Name: Pachca
Author: Pachca

When you switch team chat apps, it's not always clear how to run the move so employees don't push back on the new tool. Here's how to make it an evolution, not a revolution.

Once you've finished testing and picked a tool, it's time to get your company and team ready for the move.

Preparation

Put together a migration plan. It should answer a few questions:

Who will be in charge of the move?

Choose a team or a person to own the move and split up the work. Decide who will map out the chat structure and who will set up the workspace.

Will you move all employees to the new tool at once or team by team? How long will the old app keep running during and after the move?

There are three common strategies: shut down the old tool right away, run the old and new tools side by side, or move work over in stages.

What should already be in the app when employees start using it?

For example: the chat structure, tags, integrations and workspace branding.

What's your timeline for the move? Which processes will the switch affect?

List the most common use cases from your old tool. You can set them up in the new app ahead of time or give employees a heads-up about the changes.

Tell your team about the move

Nobody likes change, so it's important to tell your colleagues why you're switching, what they'll get out of the new tool and how the move will happen.

Keep in mind that a successful move often depends on leadership being convinced it's necessary and will benefit the company. Bring team leads into the process. They'll become champions of the change.

Map out the chats your company uses

At this stage, you need a list of all the chats your company uses. We recommend two ways to do this.

Option 1:

List your departments, teams and their work chats. For example, these could be your developer, design or marketing teams.
List all the chats these departments and the whole company use. We have an article on how best to name chats.
Decide on the format for each chat. For example, Pachca has channels and chats, and they can be private or public.

Option 2:

Set up the core shared chats and let employees build on that structure with their own chats.

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Get Pachca ready for your team

There are a few ways to do this.

Option 1:

Go to your Pachca workspace. If you don't have one yet, sign up at https://app.pachca.com/signup
Go to the Members section.
Create tags for the departments/teams from the list you made earlier. To do this, select a member's checkbox in the table → at the top of the table, click the plus icon Add tag → in the window that opens, enter a name and click Create.
Create the chats you need and add the tags of the departments that will take part in each one. Members can also do this themselves once you add them to Pachca.

Option 2:

You can import chats and employees from Slack. Learn how this feature works in this article.

Move your team over

There are different ways to do this, too.

Option 1:

Open your workspace settings by clicking the workspace name in the top-left corner.
Open the Members tab.
Click Add member in the top-right corner.
Send invitations by email or share the link with your colleagues.
Once members are added, assign them the tags they need.

Option 2:

Set up an integration with your AD so employees can log in with SSO. Learn more about SSO in Pachca here.

Train your employees

Getting the hang of a new tool right away isn't easy. To make the transition smoother, run training sessions for your employees. By the way, when companies with 100+ users move to Pachca, we run training calls for their employees.

Create a chat for questions about the new tool. It can become an internal knowledge base: employees find answers there or ask new questions, and the person in charge of the move answers them. You can also post news about updates and handy features there.

This article will help your team get settled in Pachca.

Follow this plan, and your team will likely get up to speed faster and start getting real value from the new tool, which can make your whole company more productive.

How to move your team to Pachca