowledge and introduce new features.

Conclusion

I hope my experience of implementing Slack in our company will be useful for those who are considering a transition to a corporate messenger. It is important to understand that this is not just a technical solution, but a change in the culture of communication and work processes within the company. Therefore, it is important to be prepared for resistance and be able to explain the benefits of the new system to employees.

However, I can confidently say that the transition to Slack was worth it, and it has significantly improved our productivity, communication, and organization.

If you have any questions or want to share your experience, feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!