Thanks for sharing! #1

Slack is good fun.

Quite a large proportion of my team does not even read their emails.

Below is a collection of my fave posts from the last month in #general #random (gotta have a random channel!) & of course #sp-dev ❤️

Selection is based purely on my own very personal view. As I scrolled back through, some I remembered, but some were new and stood out. While Slack is a great tool, keeping up with all the messages in a large channel can be tough. So it’s easy to miss some. It just happens!

In other words, this is a list of the ones I’m happy I did not miss:)

Here goes my slack favourites 12.27–01.26:

1. Our MD knowing the importance of time off

This year, all employees were gifted two extra days off over Christmas 😊, most took advantage of this and booked the whole festive period off. The extra holiday was a truly nice gift, but the above interaction makes the top of list because it made me feel trusted and relaxed. I was reassured that the big bosses do not frown if people enjoy a game or two during work hours. Trust is awesome.

2. Argh… I wish I was working!

It’s almost 11 pm! Why are they at work?

I look at this picture and there is simply too much fun going on.

Why is everyone smiling? Whose hand is balancing that beer? What’s going on with Brad’s selfie face? All this gave me massive FOMO and it made me wish I was in the office at that hour.

This group of rockstars was tackling Heroku Enterprise migration. It had to be done and it had to be done outside of working hours. Working late is not something we advocate at Smart, but sometimes we have to, but we also have a choice of how to. In this instance, the pizza was ordered, beer was in the fridge, and a few teammates stuck around to play board games (aka float around for emotional support).

A nice reminder that making work fun is not obligatory, but highly encouraged.

3. Ability to laugh at oneself (#1)

Haroon organises a monthly pot-luck lunch in the office. A pot-luck is where all the attendees make something, bring it in and share it. However, the rumour has it that Haroon never cooks himself, and no one really knows where he gets those amazing homemade dishes from.

Massive THANKS goes to Haroon 👏👏👏 for this monthly organisation, connecting people through food, ability to laugh at oneself & share his best tries in a company-wide channel! #failfast #shareandlearn

4. Coffee machine crisis

Coffee machine broke 😱, which is pretty much the worst news for someone as addicted to caffeine as I am.

However, in this time of crisis, the genius of my team shone through — though it took me a google or two to fully get the joke.

5. Happy Birthday, Gab!

Birthdays at work usually go like this: Brad (our head of engineering) asks if you want a birthday celebration with the team, or if you’d like to keep it quiet. It’s a simple yet important question — some people don’t like the fuss or attention.

On this particular day, the Brad was not around to check. Since Gab invited a whole team to his 30th last year, we figured he’s not going to mind a little celebration. The whole team got together and surprised him with two beautiful cakes and a bottle of prosecco!. The ambush and the out-of-tune singing was all captured on video, as well as Gab’s hesitant yet grateful smirk.

This one is a super subjective entry in the list, as I love Gab to bits. He’s been incredibly supportive throughout my time at Smart. Gab is one of the most patient and kind people I know, and never loses his cool. This is due to both, his overall attitude to life and work, as well as incredible knowledge of the platform and industry. I’m sure this sentiment would be shared by the whole tech team because, as one of the first Smart tech team members he’s been a friendly and welcoming face since day one.

6. Lost & Found

I just knew it is someone from UX. Even before I read the sharers name.

UX love their stationery, so do I, and therefore can really feel the pain behind this shout of help.

UX does some really physical, visual things, and tend to have the best stationery, as they have a keen eye for what looks good. I highly advise befriending them, they are a good bunch. You might also get some pretty post-it notes and amazing pens as an added bonus.

7. Ability to laugh at oneself (#2)

Hands up if you have never googled anything to get your job done! ✋ Exactly…

I’m not an engineer, this meme still really tickled me. Although it is slightly self-deprecating, it was a nice reminder that really, actually, no one fully knows what they are doing… at least to some extent.

Afterthoughts: Emoji’s, Likes, and does anyone care?

When scrolling through all the gems on slack, it clicked that the amount of emojis is not an indicator of how popular or impactful a message is. Some people told me they simply don’t like using emoji’s as a way of interaction. Yet, it likely that someone is interested/cares/relates to a post — even if there is no single reaction.

Last year, there was this really heartfelt big announcement on a dev team channel. It was one of those ‘wow’ kind of shares. I loved it and of course emoji’ed all the way. Then, I was surprised how little reactions it got. I chatted with the person who posted it, and their view was just because there aren’t many emojis it does not mean people don’t read it or don’t appreciate it. I tend to agree.

Some people (myself included) are hesitant about public sharing in a typed format. Yet, even if I don’t slack a lot, I appreciate all that others share; the good, the bad, and the ugly — it all helps me get to know the people, the teams, and simply learn.

Aurelija x