Document essential team member profiles

Since we believe that all team members must be [Managers of One](/handbook/leadership/#managers-of-one), most communication is handled by the relevant group, but we know that some communications are more sensitive and contentious than others.

In those cases, the DRIs may want to engage the [Internal Communications function](/handbook/people-group/employment-branding/people-communications/).

### Complete your team member profiles

Complete your team member profiles during onboarding so team members can recognize you, understand your role, and find your availability. Keep these profiles current when your role, team, or working hours change.

1. [Slack profile](/handbook/tools-and-tips/slack/#profile). Help team members understand your role, find your working hours, and know how to address you.

1. [Google profile](/handbook/tools-and-tips/#google-profile). Help team members recognize you when collaborating in documents and communicating by email.

1. [GitLab profile](/handbook/tools-and-tips/#gitlab-profile). Give team members and community contributors context about who you are and your role when collaborating in issues and merge requests.

1. [GitLab team page entry](/handbook/about/editing-handbook/edit-team-page/). Help people across GitLab learn about you and where you work in the organization. Keeping this information current is also essential for Product and Engineering automation.

1. [Zoom profile](/handbook/eta/corporate-it/end-user-services/supported-apps/zoom/zoom-additional-config/#customize-your-zoom-profile). Help meeting participants recognize you and understand your role. See [Zoom tips](/handbook/eta/corporate-it/end-user-services/supported-apps/zoom/zoom-tips/) for more guidance.

1. [Personal README](/handbook/leadership/#your-individual-readme), if you have one. Help team members understand your working preferences and how to collaborate with you.

### Top tips and best practices

1. All written communication happens in English, even when sent one on one, because sometimes you need to forward an email or chat.

## GitLab tips

### GitLab profile

Complete your GitLab.com profile during onboarding and keep it current when your role changes. This is part of [completing your team member profiles](/handbook/communication/#complete-your-team-member-profiles).

Open your [GitLab.com profile settings](https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/profile) and complete these fields:

- **Full name.** Enter your full name so team members can identify you.

- **Profile photo.** Add an unobscured photo of your face so team members can recognize you.

- **Organization.** Enter `GitLab`.

- **Job title.** Enter your current GitLab job title.

- **Private profile.** Leave this checkbox unchecked.

- **Pronouns (optional).** Add your pronouns if you choose to share them.

- **Pronunciation (optional).** Add a pronunciation guide for your name, for example `MY-kul FREED-rick` for Michael Friedrich in English.

Select **Update profile settings** to save your changes. See the [GitLab profile documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/profile/) for more profile options.

### Change your username at GitLab.com

Each GitLab account is tracked by a numeric **user ID**. Changing your username does not change your user ID, so all your permissions, issues, merge requests, and other activity remain associated with your account.

For example, you can look at the GA data to analyze how visited is a certain page, in a period of your choice.

You can also look at the GA referrals data to understand where the users are coming from and where they go when they leave a certain page.

### Set your picture in Google

### Google profile

Complete your profile using your GitLab Google account during onboarding. This is part of [completing your team member profiles](/handbook/communication/#complete-your-team-member-profiles).

Also set up or update your [Gmail signature](/handbook/tools-and-tips/#email-signature) with your full name and job title.

#### Set your picture in Google

Use an unobscured photo of your face so team members can recognize you in Google Docs and other Google services.

1. Open your [Google personal information](https://myaccount.google.com/personal-info).

1. Check that you are signed in with your GitLab Google account.

1. Select your profile picture and follow the steps to upload and save your photo.

Optional: [Set your picture](https://myaccount.google.com/personal-info) in Google so that your picture will show where you are in a Google document (vs showing just your first intial). This will allow others to more easily follow a discussion when meeting attendees move around in a document.

See Google's instructions for [changing your profile picture](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27442) for more details.

### Add name pronunciation in Google

#### Add name pronunciation in Google

Consider adding a phonetic pronunciation of your name and/or a pronunciation recording in your Google profile.

- **README Link.** Link to your personal README, where others can learn more about you, with display text such as `About me`. See the [README overview](/handbook/communication/#readmes).

- **GitLab Birthdays.** Opt in or out of the birthday celebrations in Slack by selecting yes or no.

Complete your Slack profile during onboarding as part of [completing your team member profiles](/handbook/communication/#complete-your-team-member-profiles). Keep it current when your role, team, or working hours change. Fields marked optional and suggestions to add pronouns or name pronunciation remain your choice.

## Channels

Channels are a core feature of Slack. This section describes tools and tips for managing Slack channels. For common channels and where to ask questions, see [GitLab Slack channels and their purposes](/handbook/communication/chat/#key-slack-channels).