How did you start using Slack or similar messengers at work?

Question

So the team that I've recently joined uses WhatsApp 😩 and sometimes Telegram for all the work communications. To speak truth, it really annoys me because it looks like chaos in all the chats.

Me and couple of other teammates want to move to Slack or Discord, but it looks like all the other people don't like this idea. Arguments like "Slack is better because of this and that" just don't seem to work.

Did you ever face this kind of situation and what did you do?

Nick Naumov · Accepted Answer

@carlo_thissen great advice, thank! 🙏

Nick Naumov · Answer

@killshiva absolutely agree, thanks! 🙏

Nick Naumov · Answer

@dkaravias sounds like a great plan, thanks! 🙏

Answer

Tell them Slack will give people better work/life balance and WhatsApp will only invade into their personal space. A lot of people wait for someone to take a stance like this and they will jump on it.

Ann · Answer

That's normal. It's really not easy to convince a team to adapt to a new channel. It's important to review whether the tool can really solve the problem. The communication issue you pointed out (i.e. feels like chaos in all the chats) is a very common one for many teams, because most of the communication tools on the market cannot prevent you from losing important information among different chatrooms. Maybe that's why your teammates don't see the necessity to switch. We realized this issue and developed our own chat solution Zenchat to solve it. In the app one can convert any message directly to a to-do task, set reminder, assign members, set deadlines for that task etc. In this way important messages and actionable to-dos will not be buried in the chat anymore. Maybe your team would find it useful. We also use it in our entire company now, so I can definitely recommend to you! :D

Carlo Thissen · Answer

@nikita_naumov not for that 🙂

Carlo Thissen · Answer

Never experienced this and I can't even imagine how frustrating this must be. How about asking with a simple.

I'd assume they're simply too lazy to change their habits. You could set up the whole Slack workspace including channels and write a small Notion guide on how to use it. Ideally it should replicate as many channels/whats-app groups which they already have to minimize friction.

But to be honest - it seems like a lost cause if a company wants to stick to Whatsapp. Good luck!

Dimitris Karavias · Answer

I created a Slack workspace and sent out invites in a similar case. I didn't ask for permission, just told them we can try something easier.
People hesitantly started using it and when they posted on Whatsapp I'd say "let's continue on Slack".
Of course if this initiative would be punished in your company you'll have to talk to the one decision maker. If they don't want to hear about it, you have to either stick with Whatsapp or make a call on their culture, their future, and if you want to be part of it.

Nick Naumov · Answer

@nilova_pande wow, that sounds really amazing, will definitely try, thanks!

Nick Naumov · Answer

@tzuan thanks! Looks interesting, will definitely try it out

How did you start using Slack or similar messengers at work?

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