(Tiểu luận) assignment report organizational behavior topic slacks success in implementing diversity management strategies

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ADVANCED EDUCATION PROGRAMS ASSIGNMENT REPORT ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR TOPIC: SLACK'S success in implementing diversity management strategies CLASS: Marketing Management CLC 63B LECTURER: Phạm Thị Bích Ngọc MEMBERS OF GROUP 9: Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hằng - 11212064 Nguyễn Thị Thảo Linh - 11213333 Đào Minh Phương - 11214734 Phạm Thanh Ngọc - 11214378 Bùi Ngọc Minh - 11213760 Đàm Hải Yến - 11216361 Hanoi, 15th May 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I OVERVIEW OF SLACK 1.1 History of formation and development 1.2 Slack's mission and vision 1.3 Slack’s milestones 1.4 Slack’s achievements II ABOUT SLACK CASE 2.1 Identify the OB's success in diversity management 2.2 Identify the level of diversity 2.3 Identify diversity in biographical characteristics 2.3.1 Sex range 2.3.2 Race and ethnicity 2.3.3 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 2.3.4 Disabilities and hidden disabilities 2.3.5 Cultural Identity 2.4 Identify diversity in ability 2.4.1 Non-technical and Technical Diversity 2.4.2 Intellectual Ability Diversity 10 III IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 11 3.1 How Slack attracts and selects diverse employees 11 3.1.1 Attracting 11 3.1.2 Selecting 11 3.2 How Slack retains, develops and trains diverse employees 12 3.2.1 Training managers how to implement diversity management strategies 12 3.2.2 How Slack eliminates discrimination at the workplace 13 3.2.3 How Slack facilitates creativity and innovation at the workplace 13 3.2.4 Using communication effectively 14 3.2.5 Using empathy effectively 14 3.2.6 Diversity and Inclusion in the technology space 14 3.3 Diversity in Groups 15 3.3.1 Diversity, Engagement and Belonging 15 3.3.2 Employee Resource Groups 17 3.4 Effective program 18 3.4.1 Rising Tides 18 3.4.2 Slack for Good 19 IV EVALUATION OF SLACK’S STRATEGY 20 4.1 Strengths 20 4.2 Opportunities 20 4.3 Weaknesses 21 4.4 Threats 21 V RECOMMENDATIONS 22 VI CONCLUSION 22 REFERENCES 23 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: 2020 Women at Slack – Global | Gender at Slack Figure 2: 2020 U.S Overall | Race & Ethnicity at Slack Figure 3: 2019 U.S Overall | Race & Ethnicity at Slack Figure 4: 2020 U.S Non-Technical | Race & Ethnicity at Slack Figure 5: 2020 U.S Technical | Race & Ethnicity at Slack EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Many of us were compelled to adapt to whole new ways of living, working, and caring for ourselves and our loved ones because of the Covid-19 epidemic But the epidemic was far from the only seismic upheaval in society this year The atrocities of systemic racism within our policing and justice systems have once again exploded to the forefront of global consciousness, including the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other blatant acts of hate against underrepresented groups, particularly people of Black and Asian descent For many, these profoundly personal and difficult occurrences demonstrated unequivocally that the old idea that we should somehow separate our "work" from our "real lives" no longer made sense Slack has long highlighted efforts to make trust and transparency pillars of how they show up for workers In the year 2020, this meant encouraging staff to band together in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in Minnesota, and to speak openly as the globe focused a long-overdue attention on police abuse With the recent violence against both the Black and Asian American communities, the need to hold space for vulnerability and open talks has only grown I OVERVIEW OF SLACK 1.1 History of formation and development Slack was created as an internal communication tool for a gaming company called Tiny Speck in 2013 The company was working on a massively multiplayer online game called Glitch The team wanted a better way to communicate and share files, so they developed an internal tool called Slack When Glitch was shut down later that year, the team decided to spin off the Slack tool and turn it into its own standalone product They founded a new company called Slack Technologies and launched the first version of Slack in February 2014 Slack quickly gained popularity among startups and tech companies to improve team communication and collaboration In the years that followed, Slack grew rapidly and expanded its features to include integrations with other tools like Google Drive, Trello, and Salesforce In 2019, Slack went public with a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange The company is now used by millions of people around the world and has become a major player in the enterprise software market Slack is a cloud-based team collaboration tool that was launched in 2013 It was created to improve communication within teams and increase productivity by providing a platform for messaging, sharing files, and integrating with other tools Slack allows users to create different channels for different topics, projects, or teams, and they can invite team members to join these channels Users can also send direct messages to individuals or groups, make voice and video calls, and share screens One of the key features of Slack is its integration with other tools, such as Google Drive, Trello, and Salesforce, which allows users to access and share files and information from within the app Slack has become increasingly popular, with over 10 million daily active users in more than 150 countries It has been adopted