In one of our coaching sessions, I introduced would-be entrepreneurs to Slack as a great communication tool for team members. Slack is more than just a communication tool. It can also serve as a virtual office. That’s how I use it with my team. My content writing and entire digital marketing team use Slack as a virtual office since we are all in different locations and some out of Cameroon.
Read Also: Team Building – Necessary For Start-up Growth In Cameroon
Virtual offices
We have set-up channels which represent offices and the #general which comes as a default is our meeting room. We have an editorial office, an office for social media, an office for content writers, a training room and an office for human resource, finance and accounting.
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Encourages collaboration
Slack is one of the best app for remote collaboration for teams and working professionals. Given that our coaching session takes place just once a week, it was necessary for me to look for something we can use in working without having unnecessary distractions and where we can feel like we are in a real office.
WhatsApp, which is what we are using cannot serve such a purpose. I know one of the disadvantage in working with such an app is that it will be difficult for one to know who is working hard and who is not working at all. Working remotely needs lots of trust amongst team members.
With Slack, you can divide channels by project, team as well as client. It depends on you and what is relevant for your organization. The team members can join or leave channels at will and avoid the lengthy discussion chains which we experience on WhatsApp and other apps.
Built-in support apps
However, this problem has been rendered irrelevant because Slack has built-in support for applications like Dropbox, Zendesk and GitHub which has tabs that can let you know what’s going on in the virtual office. Take for instance, Dropbox will serve as a server where files can be dropped and available for all team members to use.
With Slack and various virtual offices, when a team member or colleague receives a new task, it will show up in a channel dedicated to it so that action could be taken. This means you can send important alerts and information that are relevant to specific channels.
Eases communication
You can also drag and drop files like images, videos, PDFs and others directly into Slack. With the paid version, you can do voice video calls directly. This means you can share your work and your screen too. This comes handy as it reduces communication issues and makes the atmosphere look more professional even though you may be working at home. With such tools, team members are able to work harder, be more trustworthy and honest and as well as will feel more comfortable to ask for help when it is needed.
Download Slack
You can download Slack for your phone, tablet and computer. It is a cross-platform application that can be used on Linux, Windows, MacOs, and iOS. You can download Slack below:
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Download Slack for Linux
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Download Slack for Windows
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Download Slack for MacOS
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Download Slack for Android
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Download Slack for iOS (iPhone)
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Download Slack for Windows Phone
You can also check this post on how you can Share Files Offline Using Feem, A Local File Transfer App developed by a Cameroonian.
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