Want to know what it’s like working at Slack? It means a lot fewer emails than you’re used to.
Although Slack was founded less than 10 years ago, it is one of the main forms of communications for a wide variety of enterprises, from large multinationals to local start-ups.
But what’s it like working as an account executive for Slack? We heard from Vic Davis, a large-enterprise account executive at Slack. She filled us in on what her day-to-day role is like and how it feels to work with no internal emails. Spoiler alert: it’s great.
What is your role within Slack?
My official title is large-enterprise account executive. I’m responsible for the relationships with our largest UK customers.
If there is such a thing, can you describe a typical day in the job?
My day includes meeting large-enterprise customers, helping them understand and realise the value of Slack in the way that it changes how they collaborate to get their work done.
What types of project do you work on?
The great thing about working in sales is that every customer and customer project is different.
My customer engagements could be anything from a simple transaction, right up to ensuring Slack is supporting customers that are going through major cultural and digital transformations.
What skills do you use on a daily basis?
Communication skills are obviously essential in my role, but so is understanding the ‘bigger picture’. This includes both an understanding of our customers’ strategic goals and where Slack is going in terms of helping to shape the future of work.
I need to be able to explain the impact that Slack adoption could really mean for the customer and also be able to take back to the business why a feature request, a legal negotiation or a certain workshop might be a high priority for my customer.
What is the hardest part of your working day?
Waving goodbye to my two children in the morning is always tough!
That said, Slack has a very good ‘work hard and go home’ mentality, so I’m usually home for the kids’ bedtime.
Do you have any productivity tips that help you through the working day?
Our company mission at Slack is to make working lives simpler, more pleasant and more productive, so productivity is a huge focus for us.
In every job prior to working at Slack, I would have told you that internal email was my biggest productivity inhibitor, but of course I live and breathe in Slack and therefore I don’t send or receive a single internal email.
I’m now more focused on how bots can enable greater efficiencies in my own (and the team’s) working day. I’m a fan of stand-up bots, which enable the team to share what they are up to, without having to regroup in an inefficient lengthy meeting.
When you first started this job, what were you most surprised to learn was important in the role?
Recruitment. The pace of recruitment in the fastest-ever-growing business software application is rapid. We are constantly on the lookout for great new Slack team members.
How has this role changed as this sector has grown and evolved?
Although Slack created the market of channel-based collaboration, the sector has recently become more competitive. We see it as a good thing as it validates the category and, if anything, means we’re even more focused on making the product the best it possibly can be.
What do you enjoy most about the job?
I am head-over-heels passionate about Slack. We believe that by 2025, channels will be the primary form of communication in business, so it’s super exciting to be part of the team introducing that collaboration evolution to UK enterprises.
