Item: Slack
Rating: 10
Author: Cat Nguyen

Overall Satisfaction with Slack

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Slack is currently being used by our entire organization. There's a small number of employees at headquarters in New York City, but the rest of the company is remote, spread all over the U.S. and the globe (UK, Germany, India, Japan, Korea). My specific department consists of 1200+ employees, and Slack is THE way that we communicate. It's a seamless, vital part of our work lives. Truthfully, we wouldn't be able to function as a company without it!

Pros and Cons

Pros

Flexibility around notifications. Being part of a 1200+ employee company & a member of multiple channels & groups in Slack, it's fantastic being able to control that notifications I WANT to receive (and which I'd like to "mute," another helpful function).
The ability to create separate "channels" & groups. This has been key in making sure communication is organized & categorized in a way that makes sense. For example, we have separate channels for announcements, tech-related troubleshooting, different departments, etc.
Ease of use & just plain fun. With emojis, "reactions," and gifs built in, communicating can be quite fun :)

Cons

A channel initially created as private can't be changed to public. (However, the reverse is possible -- public channels can be made private.)
The flip side of all the features, functionality, and "fun" aspects of Slack is that it can be a distraction from real work if you're not careful (there IS such a thing as falling into the Slack rabbit hole!).

Return on Investment

Slack has helped us to embody one of our company's highest principles, "Care for each other like family, but act like a high-performing team." Because the majority of our employees are remote, Slack has been utterly vital in helping to foster camaraderie in our smaller teams.

Alternatives Considered

Skype for Business (formerly Lync)

Simply put, Slack is a much more robust and comprehensive tool.

Conversations & discussions in Slack can easily be reviewed & are searchable. Skype for Business doesn't offer this.
Slack offers a clear-cut "Workplace Directory" that's easy to use. Skype for Business didn't quite offer this.
Slack allows for creation of topic-specific "channels" of discussion, in addition to the easy forming of groups (a direct message thread including specific individuals -- fantastic for team-specific communication). Skype for Business doesn't have the option for discussion channels.

Support Rating

I haven't yet needed to reach out for additional support. Perhaps this speaks to its straightforwardness & ease of use!

Key Insights

Do you think Slack delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Slack's feature set?

Yes

Did Slack live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Slack go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Slack again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Guru, Google Drive, Trello, Namely

Likelihood to Recommend

When there's a team that spans time zones and continents, Slack is the perfect tool for communication & collaboration. It houses a workplace directory, so any employee can be searched for by name. Sending a direct message to any individual in the company is as simple as finding their name, then typing a message & hitting send! Essentially, it's a hub for all communication -- individual, team, and company-wide announcements can be quickly & easily disseminated using Slack.

Slack Feature Ratings

Comments

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