Freecharge’s productivity revolution – unleashing efficiency across teams

Anyone who works in office, facilities, or workplace management will tell you that creating and upholding a vibrant company culture is a crucial, but often challenging, task. Like many companies, Indian financial services company, Freecharge, previously relied on physical interactions in the office to drive engagement and build culture. When the pandemic forced everyone to work from home, employees seemed to miss that fun and connection.

Adopting Slack was a game changer for Freecharge in the post-Covid world. Freecharge is a fintech company that enables users to recharge mobile phones, pay bills, and make online transactions seamlessly. As the company paves an innovative way forward in the neobanking space, the company relies on Slack to build both a cutting-edge product and culture. Slack allowed the company to simplify collaboration and create a digital space for employees to connect, leading to greater productivity, as well as a workplace that was more enjoyable and culture-oriented.

Taking a productivity leap with Slack

To shed light on how Freecharge has leaned into their investment in Slack, BI connected with Rhea Jain, a seasoned Product Manager at Freecharge. According to Rhea, "Slack has considerably increased team productivity by streamlining communication and reducing the time spent on bureaucratic processes like setting up meetings."

Teams today seek adaptive techniques for efficient work progress, from resolving complex issues on the fly to brainstorming creative assignments or checking in with colleagues. And at Freecharge, Slack has become the go-to platform for quick, one-off questions, impromptu collaborations, daily stand-ups, progress tracking, and more. It has transformed the way Freecharge communicates internally.

Rhea explained how the company has leveraged Slack to transform their product development and issue resolution procedures through collaborative efforts. “From inception to delivery, Slack makes it easy for us to communicate during the product development process. It even helps with follow-up discussions and resolutions, which will take longer if done only through email friendly meets. Slack is a boon, especially since we have hybrid working and geographically dispersed teams,” she said, making the case for its productivity boost.

"The conversational nature of Slack allows for quick issue resolution without the need for formal meetings," she added. "When collaboration occurs in a single area, leadership does not need to be copied on emails. You can join a Slack channel, keep up with the project, and contribute as needed."

At Freecharge, when it comes to releasing a product, Rhea found Slack to be a handy tool because she could easily create themes, and create channels to get relevant people on one platform to ideate, engage, and execute efficiently. This helped in cutting down the time for releasing a product. She highlights that Slack makes this process nearly 30 to 40% faster. This efficiency is vital in the fintech sector. It's a competitive market, and the speed to market is crucial in giving Freecharge the edge.

Quick and easy collaboration

The impact in simplified communication and collaboration was witnessed across layers of the organisation. Freecharge has extended its collaboration model within the Slack platform to the way it works with clients and external partners - within the Slack platform using secure Slack Connect channels. This direct communication enables Freecharge to address client complaints more rapidly, thereby enhancing customer loyalty and retention. Rhea highlights Slack as the communication backbone for teams, fostering better synchronisation and instant connection among members.

And it’s not just text communication. Freecharge uses Slack Huddles feature for cross-team collaboration in real-time using video, multi-person screen sharing, a dedicated thread for notes, audience polls, and emoji reactions – reducing the need for lengthy meetings. “Quick impromptu collaborations have become the norm, fostering a more agile work environment," Rhea added.

‘Figma’ of your imagination

Rhea stressed that one of the benefits of using Slack was moving away from meetings and emails because it had become very simple to reach out to colleagues through different Slack features that Slack has to offer (like huddles, clips, or direct messaging to name a few). With an average huddle lasting only about 10 minutes, this informal call feature within the platform has helped Freecharge save countless minutes every day, increasing overall productivity.

Rhea also emphasises the importance of the pencil feature in Slack, particularly for providing visual feedback to the design team. Integrating Slack with design tools like Figma ensures real-time updates on comments and file shares and fosters an efficient workflow. She says, “This tool expedites the feedback process, making it more actionable and reducing the time spent in written communication.”

What works for Freecharge is that Slack is a formal communication channel with features that are user-friendly and enhance day-to-day communication and collaboration. “I really like that Slack is always innovating and keeps releasing features, which reflects how customer-centric it is,” she adds.

Freecharge has placed Slack at the centre of its operations to enable fast, seamless collaboration, creating spaces where teams can share ideas, make decisions, resolve potential problems, and move work forward. Rhea expressed that after two years of using Slack, “It’s challenging to imagine working without it. Slack has become an integral part of our collaboration and communication strategy.”

Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in.