Ever feel like your daily standup meetings are more like, well, sit-down-and-stare-at-your-screen-in-despair meetings? 😔 If you're nodding, this one's for you.
We're about to dive into 6 of the best Slack integrations that'll turn your standup meetings from groan-worthy to grin-worthy. 🚀 You'll learn how to run structured, productive standups, monitor your team's progress like a pro, and still have time to actually, you know, work.
How Slack integrations can benefit your daily standup
Imagine a world where your daily huddle is a highlight in your work day, not a hassle. That's exactly what these Slack integrations can do for you.
Daily standup meetings are used by 87% of teams that employ agile methods, and these teams should be utilizing the best tools for success. Let's break down some of the top reasons why these tools are a game-changer for your daily standup.
Centralizes standup notes and reports
Ever feel like your standup notes are playing a game of hide and seek with you? 🙈 With Slack integrations, your standup notes and reports reside snuggly in one place. No more hopping between tools or scrolling through endless email chains. It's like having a personal librarian for your standups, making sure everything is neatly cataloged and easily accessible. This centralized system saves you from chaos and ensures that important information is always at your fingertips.
Saves time by automating repetitive tasks and processes
Time is a precious commodity, especially when you're juggling a million things at once. Slack integrations can help you automate repetitive tasks and processes, such as sharing status updates, scheduling reminders, collating updates, and tracking progress. It's like having a virtual assistant who takes care of the grunt work, so you can focus on the important stuff. In other words, less time on tedious tasks, more time on strategic thinking (or maybe a few coffee breaks). ☕️🙌
Enables asynchronous check-ins
We live in a world that doesn't always operate on a 9-to-5 schedule, especially for globally distributed teams. 🌍⏳ Although synchronous meetings are imperative for engaging employees and cultivating work relationships, asynchronous check-ins are also a viable option if that's your thing.
Standup Slack integrations make it easy to hold asynchronous standups and check-ins, so everyone can participate at their own pace. This flexibility means your team members can contribute when they're at their most productive, keeping the project moving forward smoothly. However, there are several limitations to relying solely on asynchronous standups, which is why teams should use a standup tool that supports live and async check-ins.
Increases team engagement and accountability
Without the right tools, team members may have a negative outlook on daily standups. According to a study done by ScienceDirect, one of the factors that contributed the most to a positive attitude towards daily stand-up meetings was information sharing with the team and the opportunity to discuss and solve problems. Slack integrations for standup support your team in doing just that.
By providing a transparent, interactive environment for standups, your team can stay engaged, motivated, and accountable. Sharing progress, offering support, and celebrating wins has never been easier. 🙌
The best Slack integrations to enhance your standup
Now that we've covered why Slack integrations are a must-have, let's dig into some of the best tools our there. 💪🔋
1. Spinach.io
First up, let's talk about Spinach.io AI Scrum Master extraordinaire! 🌱🚀 Spinach integrates seamlessly with Slack, and transforms your async comms with a dash of Popeye-style Spinach power!
Before standup, Spinach sends Slack reminders with context from the last standup. This helps the team prepare for standup and share a better update on progress (whether live or async). Thinking about your update ahead of time (even if it's just 1 minute!) can help team members articulate their thoughts more clearly, boost confidence and eliminate "on the spot" anxiety (and rambling).
During standup, Spinach takes notes documenting any decisions, blockers and action items and then sends those to you in Slack. Like this:
From there, Spinach keeps track of your action items and even suggests new Jira tickets (or updates to existing tickets based on the discussion you had.
🙋🏻 Sidenote: Spinach also provides summaries, action items and ticket management for sprint planning, retros, and backlog grooming too. But that's another article for another time.
Standout features
- Adds value to synchronous and asynchronous standup via meeting prep in Slack
- Integrates with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams
- Shares shockingly accurate summaries and action items from standup
- Keeps track of your action items
- Suggests new Jira tickets or updates to existing tickets
- Compiles weekly summaries
Give your standups a Spinach boost today! 🌱🚀
2. Geekbot
Next in line is Geekbot, a friendly Slack bot designed to simplify standups. It prompts team members with a standard set of standup questions each day, including accomplishments, objectives for the day, potential obstacles, and their current mood. Team members can type their responses directly within Slack, utilizing emojis and mentions to notify users or channels.
Geekbot is great for collecting this information, but it only supports asynchronous standups. This tool may not be a great fit for teams that have synchronous standup meetings. With customizable templates, you can create daily standups, surveys, and progress reports. Geekbot can be used for other purposes too, like retrospectives and 1-on-1s.
Standout features
- Asynchronous standups only
- Customizable standup questions
- Recurring task automation
- Smart reminders that adapt to your reporting pattern
3. Polly
Polly is all about capturing real-time feedback and surveys on Slack. While this Slack standup bot excels at running standup meetings and automating repetitive Agile processes, its customization options are limited. With the ability to send instant surveys, called "pollys," users can gather meaningful suggestions and insights from their teammates. The tool offers various question options, such as multiple choice and rating scales, for close-ended questions. For faster responses, Polly allows you to send direct messages within Slack channels.
Standout features
- Easy polling to gather quick feedback right within Slack.
- Automated recurring surveys to gather regular team feedback.
- Analytics of your team's sentiment and engagement levels with data.
- Option to run anonymous polls
4. Standuply
Standuply, as the name suggests, is all about making your standups stand out. It's a digital Scrum Master that integrates with Slack to automate your Agile processes. Standuply enables remote teams to streamline the exchange of vital information among team members, but only support asynchronous standups.
Its primary function is to maintain an organized Q&A platform, facilitating high-quality answers and avoiding repetitive questions. Experienced team members can provide responses through video recording or by reaching out in person. The tool allows for automated surveys to be sent out and collects team member feedback through text, audio, or video channels.
Standout features
- Only supports asynchronous standup
- Allows automation and flexibility for running daily standups
- Accommodates different time zones
- Mixes and matches different types of questions
- Conducts team surveys via text, voice, or video
5. Troopr
Troopr is a Slack assistant designed to help teams run asynchronous standups, retrospectives, and more. It provides asynchronous process automation and offers several distinct survey templates, but does not support live standups. Nevertheless, the tool's presets feature a well-designed UI, which helps maintain an uninterrupted workflow for team members.
Standout features
- Only supports asynchronous standups
- Integrates with Jira for task tracking within Slack
- Smart reminders for standups and task dealines
- Built-in Wiki system that automatically provides answers to frequently asked questions directly within Slack
6. Kyber
Rounding off our list is Kyber, a task management tool that integrates with Slack to help teams stay on track.
Under the free plan, Kyber enables teams of five members or less to conduct asynchronous daily standup meetings at no cost. The tool offers a variety of features, including standup meetings, polls, surveys, and message scheduling. Additionally, companies can create micro-apps through configuration and customization to address specific use cases.
Standout features
- Supports asynchronous standups only
- Integrates with other project management tools for tracking tasks
- Channels can act as Kanban boards to track progress
- Check the pulse of your team with surveys
Integrate Slack aand Spinach and get way more value from your daily standup
Alright. We've toured the landscape of standup-boosting Slack integrations. We've seen how they can centralize your standup notes, save precious time, enable flexible check-ins, and supercharge team engagement. 🏞️💡
We've also met six top-notch tools, each with its own standup superpowers. 🦸♀️🦸♂️ But when it comes to saving time, providing invaluable meeting prep, and taking notes and actions for you- Spinach takes the cake.
Give it a shot today and see for yourself
try spinach for free