GitLab shows: agree when to switch to a call

You have written down your preference clearly: send me a message first so I have time to think. Your colleague follows it. Yet you have now exchanged six messages about the same customer request. The deadline is approaching and you still disagree about what needs deciding. The manual is being followed, but the work is stuck.

GitLab’s communication handbook favours asynchronous written communication where possible. It also suggests a video call when someone is blocked. Responses outside planned working hours are not expected.

That combination prompts our own analysis: a working preference becomes more useful when you discuss when to change approach. The examples below are our proposals for a team conversation, not an account of GitLab’s implementation or an endorsement of Personal User Guide by GitLab.

A channel preference is not yet a decision rule

“I prefer writing” tells a colleague something about your preparation. It does not explain how long to wait when an answer remains unclear. “Feel free to call” leaves open whether every detail warrants an interruption.

Add a recognisable point for changing approach. For example: if we still seem to be answering different questions after two substantive replies, one of us proposes a short call. That number is a trial agreement we suggest, not a scientific threshold. Choose something that suits the work and your availability.

A manager README can clarify expectations here. A manager who likes calls could state that employees may suggest a later time. Otherwise, a personal preference can easily become an implied instruction.

Explain the blockage before calling

An unexpected invitation saying only “quick chat?” offers little guidance. Instead, send the question, the two different interpretations and the time by which a decision is needed. The other person can then judge whether a conversation would help and what preparation it needs.

Suppose you want to make a commitment to a customer, while your colleague thinks you are gathering information. Write: “I want to decide whether we can deliver on Friday. I think you are still exploring options. Could we talk for ten minutes at two to agree on the purpose?”

The call becomes a proposal with a purpose. Your colleague can answer, suggest a suitable time or resolve the confusion in writing. For someone who needs time to formulate a response, a quick conversation need not mean abandoning all preparation.

Separate availability from commitment

A colleague who does not reply immediately may be concentrating or off work. State when you need an answer without turning every message into an obligation to be available.

Genuinely urgent situations need a separate team agreement: what counts as urgent, who is responsible at that time and which channel should you use? A personal manual can link to that agreement. It need not invent an individual on-call arrangement for everyone.

Our article about Buffer discusses where to make this information easy to find. Keep the call agreement alongside the current working preference and share a link, so an old copy does not become a competing version.

Put the decision back in the document

After ten minutes on a call, two people may know what happens next. A colleague joining later does not. Record what was decided, who takes the next step and which question remains open, wherever you already track the work.

Do not turn it into a description of someone’s character. “We will confirm the delivery date on Thursday” is useful work information. “She always hesitates” is a judgment that does not help anyone proceed.

Try one point for changing approach

Choose one recurring discussion with a colleague where messages pile up. Agree when to propose a call and who will record the decision afterwards. After two weeks, review one specific instance: was the question clear, could the other person prepare and could an absent colleague find the decision?

The handbook does not prove that this agreement will improve your collaboration. Use the trial to see where it helps and where it needs adjusting. A personal manual can offer direction while leaving room to agree on a different approach together.