by companies of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, and has been praised for its ease of use and ability to improve team communication and collaboration It is used by companies of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises like IBM, Airbnb, and Target Slack has received numerous awards and recognitions for its innovative approach to communication and collaboration In 2019, it was named the Best Overall Communication Tool by FinancesOnline and was included in Fast Company's list of the Most Innovative Companies 1.2 Slack's mission and vision Slack's mission is to make people's working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive Their vision is to change the way people work, by helping teams collaborate and communicate more efficiently and effectively They aim to create a platform where people can work together seamlessly, regardless of their location or time zone, and where they can access the information, they need to their jobs without having to search for it Overall, Slack wants to make work less stressful, more enjoyable, and more productive for everyone involved 1.3 Slack’s milestones 2009: Slack was established in 2009 and had its US headquarters in San Francisco, California Slack offers services to customers all over the world and is renowned for being the firm to reach a billion-dollar valuation the quickest 2010: Accel Partners and Andreessen Horowitz invested $5 million in Slack as part of its Series A round of funding At the time, Glitch was only a web-based, massively multiplayer game that was not yet playable It was planned to debut toward the end of 2010 which it did not Slack continued to raise $5 million dollars in Series A round 2011: The launch of Glitch on 27/9/2011 2013: Slack was used to create the famous online game Glitch, but Glitch is no longer active When Slack was just a preview release that launched in August 2013, more than 8000 users signed up in less than 24 hours 2014: The official debut of Slack in February The business raised more than $120 million in 2014 and was praised as one of the fastest-growing startups 2015: Slack had a market capitalization of around $3 billion in April 2015 One and a half years after its launch, Slack surpassed Akamai Technologies, and Groupon to attain a valuation of $1 billion Just 1.71 years after its initial introduction, Slack had already surpassed businesses like Xiaomi Technology (2.24 years) and Instacart (2.58 years) in terms of valuation, reaching $2 billion At the end of the year, $160 million was raised in its Series E led by Social Capital 2016: Not only Slack introduced a voice calling function – an entirely new category of software but also positioned itself as the headliner of this booming market 2017: The feature that enables users from various enterprises to join shared channels was added to Slack 2018: Slack hires longtime employee Allen Shim as its first Chief Financial Officer after raising $790 million in VC capital and reaching a valuation of over $5 billion 2020: Slack was purchased by the software business Salesforce in a deal estimated to be worth $27 billion As per the agreement, Butterfield remained CEO of Slack and the company continued to operate 1.4 Slack’s achievements Slack is regarded as the so-called unicorn ever and has amassed a billion-dollar valuation in just two years, making it the quintessential example of Silicon Valley success From a private messaging service for friends to a business with millions of daily users Document continues below Discover more from: Organizational Behavior Đại học Kinh tế Quốc… 301 documents Go to course Final exam of Organizational Behavior Organizational Behavior 100% (10) VĂN HÓA Vingroup 22 14 Organizational Behavior 100% (6) 102003 44 OB A1 - OB Assignment Organizational Behavior 100% (5) Organization Behavior Netflix Case Organizational Behavior 100% (4) Organisation Behaviour 17 A1 Organizational Behavior 100% (3) Expectancy theory Organizational Behavior - Between March 2020 and April 2021, Slack made $902 million in revenue, a 43% increase year over year - Additionally, during the same period, the net loss fell from $567 million to $292 million - Slack is used by 156,000 organizations and has 18 million active users per day - Salesforce purchased Slack in December 2020 for $27.7 billion II ABOUT SLACK CASE 2.1 Identify the OB's success in diversity management Slack discovered that they needed to rely on one another more than ever before and emphasize their commitment to diversity, engagement, and belonging “This past year saw the collapse of the personal and the professional, serving as a catalyst for leaders to broaden how they think about supporting employees and strengthening their internal cultures,” says Nadia Rawlinson, Slack’s Chief People Officer “This took the form of providing crucial resources like mental health support, fostering transparency and open dialogue so employees can truly feel able to bring their ‘full selves’ to work and much more.” Slack's objective is to hold those ideals responsible, so below are the most recent data about the diversity of Slack's workers and leadership, and information about the individuals and initiatives behind those numbers From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, Slack's global headcount climbed by 516 people, for a total of 2,527 employees Slack has seen a rise in the number of women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) in leadership roles at the director level or higher Figure 1: 2020 Women at Slack – Global | Gender at Slack 100% (3) Figure 2: 2020 U.S Overall | Race & Ethnicity at Slack Slack embraces