Slack is where work happens: it’s where we prioritize tasks, connect our tools, and keep up with what’s important. But Slack is also where organizational leaders can encourage employee engagement and improve company culture. 

✨One way to establish trust and boost morale is by providing an open line of communication between leadership and other people in the company.✨

Learn how to host different types of executive “ask me anything” (AMA) sessions where people can ask the leadership team questions in real-time. 

Step 1. Prepare the exec team

Start by asking yourself guiding questions to help design the AMA experience for all involved.  

• Who will respond to questions? The CEO, other executives, or both?
• How will you prepare this group for questions that arise? 
• What cadence will the AMA sessions be available? Ongoing or anytime a question comes up, monthly, or bi-monthly?

 

Step 2. Create a channel

Name the channel

Create a channel to host AMA sessions. Here are some examples of how to name your channel: #exec-ama, #exec-q-and-a, #exec-fireside-chat, or #exec-town-hall. To broaden your scope, #leadership-ama could also work!

Step 3. Set expectations

Describe how the channel works

Manage expectations by composing a post to explain the process for participating in the AMA, and pin it to the channel for easy reference. Here are some instructions you might include:

• The number of questions the team has time to answer on any given day
• A reasonable timeframe to expect a response 
• How to upvote a question with emoji reactions. (E.g. React with ✚ :heavy_plus_sign: emoji to say, “I have the same question”.)

Announce the channel and its purpose

Promote the new channel and encourage people to join and participate. Post in your company-wide announcements channel, newsletter, or by email.

Set a reminder for the channel a day or two in advance so that people have time to think of questions they’d like to ask. 

Tips for running the show

It’s best to invite employees to ask questions in #exec-ama channels anytime something comes to mind. However, if that’s not feasible, here’s how to run a successful AMA session.

• Share the date, time, and channel where questions will be answered.
• Ask executives to introduce themselves at the beginning of the session.
• Encourage employees to use emoji reactions to show which questions they would like to have answered — a virtual show of hands, if you will! 
• Define a process for unanswered questions. It’s fine to address them at a later date — just communicate that you’ll need some extra time and you’ll get back to the person shortly.

Tip: By using @mentions, executives can openly empower other leaders by asking them to answer if they are the more appropriate person. 📣