Slack Guidelines

Introduction

We use Slack as our company-wide communication tool in Mercari. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure information about a project or team communication is done smoothly and efficiently.

Premise

• Keep Openness in mind
  • In order to decrease communication costs and maintain our Openness culture, we communicate openly (except for personal information or insider information). - However, we don’t prohibit the use of private messages or private channels when necessary. Employees are free to invite, join, and leave channels as they see fit.
• Understand chat communication has its limits
  • Sometimes, text communication is not able to fully convey our thoughts. In such cases it can be better to deliberately increase the number of times you exchange messages with the person you are communicating with, and to proactively use other communication methods as well (such as meeting in person and conference calls using Google Meet).
  • Communication using text alone can make it hard to express your feelings; it can also be hard for the recipient to interpret the intended meaning of your message. Because Slack messages are largely composed of only text, the recipient does not have access to the nuances that would otherwise be conveyed by your intonation or facial expressions. Make sure you understand the limits of text communication to convey emotion, and proactively do things like use a lot of emojis and reactions, engage in conversations where you and the other party’s facial expressions are visible, such as meeting in person or teleconferencing with Google Meet.
    • When people communicate, verbal communication (what the person says) comprises only 7% of their message while what the recipient hears, including such things as tone of voice, make up 38%, and what they see, such as facial expressions, make up 55% of what is communicated (according to Mehrabian’s Communication Model [also known as the 7-38-55 rule]).
• Be respectful
  • Don’t hesitate to share your opinions because we value Openness, but be considerate toward other people and remember “All for One.”
• Recipients of information adjust their timing to read when best for them
  • Given that working locations and time are more and more diverse, we ask recipients to control their time not to check Slack regularly (e.g. at night, on your days off).
    • Turn off notifications of Slack where you think required.
    • If your working hours are predetermined, let members know in advance through 1on1 or Workstyle Sync.
  • As a pro, strike a balance between the smooth exchange of information for performance and time away from work to refresh yourself.
    • To help recover from work fatigue, it is sometimes helpful to take physical/psychological distances from work (psychological detachment) .
  • When you put yourself in the shoes of a sender, be aware that people check Slack messages at different times, and do not expect an immediate response from recipients.
    • You may need to plan in advance how to proceed with your work and make sure to have enough time for essential tasks (i.e. allow recipients a few days before the deadline for responses)

Policies

• Accounts
  • All group company members
  • Specific external people
• Mentions
  • Before mentioning @here/@channel in channels with many people, consider whether or not it’s needed.
  • It is the recipients’ responsibility to adjust mention settings for evenings, weekends, etc.
• Channels
  • Anyone can make a channel
  • Please be sure to write the purpose when creating a new channel
• Creating custom emojis
  • Anyone can create emojis on Slack
  • Please be respectful when creating and using custom emojis. Avoid creating emojis with images that can be seen as discriminatory, disrespectful, violent, or harmful, such as emojis using Nazi symbolism or controversial political figures.
    • Note that different images may be considered disrespectful depending on the culture/group. Remember that we are in a multicultural environment and that there are people from many different backgrounds working alongside you.
    • Examples of inappropriate emojis:
      • Pepe the Frog, an internet meme appropriated as a symbol of the alt-right movement in the US
      • The Nazi flag or representations of Adolf Hitler
      • Emoji using the rainbow flag to represent violence against LGBT+ individuals
      • The Rising Sun Flag, today used in Japan to cheer at sports, but viewed by other countries as a reminder of Japan’s atrocities during World War II
• Administrators
  • Account Administrator
  • IT Service Team

Channel Rule

Channel Division	Channel Name	Channel’s purpose	Example	Attention
All channels	#group-all #hd-all #mk-all #ft-all #us-all #sz-all #logi-all	Announcements for all members	・About business/company-wide information ・About handling information(Security policy or news) ・Important announcements (Calibration/Compliance e-learning)	・Must write in JP&EN (exception: CS-based information) without posting the English translation inside the thread. ・Must add it to Merportal TODO list after the announcement (no need to post a reminder anymore) ・When all members must take action, mention @channel ・Use specific location-all channels if the announcement does not impact the whole group/company.
	#group-random #hd-random #jp-random #mp-random #us-random#sz-random #cm-random #logi-random	Notice for all members	・Study group ・Open door ・Town hall ・Internal feedback ・Small talk	・Notice must be in JP&EN (exception: CS-based information) ・Use specific location-all channels if the announcement does not impact the whole group/company
Team channels	#group-XXX #hd/mk/ft/us/sz/logi-XXX	Communication with team members	・Necessary communication for team operation	・When the information impacts the company, post to group channel ・JP means Mercari JP as an organization
	#group/hd/mk/ft/us/sz/logi-qa-XXX	Receiving questions and requests	・Questions for one’s team ・Requests for one’s team	・When questions don’t contain personal information, use QA channel not DM
PJ channels	#alert-XXX	Emergency response	・ Incident report	・Don’t use thread in #alert-incident-report
	#pj-XXX	Communication with project members	・Necessary communication for PJ operation	・When PJ is finished done, archive the channel
	#guest-XXX	Communication/projects with external parties without the domain name “mercari-partner.com” Examples: #guest-gcp #guest-github	・Necessary communication for PJ operation	・Keep in mind there are non-employees in the channel when posting messages
	#tmp-XXX	Temporary communication	・Depends on the case	・When the project is finished, archive the channel
Personal channels	#z-XXX	Communication with people who share the same hobby/interest	・Club activities and topics of hobby	・Nothing
	#zp-XXX	Personal tweet	・Depends on each person	・Nothing

• Handling of sensitive information
  • Sensitive information that should not be posted
    • “Personal Data” classified as “Top Secret” in the Confidentiality classifications for personal information_20210701
    • If this information were leaked, the consequences could be severe; leaking this information may even be a legal violation.
  • Information that can be posted, but should be handled with caution
    • Top Secret and Strictly Confidential information that does not fall under the umbrella of “should not be posted” may be posted in private channels only. However, please follow the procedures laid out in the Information Security Guidelines. (English translation of the Guideline coming soon)
    • As a general rule, passwords, API tokens, and other credentials should be shared using 1Password, not Slack.
• Restrictions & points to remember
  • Only post messages in line with that channel’s purpose
  • Only make announcements in separate “all company” channels when appropriate considering location (Tokyo/Sendai/Fukuoka), etc.
  • Don’t discuss highly confidential information (passwords, personal information, etc.)
  • Continuously review each Slack channel’s usage is in line its purpose
  • Set the channel to Private when discussing personal information or insider information
• Closing channels
  • Review Slack channels regularly, and close temporary or non-active channels
  • On ”Slack Cleanup Day” (at the end of every quarter) review and close channels when possible

Usage for Specific external people

If communicating on Slack is the most efficient option, make an account for specific non-employees.

• Accounts
  • People on loan from other companies
  • Outside guests
• Account types
  • Single-Channel Guest
    • When someone joins a specific project and 1 channel
• Restricted User
  • When someone joins multiple channels but does not need access to all open channels
    • Difference from regular employee: User can join channels only when invited
    • Difference from Single-Channel account: Person can join multiple channels