Updated: Feb 20th, 2024; Owner/contact: @Susanna Laanikari, Role: Community Facilitator
<aside> <img src="/icons/apple_gray.svg" alt="/icons/apple_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Sonder believes in a culture of transparency, open communication, and a sense of community to support the experience of autonomy. At Sonder our main tool of internal communication is Slack, but email can also be used. Please also check our remote working guidelines.
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Emojis are handy in Slack for softening the tone especially when we don’t know each other well. If someone adds a smiley face to their message, the correct assumption would be that this person is smiling - we use our emojis without complex hidden meanings. If you’re not sure about what a particular emoji stands for, it’s ok to ask! Once you get to know someone better, you might choose to skip the emojis - this is a matter of personal preference.
✔️ It’s better to talk to people rather than to judge in silence. If you see something on Slack that rubs you the wrong way or that you think doesn't make sense (e.g., "Why are we working on that?", or "that message seems harsh/un-Sonder-like"), please talk to that person directly. You can check out some thoughts on how to give and receive feedback here.
✔️ Work to promote safe transparency. The only way we can preserve transparency is by collectively nudging each other onto the right course. Whether it's poking someone to move a DM to a channel, or telling someone to stop venting about a message and just talk to the author, we are all responsible for promoting safe and efficient transparency.
At the very start of every project, please take a moment to discuss and agree on the shared communication channels and the expectations for responding. It’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page to ensure smooth collaboration - this also helps everyone to manage their workload and time in a sustainable, engaging manner.