When you’re working with external companies and partners, it’s important to stay connected. No one wants to ruin a good work relationship because questions went unanswered in a long thread of emails. These missing answers could potentially bring projects to a halt. So, don’t be that person no one wants to work with!
Luckily, the business communication platform, Slack, is trying to create a more productive and secure way for employees to communicate with people outside their company.
In 2021, businesses using Slack will be able to send direct messages to external organizations using the platform. Slack Connect is one of the company’s latest efforts to adapt and improve its platform for the new work from home shift, due to the pandemic.
The new shared channels DM feature is designed to replace emails that can fall victim to spam and phishing attacks. The feature is also aimed at helping businesses work alongside their customers, partners, and vendors so they can strengthen relationships. “When you pull communications out of inboxes and put it into channels you make it much easier for people to get their work done,” said Slack CEO and Founder Stewart Butterfield. “With Slack Connect, we’re bringing those same advantages to the work that happens across organizational boundaries,” he adds.
Anyone with a Slack license can share a private link and send a direct message to anyone, as long as they have a Slack account. You will be able to create channels for one, two, or multiple organizations to share information and collaborate in real-time. In today’s remote workforce, anything remotely close to “real-time” is pretty intriguing.
Also, similar to Twitter’s blue verified badge, Slack will make it easy to spot trusted partners. “Verified organizations” will be denoted with a checkmark feature so you know you’re connecting with the right company.
In addition, Slack is launching “managed connections”. This will allow admins to pre-approve channel requests from trusted organizations.
Overall, Slack Connect sounds like a helpful tool that’ll improve responsiveness and productivity. So if you’re like me and not a big fan of long threaded emails, the ability to DM someone from a different organization to collaborate might help everyone get a little more work done.
Veronica Garcia has a Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Science in Radio/TV/Film from The University of Texas at Austin. When she’s not writing, she’s in the kitchen trying to attempt every Nailed It! dessert, or on the hunt trying to find the latest Funko Pop! to add to her collection.
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