Pro's Picks: Slack

Jennifer Ramos

Founder, Jen Contracting Group

Alexandria, Va.

My employees would joke about the thousands of sticky notes covering my office, but since our company switched over to using Slack for our communication needs, my desk is clean(er) and my days are more productive.

Slack’s primary function is as a workplace messaging app. We carry out nearly 30 percent of our communications via Slack now; we haven’t fully switched over only because client communications still occur via phone and email. For the team, though, I wanted—and needed—a way to speed up communications and maximize our time. 

With Slack, we create a new workspace for each project and gather any relevant information in that space. The team and I can reach each other instantaneously with any questions or updates from the client. Team members can access necessary documents and communicate through the app easily, no matter if they’re at their desks or at a jobsite. We do stress work-life balance, though, so employees have the option to keep that rapid communication to business hours only.

Slack has worked wonders for team communication, but my favorite function is the ability to take notes within the app. The messiness of my office really was becoming a problem, and Slack helped me clean up my act and streamline teamwork—all in one handy program. 

The free version doesn’t allow access to an account’s full message history, but for less than $7/month per user, the standard version gives us everything we need for a low price.