That meeting could've been a video clip

Going asynchronous: From 30-minute meetings to 3-minute video clips

Have you ever been in a meeting and felt like it could have been a short conversation instead of a 30-minute meeting with 15 people? If you haven’t felt this way, ask yourself this question after every meeting you have this week.

At Slack, we set out to reduce meeting overload and find more time for building. After a year of remote working and relying on video meetings, we introduced the concept of “Maker Weeks” and “Focus Fridays”—a no-meeting week and day—in the Product Development organization at Slack. I talk about our journey to find more time to build in this post.?

I love having the increased flexibility I get from Maker Weeks and Focus Fridays, but I also needed to adjust how I worked to find ways to move projects forward during those times. Without calling a meeting, how do I find a way to gather feedback on a project or prepare for a customer call? In addition, I wanted to spend my time more effectively than in meetings that did not need to happen.

We wanted to find a way of moving work forward, having discussions, gathering feedback and making decisions without a meeting. We found that much of this could be made asynchronous—in Slack channels—and still happen during Maker Week. For example, if a designer wants to gather feedback on a new design, they can post a video clip instead of reviewing the design in a meeting. To transition a 30-minute meeting to asynchronous, the organizer simply records a three-to-five-minute video that others can watch on their own time. This both saves time and allows people to watch the video and respond when it is convenient for them.?

When we introduced clips, we wanted to make it easier to record and share videos. People have been using video for asynchronous work for many years, but there is a lot of overhead in using multiple tools and dealing with downloading and uploading the videos. We want to integrate it into channels and remove the friction. Clips are native video and audio clips with screen sharing that make recording and sharing videos in Slack simple. You can record and post updates, sharing your screen while talking through your work. To use clips:

• Click the record button and start speaking.?
• The video or audio clip is transcribed, shared, stored and searchable.?
• People can watch at 1.5x or 2x speed, turn on captions or browse the time-stamped transcript.?

And if people have questions or feedback about your clip, they can easily reply in a thread—as text or with a clip of their own.?

We use clips during product development in many ways—to share progress on prototypes, show demos and conduct design reviews. For example, a product manager can post a video clip—which can be watched in a Slack channel—to walk the team through a new feature. They share their screen during the clip so we can see the designs as they talk about them, and then people respond with questions, feedback or praise in the thread. You can watch Katie talk you through how we do this at Slack.

We used to always schedule a synchronous meeting for such reviews; however, Maker Weeks gave us permission to change the way we work. We now use this method to gather feedback or approvals on new designs or features whether or not it is during a Maker Week. Posting video clips allows us to make decisions quickly without having to wait for a time when we can all meet.

Using clips has allowed us to eliminate some types of meetings altogether. For example, I no longer schedule prep meetings before a customer call. Instead, I ask the account executive to post a briefing document and a clip. I can follow up with questions in the channel and ask for any further information I need.?

Because there are fewer formalities to get through—and because people can watch them at 2x speed—a clip can turn a 30-minute meeting into a simple three-minute video that can be watched whenever it’s convenient. We used to rely on meetings as a one-size-fits-all solution to many situations. We have realized there are many other ways to make decisions, share information and make progress that can enable more flexibility and faster progress.?

Guiding employees through change

When instituting changes, it’s important to go through a change management process and take the time to explain why you’re making changes.?

When it came to using clips, people were initially uncomfortable about canceling meetings and relying on clips to convey important information. I realized I needed to lead by example, asking people to try it and being explicit about the advantages.

For example, earlier I talked about how I now use clips instead of having a prep meeting before a customer call. There were legitimate concerns about whether I would listen to the clip. To minimize these concerns, I made sure to react to the clip in the channel with either an emoji reaction or a follow-up question in a thread, showing that I was engaged. After a few successful calls, it was clear the new method was working, and we talked about how it saved us time by eliminating a meeting for multiple people. An unexpected bonus is that customers love to hear how we used clips to prepare for their meeting, which starts a dialogue about how they can also use clips to save time.

Each time an executive moves to a new way of working, the people in the team find it easier to follow suit. Now account executives are comfortable using clips to remove meetings within their organization.

Once people experience the benefits of moving meetings to asynchronous—reduced time spent in meetings, increased schedule flexibility and reusable content available to more people across the organization—they tend to embrace the change and even initiate new ways to optimize their schedules. I love seeing new ways that clips are being used at Slack and by our customers. At the end of the day, I enjoy watching clips my team has sent me. I can watch them when it’s convenient for me without inconveniencing others, and I am able to feel more connected at the same time.