Building Effective Slack Communities: Lessons from Experts

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The San Francisco Slack User Community's quarterly meetings are always insightful, but our June event on "Slack-powered Communities" was particularly illuminating. As the organizer, I had the privilege of bringing together a panel of distinguished community managers and experts to discuss strategies for managing and growing Slack communities. Hosted by Jeremie Gluckman at Dovetail, the event featured DeMario Bell from Culture Amp, Brian Lee from Pavilion, Stephen Cook from Tightknit, and Veronica Sandoval Guerrero from Slack. Their collective wisdom on optimizing Slack for large communities, engaging members, and overcoming challenges was both practical and inspiring.

Optimizing Slack for Large Communities

The conversation kicked off with a deep dive into optimizing Slack for large communities. Stephen Cook, co-founder of Tightknit, emphasized the importance of organized channels to prevent chaos. He advised grouping channels into categories and using consistent naming conventions to help users navigate more easily. This approach resonated with DeMario Bell, who shared his experience of streamlining Culture Amp's community from 37 public channels to just 4 main discussion channels, demonstrating that sometimes less is indeed more.

Jeremie Gluckman from Dovetail highlighted the crucial role of clear communication guidelines in creating a welcoming environment. He described using Loom videos during onboarding to introduce community values and norms, setting the tone for positive engagement from day one. Stephen Cook built on this, recommending the use of Slack canvases to provide readily accessible guidelines and resources in each channel.

The experts unanimously praised the value of Slack's built-in features like pinned messages and announcements. They also delved into the power of automation, with DeMario Bell sharing how Culture Amp uses Common Room for automation and a custom Slack bot for moderation. Stephen Cook offered insights on leveraging Slack's native bot for keyword notifications and automated responses, proving that even communities on a budget can benefit from these tools.

Engaging and Retaining Community Members

The discussion then shifted to the art of engaging and retaining community members. Brian Lee from Pavilion emphasized the importance of understanding the member journey, describing their onboarding process as designed to make new members feel connected from the start. He introduced the concept of an "Omakase experience," where the community carefully curates the best path for members, much like a chef's specially selected menu.

Veronica Sandoval Guerrero from Slack brought a unique perspective on creating safe spaces, particularly for diversity and inclusion-focused communities. She described Slack's approach of having private channels for members who identify with certain groups and public channels for allies, ensuring everyone feels safe and included.

DeMario Bell shared Culture Amp's strategy of focusing on the first 90 days of membership and addressing the "one-year cliff" where engagement often drops. This long-term view of the member journey resonated with the panel, highlighting the need for ongoing engagement strategies.

The experts also discussed the importance of fostering connections within the community. Brian Lee described creating channels based on job functions to connect people with similar roles, while others suggested encouraging members to set working expectations and time zones in their profiles to facilitate better communication.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Large Slack Communities

No community is without its challenges, and the panel candidly shared their experiences and solutions. Spam and inappropriate behavior emerged as common issues. DeMario Bell described using Slack bots for monitoring, coupled with a clear escalation process for more severe issues. Brian Lee took a different approach, mentioning Pavilion's use of paid moderators to drive conversation and remove problematic content.

Information overload was another challenge the experts addressed. They agreed that more channels don't necessarily mean better engagement, with Brian Lee describing how Pavilion helps members "prune" their Slack instance to reduce overwhelm. Stephen Cook advised limiting channel creation rights to prevent proliferation, emphasizing quality over quantity.

The panel stressed the importance of continuous improvement. Veronica Sandoval Guerrero described community guidelines as living documents that evolve with the community, adapting to new challenges as they arise. DeMario Bell offered a refreshing perspective, advising against trying to make a community everything for everyone. Instead, he suggested helping members find value within the community while guiding them to complementary resources elsewhere.

Building a Successful Slack Community Takes Mindfulness

As our event concluded, it was clear that building a successful Slack community requires a delicate balance of strategic planning, clear communication, and continuous engagement. By leveraging Slack's features, integrating thoughtful policies, and focusing on member experience, community managers can create vibrant, inclusive, and well-organized spaces that foster meaningful connections and sustained engagement.

The insights shared at our San Francisco chapter meeting provided a roadmap for creating and nurturing thriving Slack communities. Whether you're managing a small professional group or a large, diverse community, these strategies can help you build a more engaged, connected, and valuable space for your members.

To learn more about Slack best practices and strategies, and to join our community of practice, visit us at: https://slackcommunity.com/san-francisco/. Together, we can continue to explore and refine the art of community building in the digital age.