What is asynchronous communication? Simply put, asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. For example, you send an email. I open and respond to the email several hours later.
Due to our team working remotely, flexibly, and across timezones, it is crucial we adopt an approach which leans on the benefits of asynch communication.
Slack
Slack is where most of our communication happens.
We check in when we log on in the morning, and check out in the afternoon when we are no longer available. If you work in the evening, it's nice to check in so your colleagues in other timezones can poke you if they have any questions.
Channels everyone should be in:
- #announcements - For critical company-wide announcements only: for other company news, see #celebrations and #product-announcements. This channel has limited posting rights: contact Slack admins if you have a critical announcement to share. 📢
- #appreciation - To give appreciation and thanks to your fellow colleagues. Let them know what they’ve done well. ❤️
- #ask-anything - A space for everyone at Whereby to ask questions about, well — anything. From general business matters to external market circumstances and exec opinion. 🖐️ Ask publicly or anonymously by sending a DM to '@Whereby Warrior' on slack
- #industry-chat - A space for general discussion related to Whereby that doesn't belong in other channels. Find, share, and discuss topics and content relevant to our team, mission, market, and more. 💭
- #celebrations - For non-critical - but still important! - company announcements like work anniversaries, promotions, birthdays, babies, big sales wins, etc. 🎉
- #whereabouts - If you want to, you can use this channel to check in and out each day, to let others know where you're working from and when you're available. Checking in and out also helps preserve boundaries between your work and personal time. 🌏
- #product-announcements - New features and improvements in the product will be announced here (also when things are available for internal testing). 📢
- #random - Post non-work-related things here: musings, funny stuff, whatever is on your mind that has nothing to do with work! 🎰
Other channels you should consider:
- #analytics - Questions, suggestions, and issues to report, for all the things we track, measure and model at Whereby. 📈 Useful if you need help with getting numbers!
- #marketing - A place to ask questions, make suggestions, and raise issues related to marketing at Whereby. Also for sharing press coverage of Whereby! 🎣
- #remotework - A place to share and discuss interesting content about remote/distributed working. 🏘️ Useful if you are making presentations, blog posts etc. and need sources/facts.