openness, empathy, and responsibility as a company and platform, and it supports Black employees In the United States, Slack considers workers' LGBTQ, disability, and veteran status - 6.1% of Slack's US workforce is LGBTQ; 4.6% of Slack's US management are LGBTQ - 1.5% of Slack's US workforce reports having a handicap - 1.6% of Slack's US staff is comprised of veterans Prioritizing diversity, participation, and belonging continues to be an important aspect of developing and sustaining Slack's culture in a digital-first society As Slack creates a flexible future of work, we believe we must take use of this opportunity to rethink workplace norms and structures that not assist minority people 2.2 Identify the level of diversity Deep-level diversity Deep-level diversity includes non-observable qualities, or traits that are not apparent Attitudes, values, and religious beliefs are examples of these They are comparable to hidden diversity in that they are not visibly discernible Slack understands not only differences in gender, age, and ethnicity, but also in Slack a diversity of attitudes, values, and beliefs This program aims to erase the thoughts of young employees and interns that it is exceedingly difficult for them to become leaders in the company Access to opportunities is a primary emphasis of our diversity, engagement, and belonging (DEB) program Rising Tides is a six-month sponsorship program for skilled and diverse groups of employees who not have easy access to such assistance Through this program, over 70 workers have received executive sponsorship, professional coaching, and professional development Participating in the primary Rising Tides sponsorship cohort has given Curtis Allen, a staff software engineer, a fresh perspective on himself and his leadership potential Now that he is one-third of the way through the program, Allen says it has changed everything from how he gets criticism to how he is thinking about his future career path at Slack “I never wanted to be a leader I was just happy to the work,” Allen says “But now, working with a professional coach, it has completely widened my horizons Before it felt like ‘climbing the ladder’ was for other people, but now I see my skills can have a greater impact on my team if I focus on becoming a better leader.” 2.3 Identify diversity in biographical characteristics Overall, despite an increase in employment from 716 employees as of January 31, 2017, to 1,502 employees as of January 31, 2019, the diversity metrics have stayed stable They will continue to invest in these areas, notably in women in leadership roles and URM managers, two areas where they experienced moderate reductions They have made modest improvements in the representation of women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) and will so Figure 3: 2019 U.S Overall | Race & Ethnicity at Slack 2.3.1 Sex range Women have made significant advancements in gender equality both at Slack's Organization and in other contemporary nations In Slack, there are about equal numbers of male and female employees Performance is improved more when there are more women working there Women's 2.4 Identify diversity in ability 2.4.1 Non-technical and Technical Diversity Figure 4: 2020 U.S Non-Technical | Race & Ethnicity at Slack Figure 5: 2020 U.S Technical | Race & Ethnicity at Slack It can be seen in the two tables that there is not an enormous difference between technical and non-technical employees in terms of Race and Ethnicity For technical employees, Asians outnumber non-technical employees by 34.3% to 10% White employees make up half of the nontechnical workforce and half of the technical workforce In conclusion, Slack welcomes both non-technical and technical employees when the number of employees of different ethnicities is distributed equally among two groups of abilities 2.4.2 Intellectual Ability Diversity At Slack, a technology company, the requirement of Intellectual ability for employees is extremely important, as evidenced by recruitment standards and company culture Number aptitude: This skill is demonstrated by the fact that Slack always requires employees to be sensitive to numbers, have computer-related certificates, knowledge of management information systems, knowledge of specific software, and experience in the web and software industries In fact, Slack's employees all have long-term experience in the information technology industry, so they are extremely sensitive to numbers and flexible in their work Verbal comprehension: Working in a diverse environment, Slack’s employees can communicate, absorb ideas, have good interpersonal skills in both communicating and writing, and have teamwork skills Employees in every department at Slack are very flexible in their communication, especially in the sales department, thus allowing the company to achieve superior growth in a fleeting period and cooperate with many large corporations Inductive reasoning: One of the most key features of Slack's HR system is problem-solving An IT staff that can identify and solve problems quickly helps the company increase work efficiency and produce high-quality results Slack requires candidates for the position of software engineer to have a strong executive presence, facilitation skills, a drive for results, attention to quality, and a collaborative attitude As a result, Slack employees are always confident when having a conversation with customers and sensitive to unexpected situations Perceptual speed: Slack requires employees to understand the nature and distinguishing uses of the software the company uses and apply them flexibly to use it flexibly Experiment design