Getting started for workspace creators
A Slack workspace is a single place for your team, and anyone else that you collaborate with, to get work done. If you haven’t already, sign up to get started with Slack.
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In this guide, you’ll learn how to:
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Tip: If you’re newer to Slack, read What is Slack? for a general overview of how things work. To join an existing workspace, take a look at Getting started for new Slack users.
Customise your workspace
As the workspace creator, you’ll hold the primary owner role. You'll have access to customisation settings so you can personalise the workspace for your team. Here are a few things that we recommend doing:
Slack icon
Status suggestions
Profile fields
Help members to identify your workspace by uploading a Slack icon, such as your company logo.
You and your colleagues can let each other know what you’re up to by setting your Slack status. As an admin in your workspace, you can set default status suggestions that people will be able to choose from.
Profiles help colleagues to learn more about each other. Add custom profile fields to encourage your team to share more details, such as location, start date and more, when they fill in their profiles.
Create channels
After customising your workspace, you can start creating channels. In Slack, conversations happen in channels and direct messages (DMs). DMs are better suited for one-off conversations, and channels are where the majority of work will take place.
As you’re getting things set up, we recommend creating channels for announcements, major projects and something social.
#announcements
#project
#social
An announcements channel can be used to share critical information that everyone in the workspace should know. You can use the #general or #all-companyname channel for announcements, as everyone in your workspace will be added automatically when they join.
You can have ongoing, focused discussions about priorities and keep work organised in project channels.
Set up a dedicated channel for informal conversations about topics other than work. You might discuss films, dogs or even films about dogs.
Tip: You can set up your channels from scratch or use a template designed for a specific purpose, such as onboarding new hires or managing a project.
Invite people and get them up to speed
Now that you’ve completed the basics to set up your workspace, you’re ready to invite your colleagues and get them familiar with Slack:
- Use our customisable template to introduce Slack. If you already have a communication plan in place, include a link to our Slack quick-start guide.
- Read about the types of roles in Slack and think of a few people to be workspace admins. They can help with administrative tasks as you're getting the rest of the team on board.
- Invite people to your workspace! From the Slack desktop app, click your workspace name in the top left-hand corner and look for the Invite people to... option in the menu, or read more about inviting new members to your workspace.
- To work with people from other companies in your workspace, get started with Slack Connect.
Do more
Slack helps to keep conversations organised and work moving forwards, especially if everyone on the team is using Slack. If you find that your colleagues continue to default to email or other tools, we have a few tips to help them make the transition.
- Connect other tools: You can connect other software, such as Google Calendar, Zoom and Asana, to Slack. With all your tools in Slack, your team can switch between apps at work less often. Browse the Slack Marketplace, or read our guide to apps in Slack to learn more.
- Forward emails to Slack: You can send emails directly to channels in Slack. Visit Send emails to Slack to learn how.