Communication Tools

Slack

Slack is our primary communication tool for real-time and async conversations.

Channel Structure

#general: Company-wide announcements and discussions

#random: Non-work chat, memes, and fun

Department Channels:

• #engineering
• #sales
• #marketing
• #customer-success
• #product

Project Channels: Temporary channels for specific initiatives (prefix with proj-)

Customer Channels: One channel per customer for internal coordination (prefix with customer-)

Slack Best Practices

Use Threads: Keep discussions organized by using threads

Use Channels Over DMs: Default to public channels for work discussions so others can learn and contribute (see Communication Guidelines )

@mentions:

• @here: People currently online (use sparingly)
• @channel: Everyone in the channel (use very sparingly)
• @person: Direct notification to one person

Status Updates: Set your status when OOO, in a meeting, or in focus mode

Emoji Reactions: Use reactions for quick acknowledgment instead of “+1” messages

Do Not Disturb: Use DND to protect focus time

Slack Channels to Join

Everyone Should Join:

• #general
• #random
• Your department channel

Based on Interest:

• #home-assistant (for HA enthusiasts)
• #dev (engineering discussions)
• #customer-feedback (product insights)

Email

Email is for external communication and formal internal matters.

When to Use Email

• External communication (customers, partners, vendors)
• Formal documentation (offer letters, contracts)
• Communication requiring a paper trail
• Reaching people outside Slack

When NOT to Use Email

• Internal team communication (use Slack)
• Quick questions (use Slack)
• Project discussions (use GitLab or Slack)

Email Best Practices

Clear Subject Lines: Specific subject lines make emails easier to find

One Topic Per Email: Makes it easier to track and respond

BCC for Mass Emails: Use BCC when emailing multiple external recipients

Professional Tone: Email tone should be professional but friendly

Zoom

Zoom is our video conferencing tool.

Meeting Best Practices

Video On: Default to video on for better connection

Mute When Not Speaking: Reduce background noise

Use Good Audio: Invest in a decent microphone

Good Lighting: Face a window or lamp for better video quality

Test Before Important Meetings: Check audio/video before customer calls

Virtual Meeting Etiquette

Be On Time: Join a minute or two early

Minimize Distractions: Close other apps, silence notifications

Use Gallery View: See everyone in the meeting

Use Chat: Share links or side comments in chat

Recording: Ask before recording and announce when recording starts (see Meeting Guidelines )

Zoom Rooms

All-Hands: Monthly company meetings

Department Standups: Weekly team check-ins

1-on-1s: Personal Zoom rooms for manager 1-on-1s

Customer Calls: Use @selorahomes.com Zoom links for external calls

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is our scheduling tool. Since we can’t enforce calendar settings at the Google Workspace level, please configure your calendar preferences manually as described below.

Recommended Settings

Go to Google Calendar → Settings → Event settings and apply the following configuration:

Event settings:

• Default duration: 25 minutes
• Speedy meetings: Enabled — this ends 30-minute meetings 5 minutes early and longer meetings 10 minutes early, giving everyone a buffer between back-to-back calls

Guest permissions (all enabled):

• Modify event
• Invite others
• See guest list

Add invitations to my calendar: From everyone

Other Tools

GitLab: Code, documentation, issues, merge requests

Google Workspace: Email, docs, sheets, calendar