Speed up your work with these 9 newly updated apps for Slack

In this time of telecommuting, when external pressures and personal responsibilities blur with working hours, getting work done quickly and efficiently has never been more important. We’ve previously detailed how apps for Slack can help—giving you back the half hour lost to context switching between tools each day. Now many of our favorite apps have a new feature for bringing even more tasks out of windows and tabs and into Slack: shortcuts.

Shortcuts are built-in, lightning-quick ways to begin common tasks and workflows. You can use them to start a call, create a support ticket, launch a poll, you name it. Just click the bolt icon next to the message input field and find the shortcut to the app you need to kick off your work.

If an app you already use, or installed from the Slack App Directory, has a shortcut, it will automatically appear in this new menu. Read on to learn how nine of our favorite apps for Slack are now quicker, easier and more intuitive to use.

1. Collaborate on meeting times with Doodle Bot

Coordinating meetings is never easy. Coordinating meetings when your team is remote, working across time zones and/or has flexible work schedules? The world’s worst game of Tetris. Instead, try Doodle Bot, a tool that helps groups of people save time on scheduling.

Doodle’s latest app lets you propose meetings, select participants, choose dates and times, and put it all to a vote, entirely within Slack. The next time you need to schedule a meeting for a group of busy folks, click the shortcut button to kick off a poll.

 

2. Schedule a call on the fly with Cisco Webex Meetings

If a Slack thread or discussion is becoming unwieldy, or the right people aren’t being looped in, a quick voice or video chat is often all you need to get work back on track. The latest Cisco Webex app for Slack includes shortcuts for scheduling new meetings, viewing upcoming meetings, and more.
[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20603″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/A5P5FDK33-cisco-webex-meetings" app_headline="Use the Cisco Webex Meetings app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Transition Slack conversations into face-to-face video calls | Schedule meetings for the future | View a list of your upcoming meetings" /]

3. Deliver faster customer support with Freshdesk

The pressures of remote work likely have your customers and your support team feeling a sense of urgency. The Freshdesk app for Slack, part of the Freshworks family, helps both.

Freshdesk agents can act on notifications to edit tickets, add private notes and send replies to customers. They can also loop in subject-matter experts to collaborate on a ticket inside Slack, which means faster resolutions for customers. The latest app offers a shortcut to create a support ticket in Freshdesk, without leaving Slack.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20605″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/AV2AU01M2-freshdesk-for-slack" app_headline="Use the Freshdesk app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Notify support agents when a ticket is created or assigned | Route ticket updates to private or public Slack channels | Edit tickets, add private notes and send replies to customers " /]

4. Keep close tabs on tasks with Monday.com

As your team moves more discussions and decisions into Slack, documenting follow-ups and next steps is key to keeping everyone in sync.

Monday.com, a visual project-management tool, helps organize to-dos and deadlines so team members know where their work stands. The latest app for Slack features shortcuts for creating new items and adding updates to existing ones, without leaving Slack.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20608″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/AABU499TM-mondaycom" app_headline="Use the Monday.com app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Manage deadlines, while building a culture of accountability and inclusion | Create new board items, such as tasks and projects, without leaving Slack | Update existing board items when decisions and next steps are shared in channels" /]

5. Track your team’s progress with Simple Goals

When employees can’t huddle in front of a white board for an impromptu, in-person stand-up meeting, alignment is more important than ever. Simple Goals helps teams set goals, track progress on OKRs, and display it all in Slack. The app’s new shortcut allows anyone to quickly review a team’s goals, with the option to share those goals in channels for wider discussion.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20610″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/AU9M045ML-simple-goals" app_headline="Use the Simple Goals app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Bring goals out of unknown documents or spreadsheets and into Slack channels | Keep everyone aligned with weekly goal reminders | View another team’s goals with a single click" /]

6. Bond with your colleagues with Donut

Feeling isolated at work, whether you’re in an office or remote, is all too common. The Donut app can help coworkers feel more connected to one another. It will randomly pair you with a teammate via a direct message in Slack and encourage you to chat over a virtual or in-person coffee. The app now includes a Join a Donut channel shortcut to quickly discover new channels where matchmaking is already in progress.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”19098″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/A11MJ51SR-donut" app_headline="Use the Donut app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Introduce people who don’t know each other well on teams of all sizes | Automatically suggest meeting times that work for participants’ schedules | Set up custom pairings, such as mentorship programs and cross-department intros" /]

7. Review your sales commissions with Xactly Incent

Now more than ever, sales teams are under pressure to generate revenue. Xactly, a sales performance management platform, helps complex sales organizations plan, execute and optimize their sales cycles more efficiently. Its Slack app is equipped with a Commission Inquiry shortcut. It’s the fastest way for reps to submit this request to their admin or sales manager.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20614″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/AT5G4N490-xactly-incent" app_headline="Use the Xactly Incent app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Increase transparency into your sales staff’s variable compensation and help avoid surprises on payday | Submit a commission/attainment inquiry to your compensation admin or sales manager" /]

8. Generate NDAs in Slack with Apttus Max

Apttus Max automates and optimizes the most critical revenue management processes, reducing friction in any customer deal cycle. Its app’s new Create NDA shortcut takes this a step further. You can now draft a nondisclosure agreement in your preferred file format and send it to your prospect for signature, in just a few clicks, from Slack. No need to pull up a record or create a custom document in a separate tool.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20601″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/A011B8KMBPC-apttus-max" app_headline="Use the Apttus Max app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Search for quotes, agreement and approvals | Take actions using natural language, such as “Clone that quote I created last week for Slack,” instead of trying to remember the names of specific records | Generate NDAs from your Slack workspace" /]

9. Add shortcuts to your own custom apps with Workato

Workato provides hundreds of ready-to-use recipes for creating custom Slack integrations. Its latest app includes tools to easily add custom shortcuts to any app you’ve built in Workato. Let’s say you’ve built an expense approvals app for your team. Now you can add a simple “Submit expense” shortcut so anyone can take action without having to switch tabs to open up an expense system and fill out a report.

[addtoslackbanner app_icon=”20612″ app_directory_link=”https://slack.com/apps/A0BQ20KCL-workato" app_headline="Use the Workato app for Slack to:” app_bullet_points=”Access more than 100 pre-built app templates | Create advantage workflows with if/then conditions, error handling and more | Add shortcuts to any custom Slack integrations powered by Workato" /]

There are over 2,000 tools available in the Slack App Directory, and many of them are rolling out shortcuts. We hope these will give you more time for the other moments at work—and outside of work—that matter most.