Slack is like drugs… 15 reasons why
Work-chat apps have always been around but the recent rise of Slack has resulted in abuse and created addictions within teams. Let’s take a look at it.
- Like any drug, it’s introduced to you by friends or teammates;
- Like any drug, once you’ve tried it, you just can’t get enough of it and need it, over and over again;
- Like any drug, you feel the effects almost immediately;
- Like any drug, when it’s not with you, you feel bad, out of the loop;
- Like any drug, in some sectors — or places — it’s fashionable to use it;
- Like any drug, there’s already tons of people making money out of if;
- And like any drug, you think it’s the solution to all your problems.
To be fair, it’s also the definition of a successful app that makes teams happy. But the analogy with drugs is interesting :
- Stage #1 — Drug Experimentation : it’s fun, easy and engaging. Everyone’s on it. Heck, let’s start.
- Stage #2 — Binge Communicating : the dev team plugged it to all our apps. We receive a lot of messages now.
- Stage #3 — Addiction : we’re unable to control the flow. We even talk to bots now (not a human in sight!).
“I wasn’t in control of Slack, it was in control of me.” — Bobbie Johnson (full post here)
“This is turning into a monster, completely unmanageable. I wish people would email me things they actually expect me to read.”— Jason Kolb (full post here)
I talk to a lot of organizations wondering if this type of group chat could become the default method of collaboration, and in particular, if Slack is fit for this purpose, in the short and long run.
After getting feedback from many different teams, big and small, I thought I would take a step back, look at things objectively and sum it up for you. So let’s dive into the pros and cons of group chat apps like Hipchat, Flowdock, Slack, etc.
👍 Great for Communication
As a lightweight communication method, chat apps are truly useful:
- Light : nothing makes it easier to share a thought, an idea or get a quick feedback, then move on. 1 hour later that message is replaced by 100 others, exactly like on Twitter.
- Easy : there is a low learning curve on chat apps, especially for small groups. You only need to understand who will see your message and you’re done.
- Instantaneous : when you’re trying to reach out to someone, quickly, chat can be useful, either as a private message or in high-priority rooms.
- Fun : welcome to the home of emojis and gifs. It almost feels like talking, not writing. This is a great way to convey a company’s culture, especially for remote teams.
- Universal : we’re all chatting on Facebook, WhatsApp and previously MSN, amongst others. It feels like home and it’s almost natural, hence the adoption.
👉Limited for Collaboration
If you’re building your organization’s collaboration backbone on it, you need to be aware of these limits:
- Abundant : chatting is about short questions and answers, quick feedbacks loops, immediate help, like throwing and receiving thousands of messages per day. The bigger the team, the bigger the problem.
- Immediate : a side effect of the previous issue is the expectation of a rapid answer. In fact, if you’re not immediately responsive, you’re out of the loop. This is exhausting mentally and defocuses you from getting things actually done.
- Loud : we are all different. Some of us like to talk a lot, get together with colleague to get things done. Others prefer to only speak when necessary or when the job is done. Regardless of your style, work chats force everyone to be a talker.
- Narrow : the collaborative nature of work chat is actually surprisingly focused on 1-to-1 collaboration. The standard split is 1% on public channels, 18% on private channels and 81% on direct messages.
- Stressful : we often hear about extraordinary stories where Slack is killing 90% of emails overnight. What’s not revealed is the volume of notifications sent that drastically jumps to a different a new level, especially for the enterprise users.
👎 Sucks at Tracking Work
If you’re trying to focus your team on getting things done (and not just talking about it), your going to be in trouble when getting organized together:
- Flat : you’re inevitably involved in multiple chats at the same time. That means you’re always dragged on the most active conversation. Business, on the other hand, requires you to focus on what’s most important, not most recent.
- Un-actionable : you can’t take any action on a chat discussion, except replying. How do you turn chat ideas into tasks? How do you figure out what’s most urgent or important? How do you share that plan in teams? How do you keep in sync on who does what?
- Out of context : when you work on a project, you need to have a 360° view on it. What’s actually being discussed, documented, done, changed, decided, etc.? You need this information to make a wise decision and get organized. Most chat apps don’t bother making the link.
- Sketchy : because of the nature of chatting, you can’t go through a detailed debate. In business, like everywhere else, the devil is in the details. A chat app cannot help you with precise, elaborate communication requirements.
- Messy : we all spend time looking for information. Some search, others tidy. Chat apps don’t care. If you’re trying to use chats as a ‘memory system’, you’re going to feel like the organization of your document is totally messed-up.
At work, chat can be useful for occasional discussions, when there is a need to accelerate an issue or an idea, or report quickly on an event that occurs or simply to keep a remote team connected.
In some ways, chat is better than email. It’s a shared record, it can be much faster, but it doesn’t answer the synchronous work requirement at all. Group chat don’t help you and your team get organized, stay in sync on who does what, nor get things done.
When over-abused, teams develop an addiction that resembles that of a drug. And as we all know, it can only get worse! They quickly become obsessed, unable to concentrate and move things forward and remain stuck on short term discussions.
So, the question is : what should be at the center of team productivity? Email, chat, social tasks, file sharing, or a mix of everything? Once you’ve adopted and implemented the software, there will be a whole array of issues, questions and challenges that you’ve never even thought of. It is extremely important to remember that you’re not just investing in a product, but a relationship.
What do you think? What’s your drug?
