Slack is a widely-used communication platform for teams that are geographically dispersed. Its features include the ability to structure conversations by topic, within a team, or across an entire organisation, making it an invaluable tool.
Here are a few things you might have missed when creating your remote team.
Use these to get the most out of your time and efforts in communication.
- Pin messages
- You may want to pin the most recent version of your project or a tutorial on how to use the channel to the top of the channel. You are able to pin up to 100 messages per channel, however, it is advised that only essential information is pinned.
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Keyboards are an integral part of the Slack Workspace, providing users with the ability to perform a variety of tasks. These include exploring the Workspace, marking messages as read or unread, and formatting messages. By utilising keyboard keys, users can help to streamline their workflow and optimise the time spent in Slack.
- When posts containing images or GIFs are making it difficult to follow the conversation, you can use the command “/collapse” in the text box to replace them with text only. To reverse this and display the images and GIFs again, type “/expand”.
- To indicate shortcuts, use “ctrl-/.”
To help you stay on top of conversations, you can customise your notifications in Slack. For more information, please visit the [Notifications](https://slack.com/intl/en-in/resources/using-slack/customise-your-notifications-in-slack?geocode=en-in) page.
- It may not be necessary to receive a notification about every activity that occurs in a specific channel. To adjust your notification settings, please follow these steps: – On desktop, click on the settings icon (cog) located at the top of the channel. – On mobile, select the drop-down menu (3 dots) at the top of the channel. – Select the ‘Settings’ option. – Choose ‘Notifications’ or ‘Notification Preferences’. By following these steps, you can modify your notification settings to ensure that you receive the notifications that are relevant to you.
- Surveys and polls
- Are you looking for a quick response from the team or do you need to organise a meeting? Utilise the “/poll” command to access the Polly application, which will provide you with both reliable and enjoyable results. Follow the provided instructions to get started.
- Quick list = star items
- For a quick overview of all your starred messages, you can select “Show starred items” or use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl Shift+S”. This technique can help you quickly identify important items and return to tasks that you may not have the time to address immediately.
- Reminders from Slackbot
- You can take advantage of the ‘/remind’ command to help you or your team remember important events or tasks. For instance, you can enter the command ‘/remind @Jeff of meeting at 2 pm’ to send a reminder to Jeff regarding your scheduled meeting at 2 pm. This feature is an effective way to ensure that everyone stays on track.
- Include posts
- Slack chats are an effective way of distributing longer-form materials, such as project ideas or code of conduct, vision, and purpose statements. Posting these items in Slack chat conversations can help ensure that they are seen by all members of the team, and can help to provide a quick and reliable reference point for team members.
- Creating a post on your desktop is easy. First select the attachment icon (also known as a paperclip). Then select “Create new” and “Post.” You can then share your post with others, update it, enable others to edit it, format the article, and add images. If you need more help, you can find instructions in the Slack help area.
Keyword Alerts
- As a proactive measure to ensure that you are always kept aware of important updates, you may wish to set up keyword alerts. By doing so, you will receive a notification whenever you are tagged or referenced, and when someone mentions a specific term. To set up your chosen keywords, simply navigate to the ‘Settings’ menu and then select ‘Alerts’. A message will be sent to you, and the channel will display a visible badge to indicate that an alert has been triggered.
- Find mentions fast
- If you are looking for a recent conversation or feeling overwhelmed by notifications, you can take advantage of the @ symbol located in the top right corner of your desktop to show or hide any mentions. To toggle mentions on and off, use the keyboard shortcut of “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “M”.
- Smarter Search
- Use modifiers to help you search more effectively.
- From user in the channel during March, this feature is particularly useful if you have an established protocol for using emojis within your Workspace.
- Use modifiers to help you search more effectively.
- Quick access to prior posts
- You can quickly reintroduce a prior post into the conversation by copying the timestamp (the time that appears next to your name above the post) and including it in your new post.
- Bookmark a channel location
- In order to ensure that you have read all the messages in a particular channel, it is recommended to utilise the “Alt+click” shortcut on the message prior to leaving the channel. This will mark all subsequent messages as unread. On a mobile device, the same effect can be achieved by long pressing and holding the message.
- Impact Formatting
- Are you looking for a way to draw attention to certain elements of your post? Applying formatting can be an effective solution. For instance, you can use an asterisk on either side of a word to make it appear bolder, so that “here” becomes “here”. Additionally, you can take advantage of traditional keyboard shortcuts for further formatting. Finally, you may opt to use formattings such as inline code or block quotes, which can help quickly convey essential information.
- DND for Deep Work Time
- You can easily set a ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND) period in two ways. Firstly, you can type “/dnd” into the text box and then specify a time. Alternatively, you can click the bell icon at the top left of the screen and select a time period. During this period, you will not receive any notifications or audible alerts and your colleagues will see an “asleep” indicator next to your name.
- Customised Emojis
- Emojis can be an effective tool to enhance branding and foster team unity by expediting communication amongst the team. To create custom emojis, the top-left drop-down menu must be selected and the option to “Customise Slack” must be chosen. Only administrators have the authority to control who can make alterations to these custom emojis.
- Workflows, apps, and bots
- Slack integrates with hundreds of applications. Here is a list of some of the most well-known. For more information on each and a complete list of supported applications, see the Slack help site.
Zoom
for Slack allows you to start a meeting, join a meeting, and make a call using the Zoom phone. Remember that you must use the same email address to register your Slack and Zoom accounts.Trello
for Slack enables you to manage cards on your boards directly from Slack, as well as add discussions to cards and amend due dates.Asana
for Slack – Create new tasks and convert your Slack chats into Asana to-dos.Salesforce integration
with Slack – Salesforce records may be searched via Slack, and Salesforce notifications can be configured for Slack. Send Salesforce records to Slack or Slack messages to Salesforce.Twitter
for Slack – You may configure Twitter mentions to stream into a channel that the team can monitor. You may also follow companies that are similar to yours or your suppliers.Slack Google Calendar
– When you are booked into a meeting, you may see your entire schedule and get a status update.Donut
for Slack – Donut improves team-building by providing pre-built connection programs; one of the most popular features is virtual random coffees. This promotes cross-organisational bonding.- Slack for Loom – Mention @person or #channel directly in your Loom videos, and they will be able to view the clip without leaving Slack.
Polly
for Slack – Get rapid feedback with this polls and surveys bot. Pulse surveys may now be used directly in Slack.Greetbot
for Slack – A Slack onboarding assistance. This may be used to personalise welcome messages and schedule follow-ups.
- You can design your bot, develop automated processes, and do all sorts of other things as well.
- Slack integrates with hundreds of applications. Here is a list of some of the most well-known. For more information on each and a complete list of supported applications, see the Slack help site.