and testing expertise Deductive reasoning: Slack's CEO stated, “Studying philosophy taught me two things,” Butterfield said in an interview with Forbes “I learned to write very clearly.,” “I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is useful in meeting management.” This mindset has a direct impact on company culture Spatial visualization: This is comparable to the ability to adapt to changing work environments and company cultures The required skill in Slack's job description is the ability to multi-task and adapt to changing priorities Therefore, employees at Slack not only know about their expertise but also have background knowledge of the surrounding areas, for example, accounting, or human resources at Slack must-have technology knowledge The ability to remember and recall previous experiences: In addition to a full degree, Slack employees must be able to apply the theories and skills they have learned at work and in school This creates a learning environment in a working environment, helping the company's employees to always be in a state of constant learning 10 III IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 3.1 How Slack attracts and selects diverse employees 3.1.1 Attracting Slack attracts employees all over the world by promoting company culture and providing salary, compensation, and insurance policies About promoting the company, creating a Slack Career section for interested candidates, and being thrilled to be a member of Slack Introducing the company's distinct culture, promoting human values, human connection, the long-term commitment of previous employees, flexible time diversity, and more The job follows a remote, hybrid model, so candidates from all over the world can easily apply When they recruit a variety of talents from around the world, the company is committed to no disputes, racial discrimination, or gender discrimination; additionally, when entering the company, you will have to undergo cultural training to feel a sense of closeness to the company, as well as firmly grasp the company's code of conduct Slack fosters an exclusive environment by offering a variety of programs and initiatives that promote the company's core values of respect, support, adaptation, empathy, and equality The Diversity, Engagement, and Belonging (DEB) programs come first This initiative invests in an inclusive community that focuses on learning, reflection, opportunity, and growth to maximize the potential of all employees Second, employee groups that have developed around traits or experiences in common are supported, celebrated, and supported by employee resource groups (ERGs) Finally, Slack's dedication to DEB is demonstrated by Partnership initiatives like our partnership with The Next Chapter, an apprenticeship program for people who have been incarcerated in the past Returning citizens are hired by The Next Chapter and The Last Mile for Slack's engineering teams About the compensation policy, Slack offers a salary for each position up to 100,000 - 200,000 USD per month, this salary can be even higher if the candidate's qualifications and experience are suitable When working at Slack, employees will receive basic insurance including life, health, and unemployment insurance The biggest reason Slack can attract potential candidates is because of the accommodation flexibility, candidates can easily work in the office that is suitable for them when submitting an accommodation form 3.1.2 Selecting In 2015, Slack worked with Textio, a business that assesses job descriptions to make sure they appeal to a variety of people (Slack's job postings use words like "care deeply" and "lasting relationships," which statistically lead to a higher number of applications from women On the other hand, Microsoft's uses phrases like "competing" and "insatiably." "Manic" and "wicked" are Amazon's keyword phrases 11 The business has also tried to close any gaps that might allow bias to enter its hiring procedure One customary practice in hiring software is the "whiteboard interview," in which candidates must solve a coding issue in real-time In 2016, Slack also modified how it conducts job interviews Interviewers may unintentionally favor candidates who are like themselves, and if the job requirements are unclear, interviewers may emotionally rearrange those requirements to fit whatever a favored candidate has Bias has the potential to sabotage that process The technical term for this is "redefining merit," and it is a prime example of bias (In one study, people who were assessing potential police chief candidates were asked whether education or experience was more crucial for the position When the male candidate had more education, they claimed that education was more significant They preferred experience when the female candidate had more education.) So, the interview procedure was rebuilt by a Slack team The team determined what traits and abilities, such as communication prowess or teamwork aptitude, a successful candidate should possess for each role Then they developed a list of behavioral questions specifically aimed at eliciting that information, such as "Tell me about a stressful situation, and how did it go?" or "Tell me about a change to your code base." They then stated the data they needed for each of these to evaluate those skills Now, the same set of questions is asked of each candidate Grace clarified, "If you ask every candidate the same question." Finally, interviewers were instructed to conduct fictitious interviews with current employees, much like doctors practice on mannequin patients Interviewers have improved their abilities, decreasing their