Slack is a widely known business communication platform. Now that remote working has taken the workforce by storm, chances are you’ve certainly worked on Slack. To give you some numbers, it has more than 12 million daily users across 150 countries. If that’s not amazing enough, here’s a larger reference point. 65 out of the 100 Fortune companies use Slack for productive work culture. That’s saying something, isn’t it? As Slack continues to grow in membership and stock price, Slack in HR is quickly gaining momentum.
Here’s what I’m covering in today’s blog:
- What is Slack?
- Why do Slack and HR software work well together?
- How does Slack improve hiring?
- How does Slack enhance onboarding?
- In what ways does Slack support employees?
- How are Indian startups using Slack?
- The best Slack HR Apps
Let’s dive right in!
What is Slack?
Slack is a unique work communication software. It allows for simple exchanges of messages and information, but it does much more than that. Let’s get answers to some basic questions…
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How to sign up on Slack?
- Go to Slack and provide your email address.
- Pick a name for your team (eg. XYZ Workspace).
- Edit the URL to customize it for your team (eg. https://xyzworkspace.slack.com).
- If you’re the admin, choose a username for yourself.
- Enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite into your team.
- The team chat will open in a new window.
- Go through its brief tutorial to get an understanding of the basics.
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Where is Slack available?
Slack can be accessed through a browser window. However, for quick access and optimum usability, download the mobile or desktop Slack app. It is available on iOS/Android as well as Mac/Windows.
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What is a Channel?
You’ve heard this term everywhere when it comes to Slack. But what are these channels that people talk about? Simply put, channels are dedicated places for you to share messages, files, and tools. There are two kinds of channels; public and private.
With public channels, all team members can join in and all information can be searched by everyone. Eg. #general
Private channels are more exclusive and are used to discuss specific ideas. These only consists of team members that are relevant to the particular channel issue. Eg. #marketing
Why do Slack and HR software work well together?
I know you’re already convinced about how Slack makes you and your team more proactive. But here’s a closer look at how this association will play an important role even in the future of HR:
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Efficient Remote Work
COVID-19 has forced HR to rethink conventional practices. CHROs have now become strategic leaders whose functions are no longer restricted to recruiting and payroll. Slack makes remote work enjoyable and easier. Through its searchable history, you can do quick filtering of messages, files, channels, and people. Its interactive interface also ensures that remote employees stay motivated.
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Ineffective emails
The age-old practice of email communication is quickly coming to an end. Slack not only kills emails but is also a social network for the entire organization. It can connect multiple users to external sources through shared channels. Unlike emails that are gone once sent, it focuses on effective communication across all boards.
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Increased Project Coordination Complexity
Let’s be honest, modern HR is a strategic business function. There are way too many projects and goals to keep track of, making it cumbersome to maintain productivity levels. You can dedicate your time to specific targets making it easier for you to juggle between all your responsibilities.
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Conversational Interface
The first thing a user notices about Slack is its user interface. It talks to you like a human and helps bridge the gap in the absence of interpersonal interactions. There is an increasing rise in the chat interface paving the way for HR chatbots for higher efficiency.
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Need for integrated platforms
Integrations are everything. No one has the time or interest to wait to open several tools separately. We want everything, and we want it quick. Lucky for you, Slack has the same beliefs as you. In a world where there is an ERP for HR, ERP for finance and accounting system as well as payroll software, you cannot afford to miss out.
How does Slack improve hiring?
Hiring and recruiting is of the most important roles of HR. Slack also ensures you have a simple time navigating through the process. Here’s how:
1. Simplifies Job Posting
It’s quite simple really. Automation and pre-designed workflows are bound to make hiring easier and faster. Through private channels, you can have a dedicated space to ponder upon job scope, interview panel discussions, job positions, etc. between recruiters and department leaders.
Since you can collaborate simultaneously, you can use the channels to have organized timeliness on candidate presentations. This saves a lot of time and helps focus on getting the best talent.
Also Read: Step-by-step guide to create a Career Page
2. Eases Applicant tracking
Since Slack allows you to have public and private channels, you can have distinct platforms to discuss important information. By integrating your tracking system, you can be notified automatically when a candidate moves forward throughout the entire process. A lot of your communication will also become singular, meaning there is one point for collaboration. This ensures you make better decisions and are responsive to potential applicants.
3. Streamlines Hiring
Your entire hiring process can be managed in a uniform manner with Slack. You can create channels to coordinate the process and collaborate on job roles. You can also integrate applicant review tools and manage interview panels to accelerate the entire recruitment process.
How does Slack enhance onboarding?
Onboarding is another crucial HR responsibility. The way you onboard new employees can often make or break your employer reputation. Slack helps you to be proactive and professional while welcoming new team members. Instead of bombarding them with a hundred emails of information, create channels that are relevant to their work. According to IDC research, Slack companies reach complete employee productivity 24% faster.
Make separate channels to send out clear information on company policies, FAQs, and support groups. The software’s searchable history will also allow them to find relevant files and documents through message pins and keyword searches.
