Slack Briefing Note
Slack Briefing Note
Introduction
What is slack?
Slack is a collaboration hub for work. It’s a place where conversations happen, and information can be shared. With
Slack, our team can be better connected and all our communication is taking place in one simple place.
Slack basics
Channels
Communication in Slack happens in channels, organized by region and topic (eg.
#cea_africa, #cea_hub).
Public channels are open to anyone in the group. You can also share files, images or
videos that are of relevance to that channel. Channels allow us to build a database
of RCRC knowledge.
Tip: Please don’t double post across channels, choose the channel that is most relevant.
There are also private channels which you can create for projects that are confidential only the people you invite to
the channel will be able to join. There is a private channel for the IFRC Africa team for example.
Direct message
If you need to reach someone directly you can send them a direct message which is
private, you can also message a group of people. It’s a great way to communicate in
a quick and easy way.
What to post?
- Anything you think would be useful for other members to know
- Updates on conversations, events, activities
- Resources
- Lessons learned
- Questions or requests for advice you may have that other members could help with
Please note that this workspace does not replace other communication channels with line managers or other
collaborators especially regarding operations. Please avoid posting sensitive, personal or irrelevant material or any
other material that may jeopardize operations, security of staff or volunteers or relationships with partners.
Also, to avoid unnecessary messages in the timeline, you can create a thread under specific messages to comment
on the post.
Replies
When you want to reply to a post in a channel you can add an emoji or start a thread
this way all the replies to one post will be linked to the post.
Notifications
When you post in channels you can also tag different team members who it involves @name or the
whole channel @channel. You can personalise the notification settings for every channel.
Tip: We recommend only tagging the whole channel for important messages.
Sharing Uploads
You can easily upload photos, documents and PDFs in channels.
Tip: give your file a good title (it will make it easier to find later). For example, “SDB team
performing biweekly drills”
Please select the best pictures and videos to be shared
Pinned items
These items are particularly important messages that contain key
information for the channel and you can find them quickly by clicking the
small pin at the top of the channel
Search
Everything on Slack like messages or files are searchable. So it’s easy to tap into
the shared knowledge and find information when you need it.
Slackbot is a built-in robot assistant to which you can ask questions about slack and it will give you
automatic responses.
If you need any further assistance, please send a message to Eva at [email protected] or on slack