When to Huddle in Slack
A guide to Slack’s new calling feature in a crowded video conferencing market.
Slack’s audio-only call feature — Huddles — debuted in 2021 and quickly became the fastest adopted new feature in Slack’s history. It was so well received that even the slow jazz hold music for Huddles grew a small fanbase (and — as it turns out — pays homage to Glitch, Slack’s origin). Acknowledging its popularity, Slack decided to add video and multiple-screen sharing to Huddles in summer 2022, expanding on one of the platform’s most popular features.
For organizations that have already heavily invested in video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, this newest player to the field raises the question: Where exactly does Huddles fit in to the already saturated video conferencing market?
Slalom was fortunate to test out a beta of Slack’s newest addition to Huddles in our official Slack Enterprise Grid. We’ve put together some “dos” and “don’ts” for using Huddles in conjunction with other video conferencing tools.
Do: Use Huddles for remote working sessions
The biggest differentiator between Slack Huddles and almost any other video conferencing tool is the ease at which users are able to share multiple screens. While tools like Zoom have this capability, they’re hidden deep in user settings and need to be set in advance of the meeting to enable start multiple screens sharing during a call.
In Slack Huddles, screen sharing is simple. Anyone can choose to share their screen at any point during the call — no need to wait for someone to stop sharing so that you can share. All screen shares come up as multiple video squares that users can toggle between.
This feature works perfectly when working with team members to solve complex problems. A common missed experience from our days at the office is not being able to pull up two laptops together in a room and try to troubleshoot a bug with a colleague. Slack Huddles is the closest thing to that experience and is perfectly designed for spontaneous working sessions that make everyone on the team work better together.
Do: Use Huddles for one-on-one meetings
A recent Gallup poll noted that 85% of employees feel disengaged at work with loneliness being a big contributing factor. That makes sense as it is hard to connect with your peers and manager when you are all alone in your house. It used to be so easy to catch someone in the hallway to ask a quick question or just have some facetime and feel that sense of connection.
Slack Huddles is built for spontaneous conversations. You can jump on whenever you like without having to wait for a window of opportunity to open or the need to jump from Slack to a video conference tool. You can simply click on the headphone icon and dial up your manager right in Slack.
Another benefit for video fatigued team members is the retention of its audio only feature in Slack Huddles. It allows managers and team members alike to connect with one another in a more casual setting without having to worry about your dog or children crashing a video call.
Do: Use Huddles for small team building
Huddles is a great tool for small teams to meet in an informal setting and it fosters team building. As more team members find themselves joining new companies in a more remote setting, it is often hard to really get to know your colleagues on a personal level. It can feel like you are on an island by yourself.
Slack Huddles is a great environment that is more of a video water cooler than a formal meeting. In true Slack fashion, Huddles also includes fun animations that team members can use to celebrate a team win or make jokes. Our team often loves the dolphin animation which has become a running inside joke in our stand ups. The animations make the Huddle feel more like a fun Jackbox Party Pack game night with friends than a stuffy virtual happy hour.
Don’t: Use Huddles for a large company “all hands”
Instead: Use Slack as a dynamic chat room
Slack Huddles does come with its limitations. Huddles participants are limited to 50. It won’t work when you have 500 participants in a company all-hands meeting where you need to have only the presenters on audio and share screen enabled while everyone else needs to be in listening mode.
However, you should use Slack’s other capabilities to improve engagement and interactivity during company all-hands meetings. Slack Channels are great for your listen only participants to interact with a presentation beyond the limits of an in-meeting chat window. Announcements, links, and presentation materials can be pushed to the channel while the all-hands meeting is live. Workflows can also be created for listen-only participants to ask questions and for meeting facilitators to route questions to the appropriate speakers.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that an occasional GIF or emoji can bring a level of fun and spontaneity to an all-hands meeting that’s often missed with just a basic chat window in a video conferencing tool. It turns the conversation into a searchable asset as opposed to a chat window that can be lost as soon as the meeting is over.
Don’t: Use Huddles for a formal meeting you need to record
Instead: Use Slack to create a project Channel and share those recordings in a Bookmark
Another limitation with Slack Huddles is the lack of a recording feature. For formal meetings where a recording would be needed to review later, a Huddles call will not suffice.
However Slack Channels and Channel Bookmarks are a wonderful way to organize your recordings in the tool that your team members are already using. Instead of team members following up with an ask for a link to the recording, add them to the channel and let them know that the recordings can be found in the designated folder on the channel’s bookmark bar. Maintaining recordings in channel can help team members find the information they need without having to context switch and bug create unnecessary busy work for meeting hosts.
In summary
So, to answer the big question — “Should I use Slack Huddles or our normal video conferencing tool?” — the answer is: it depends. Our recommendation is to use Huddles at every opportunity where it makes sense!
Slalom is a global consulting firm that helps people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Learn more and reach out today.
