Keeping Remote Workplace Communication Short and Sweet with Slack Huddles
Your time is valuable. Whether you're working remotely for a single company, contracting with an agency, or juggling several of your own clients, you've got a lot of demands on your time, and it's important to ensure you're not bogged down with long meetings. After all, you need time to actually get your work done so you can meet deadlines and step away from your computer at the end of each workday.
Last summer, Slack introduced huddles, a new tool that enables you to hop on a quick audio chat with your coworkers. If you're using the free version of Slack, huddles are only available for one-on-one chats, but if you're using a paid plan, you can huddle with up to 50 people at once.
All you have to do is hit the little toggle in the bottom left hand corner of your Slack window, and you'll instantly start a huddle with anyone in the channel or direct message you currently have open. You can share your screen during a huddle, but you won't be on video.
A huddle is a great option for a quick, spur-of-the-moment chat. Think of it like sticking your head into a coworker's office or beckoning them over to look at something on your computer for a second. There's no need to reserve a conference room (or remotely, to organize a meeting on Zoom or Google Meet) for something that you can resolve in just a couple of minutes. Save those options for formal meetings and presentations, or times when you need to plan a meeting in advance and ensure specific people can attend.
There's no way to schedule a huddle—the whole point is to connect as needed. It's often helpful to send your coworkers a regular Slack message right before you start the huddle. Once you click the toggle, they will be notified that you're asking them to join the huddle, and it's nice to give a little heads up first. If you're trying to pin down someone whose whole day is crammed with meetings, asking them to start a huddle when they're available may be the best way to get a couple minutes with them.
Of course, huddles aren't meant to replace a regular conversation on Slack. There's a time and place for actually speaking to your coworkers, and sometimes an email or slack message is more efficient. Before you launch a huddle, ask yourself the following questions:
Should this meeting be more structured?
Is it mandatory that everyone in the channel or direct message attends?
Is it important to see my coworkers' faces during this meeting?
Could I get the job done via email or a regular Slack message?
If the answer to these questions is no, you're good to start that huddle. As you get more comfortable with huddles, you'll find that they help you get the information you need from your coworkers in order to get your own work done. Squeezing in a quick huddle between meetings can keep you on track to meet deadlines by reducing the time you spend waiting to get your questions answered.
If your coworkers or clients aren't using huddles already, now is a great time to give them a try. If they fit well with your work style, you can set a tone that will help your entire team work more efficiently.
Written by Em Wooden