If that’s not enough, it also provides its own material for seamless onboarding. All you have to do is give access and let its Help Center take over.
In what ways does Slack support employees?
In a time where cloud HR software has become a total necessity, platforms like Slack are further helping to provide employees with maximum support. It helps streamline employee support right from benefits communication to tracking leaves.
1. Employee Self-Service portals
You can make channels dedicated to company announcements. This makes it easy for HR to save time on numerous questions about standard company practices. Employees can search for their answers by filtering through channels and timelines. This is especially useful when you have employees across different locations.
2. Automated Reminders
Another great thing about Slack is the fact that you don’t have to worry about chasing people for paperwork. Yes, I know right! Its timely alerts not only help your employees understand company programs but also get them to participate in them before the deadlines pass.
3. Answer employee FAQ
The HR department is more often than not flooded by the same questions on the same issues. By creating FAQ channels on various subjects, you can avoid wasting time on answering these questions. An FAQ HR chatbot is also a great way of maintaining interactivity and efficiency. You can use them for many activities including document searches. This is not only an #Agile way of working, but also helps employees answer their own queries in the long run.
4. Improved Learning and Development
Slack HR thrives on the art of collaboration. By bringing experts and professionals together, you can increase your L&D strategies by multiple folds. Moreover, designing, deploying, and managing training and learning programs becomes simplified.
Its effective communication combined with HR knowledge sharing, also makes it easier to communicate with employees. All of this helps save time and effort.
5. HR App Integrations
Slack is popular for its App ecosystem. You can integrate with several third-party HR services to streamline everything we’ve talked about to a higher level. This is especially useful when your employee base begins growing and daily activities start slowing down. More on Apps later on.
E.g. Asanify Slack Integration for workspaces in less than 5 seconds
6. Builds a Work Culture
It is slowly becoming clear that employee-employer experience cannot be overlooked. Businesses that center around building a work culture are known to get more work done. Slack’s easy-to-use and interactive interface accelerates organizational change by turning complex tasks into simple workflows.
Make sure you have a safe space where employees can ask questions, discuss company culture, and provide insights into organizational value. This idea-sharing will improve employee morale, collect feedback on a regular basis, and boost employer reputation.
How are Indian startups using Slack?
For a startup, effective communication and organized workflows accelerate the initial stages of business. A lot of Indian startups prefer Slack due to its specialized channels feature. The Slack Apps bundle is also deemed very useful while integrating different services into one software. Slack is seen as a truly ‘get-work-done‘ tool by these startups.
Shuttl, India’s leading AC bus service for work commute
Slack simplifies our flow of communication and increases productivity.
“It complements email very well. We use Slack extensively to enhance internal productivity. Any message meant for Broadcast and is action-oriented, works really well on Slack. For smaller cohorts of people, it provides several tools for sentiment analysis, data collection, etc. through employee surveys.”
-Ramashis Biswas, Head, HR
Propelld, an organization that provides financing for education
Slack improves overall HR functions for higher efficiency.
“We are a tech-first company so of course, our tech team had always used Slack for tech project management. Once we realized its potential for enhancing overall communication, the entire company is now onboarded via Slack. Now, most of the work tools are integrated within Slack. So it is only natural that we wanted HR software to also be within Slack. So we use Asanify for all HR related employee self-service. For example, marking attendance can be done by just typing “IN”. People also use it to download payslip by just a chat message which now saves a lot of time.”
-Sujata Boaz, HR
The Best Slack HR Apps
1.Asanify: With Asanify’s Slack HR integration, you can carry out several functions for different user types.
i) For Employees:
- Connect with team members and discover shared interests
- Get daily notification alerts on company news and updates
- Real-time updates on team members’ birthdays and work anniversaries
- Super efficient time and attendance management with an interactive chatbot
ii) For Managers:
- Maintain employee satisfaction by accelerating response rates
- Quick notifications on workflows for overall efficiency
- Regular timesheet reviews to remove ‘time-off’ requests backlogs
iii) For HR Admins:
- Enables personalized onboarding for new recruits to keep them engaged right from the start
- Helps for a transparent organizational culture by keeping employees up to date on company insights
- Real-time notifications to boost HR KPIs for ease and efficiency
2.Donut: Donut is another good app to enable team culture and effective onboarding. It can pair teams to build collaboration and group communication.
3.Typeform: With this stylish survey app, you can get notified on channels every time someone completes a form, survey, or quiz. This helps in collecting customer feedback and user research.
4.Polly: This helps you organize polls, surveys, and games to increase employee interaction and stay connected across all organization levels.
5.Message Scheduler: Scheduling messages becomes easier as you can set dates and times for sending out future messages in shared and private channels.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at the ways Slack makes HR more efficient and effective. It helps make each process organized and simplified right from hiring to providing optimum employee experience and support.
You now also have insights into how HR apps and the various functions you can get out of them.
Get started with Asanify on slack today for simplifying your work process!
Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant or Labour Law expert for specific guidance.