propensity to introduce biases that eliminate qualified candidates 3.2 How Slack retains, develops, and trains diverse employees 3.2.1 Training managers how to implement diversity management strategies First, to achieve success in implementing a diverse workforce, Slack focuses on training managers' level Requirements for management strategies includes: - Resist and overcome the conformation to stereotypes Assess employees at their true worth based on their capabilities and consider what positions would be suitable for them - Create a favorable climate in which managers remain open and listen to all idea - Understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of each employee - Create a legal framework for equal and fair employee opportunity related to career development with a view to stimulating and boosting personal improvement practice, in which individuals would fulfill their potential by represent their best skills and abilities 12 - Building trust with their subordinates in the long run by applying multitudinous diversity-oriented programs - Ensure everyone is empowered to the greatest work of their lives 3.2.2 How Slack eliminates discrimination at the workplace In general, there are certain steps that are followed by Slack with a view to eliminating discrimination at the workplace: - Educate all Slack’s employees about discrimination - Encourage employees to look up to each other’s differences - Positively respond to evidence and complaints related to misbehavior - Face up to all complaints of different discrimination situations - Build up and advocate a policy which prevents discrimination - Train supervisors, managers, and leaders on how to restrict discrimination in the workplace - Make sure the company’s policy is properly enforced - Review and evaluate the policy frequently to confirm that its effectiveness is retained - Using conflict resolution skills Slack’s managers are always as objective as possible When investigating a disagreement, they have always been fair, objective, and factual in the process Managers at Slack ask each party questions about what negatively happened and immediately take notes accordingly The reason is that managers want to understand the bottom of the issue and, instead of placing all blame on one person, they make sure each person interprets the paramount importance of accepting everybody’s values and appreciating their role in the workplace 3.2.3 How Slack facilitates creativity and innovation at the workplace Build A Diverse Group/ Team: Slack claims that a wire strategy for stimulating creativity would be building a team with a wide variety of skills, abilities and strengths of employees and promoting healthy debates among them Slack always creates an environment in which “it is ok to be not ok”, failure is acceptable and different viewpoints or ideas are encouraged Slack bans the expression "This is not the way we at Slack.” Giving enough direction: Slack sets out particular aims for a team/ group Slack believes in providing employees with defined parameters and basic objectives to enable them to acquire the most innovative and productive solutions Managers try to check in with different teams to notice what they desire for Managers’ responsibilities are to support the employees towards success 13 3.2.4 Using communication effectively The managers at Slack consistently argue that providing outstanding communication is one of the most efficient ways to handle diversity in the workplace, therefore they urge their staff to voice any problems as soon as they All employees should feel equally essential to the company, according to managers They also put open door policies into practice Slack managers are open-minded with their staff, so they feel safe asking you questions and raising concerns about both work- and non-work-related topics, like diversity In order to handle disagreement, managers become more personable Assigning workers to project-based groups so they may collaborate on challenging assignments, foster cooperation, and foster understanding among team members is another tactic managers use to enhance communication The teams should be more diverse, and each team member should be encouraged to cooperate amicably They will discover that despite their differences, each team member contributes significantly to the group 3.2.5 Using empathy effectively In 2020 when the global outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic exerted adverse effects on every aspect, it was additionally difficult challenges for candidates who are in charge of taking care of their children and did not have enough dedicated and devoted time to homework, Slack shifted gears again Candidates nowadays have the option to complete the assignment in their office if they really want and prefer “It is a huge competitive advantage of Slack compared to other companies to be empathetic Employees believe that Slack is excited to accommodate them.” Grace said Slack tries to keep flexibility in the workplace 3.2.6 Diversity and Inclusion in the technology space Slack is putting time and resources into figuring out the best method and optimal choice to considerably advocate and promote an inclusive, comprehensive, and diverse environment for the company’s employees Consequently, Slack communities positively offer numerous unique platforms for their team members to communicate with each other, freely bounce and raise ideas, and have the potential to adopt D&I practices from leaders and managers who are paving the way for D&I in tech Moreover, some of these communities are designated for special geographical areas where others are concentrated on subsets