Guidance on using Slack

Expected behaviour #

At dxw we encourage staff to exchange ideas and opinions. We also want everyone to feel safe and heard. Here are some principles we should all follow when communicating online to support an inclusive culture:

be respectful
be kind
be constructive in any criticism

Please be mindful that conversations in public channels on Slack are happening in the open and may get shared outside of the company.

Examples of unacceptable behaviour #

conduct or speech which might be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory or offensive in nature
intimidation or harassment
disrespect towards differences of opinion
inappropriate attention or contact. Be aware of how your actions affect others. If it makes someone uncomfortable, stop
not understanding the differences between constructive criticism and disparagement
threats of violence or violent language

Slack encourages quick and informal communication, but be mindful that your conversations on Slack represent dxw.

Upholding these principles #

Everyone should feel comfortable holding people to these standards.

If you feel that someone has breached these guidelines, speak to your line manager or the People team. They will be able to help you find an appropriate resolution.

Using Slack channels, threads and direct messages (DMs) #

Here are some general guidelines to follow when using Slack to communicate with colleagues.

Public channels #

Communicating in public channels helps to keep people engaged and informed. If you think something will be of interest to your colleagues at dxw, post it in the relevant channel.

Here are some of our most used Slack channels and what they’re for:

#chat-social to suggest fun activities or social events
#dxw-appreciation to share appreciation for colleagues, for big or small things
#dxw-inclusion-diversity-and-equity to share useful resources, discuss ideas, and create greater understanding about inclusion, equity and diversity
#dxw-news-feed to share things happening on a particular day or week. For example, new starters joining, work anniversaries, and project milestones
#dxw-offices-leeds for questions about the office. To see who is planning on going in, and lunch recommendations
#dxw-offices-london same as #dxw-offices-leeds but for the London office
#general for important dxw-wide communication and announcements (unless everyone really needs to know about something, there’s probably another more appropriate channel to post in)
#help-hr-non-confidential to ask non-confidential HR relation questions. For example, about your learning and development budget or holiday allowance

Channels should be labelled with a prefix to show what their main purpose is:

#bid to discuss bids on client work
#chat for non-work related discussions
#dxw for company wide communication on particular topics
#help for help with different things like IT and People team questions
#int for dxw only communication regarding client projects. For example, reminders to track your time in productive
#proj for client projects. External contacts such as clients and dxw friends may be invited to these channels

Before setting up a new channel look at the list of channels to check that one doesn’t already exist. You can do this by searching for ‘channels’ in the search bar. If there isn’t anything similar, you should use the correct prefix when setting up your new channel.

Remember to archive channels down when they’re no longer being used on a regular basis. This will help us to keep Slack organised.

Using @here and @channel #

These special @mentions exist in Slack by default. They’re blunt, noisy instruments, so take care when using them. Think about whether everyone in the channel needs to read your message right now. The little red notification badge can cause anxiety for many of us.

@here notifies everyone who is a member of the channel and is currently online. It’s useful for updating people who are currently working without bothering people who are off, or away from their computers. Bear in mind who’s in the channel before using this. If you mean specific people, mention them explicitly.

@channel notifies every member of the channel, including those who are currently offline or not working. Use this if your message is extremely important for everyone, and will continue to be important tomorrow, or a week from now. If not, is there a more reliable way to communicate that message?

Threads #

You can start or contribute to a thread by responding to someone’s post on Slack. Using threads helps to organise different discussions within a channel.

Threads make sure that multiple topics don’t mix together and get confused. It also means people can choose whether or not to engage in an ongoing conversation about a particular subject.

Direct messages (DMs) #

DMs should be used for private conversations. Whether it’s discussing personal or confidential issues, or just checking-in with a colleague.

Any issues you may have can be raised directly with your line manager, head of, director, People team colleague, Staff Councillor, or Trustee at any time.

Remember that DMs can sometimes unintentionally silo information. So it’s always worth considering whether the conversation has developed in a way that it might be better to share in a public channel. For more transparent, collaborative discussions that anyone can join.

Last updated: 22 July 2024 (history)