or small parts of inclusion and diversity, though all of them possess precious resources to share and folks to produce innovative ideas These communities are: - Path for Progress: Allows and enables all members from entry-level position to executive level to come together in this community to build up a network of a wide variety of people and easily accessible resources that would foster inclusion and diversity - Blacks In Technology: A tech-focused program centered around increasing diversity in technology based on technical excellence and constructing intimate connections Blacks In Technology establishes a blueprint of world class technical excellence and a substantial number 14 of innovations as it provides data resources, instruction, and issues challenges to its members to surpass the high mark and set new standards to global innovation - ChiTechDiversity: prioritizes the idea of supporting technologists from underrepresented communities, although everybody is highly welcomed and encouraged to contribute to the conversation This is an intentionally Anti-racist, Anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, Anti-ablest, Antitransphobic, Anti-discrimination, and anti-harassment space - The Brave Space advocates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practitioners in tech who create not only a safe space, which would lessen controversy or contradiction, but also a brave space that includes difficult conversations about topics in terms of DEI Bravery is necessary as “learning contains not merely risk, but the pain of giving up the former condition to be in favor of adopting a new way of seeing things.” 3.3 Diversity in Groups Slack emphasized that diversity would take play when individuals from all levels of society positively come together and collaborate When implemented and managed properly, a diverse group/team could bring about profound merits for the company There are values that have long been considered as the core elements of diversity in groups, which are: Empathy, Courtesy, Thriving, Craftsmanship, Playfulness and Solidarity The brand had always been making a ceaseless effort in building an inclusive and dynamic workforce environment Slack will ensure to treat them with a welcome attitude, respect and give them the support that they have been longing for In Slack, programs related to diverse groups that are offered to foster these values are: 3.3.1 Diversity, Engagement and Belonging Slack’s Cultural Priorities Work hard and Go home: the CEO of Slack, Stewart Butterfield strongly agrees that working hard is not equal to working till midnight With a maximum of 6-8 working hours, Slack enhances the importance of going home to their employees This mantra has motivated a trusted, supported, and happy workplace, where individual lives are recognized as significant as the decent work they for the company Use words wisely and well: Words can uplift, invigorate, and provide delight, but they also can alienate, demoralize, and confound Therefore, the brand aims to create a truly unified voice that concedes and propagates the culture that shapes a company Instead of working in the same place, channels enable everyone to view the same conversations and stay current with the most recent documents and decisions, maintaining the team's alignment naturally from anywhere Establishing inclusive and open communication is what Slack does utmost 15 Slack’s Survey Employee engagement tactics that keep new hires content and productive after onboarding can increase retention and one way that Slack uses to track how their staff are by conducting periodic “pulse” surveys Employee satisfaction surveys are distributed over Slack, and the data are analyzed to uncover any emerging patterns According to Robby Kwok - the VP of People at Slack, "You can really get a good sense for how people are feeling in terms of belonging but also productivity." Feedback Practices at Slack Leaders should encourage feedback: Recently, in Slack's blog, Ryder advised, “Ask for it, accept it gratefully, and offer feedback about yourself.”middl The temporary chief security officer at Slack describes how she just came clean with her team about how she had neglected strategic thinking in favor of operational concerns So, let us be open and vulnerable to receive feedback from all participants that can lead to more fruitful talks Make feedback a habit: Every week, there will be valuable feedback on how to improve work sent to Slack employees Encourage everyone to offer feedback regularly, both individually and collectively can determine what went well, what did not, and what may be done better the next time Announcement Channels: It takes a constant cadence of announcements across a range of channels to keep staff informed There is a company-wide #announcement-global channel on Slack in addition to local or team-specific ones Psychological Safety at Slack It is safe to unplug: It is ok for staff to be offline People are urged to mute any internal channels they feel are not particularly important in addition to logging out after work hours Beef-tweets: #beef-twweets channel is where employees can vent their "beefs" against anything, including the company or their boss and Slack loves the fact that issues are voiced and heard, even when comments get a little too abrasive at times Meeting at Slack Short-Slack Brainstorming: 30-minute brainstorming meetings are usually organized during the day, where a facilitator provides the prompt, and everyone is free to share their ideas Everyone receives a written copy of the meeting once it is finished so that it can be revised and shared with others 16