How to use user groups in Slack

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Falit Jain
April 10, 2024
5 min read
How to use user groups in Slack
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Slack is an excellent tool for information sharing and teamwork among colleagues. However, did you know that the platform also allows you to create groups of people? Known as user groups, these collectives facilitate more focused cooperation between smaller teams according to their respective requirements or passions.

Using Slack user groups to manage your teams and tasks can be quite beneficial. Although they appear straightforward from the outside, they are far more complex than that.

It can be challenging to fit in or know where to ask questions on Slack because there are so many new users entering and using the platform. However, be at ease! You will have all the information need to begin utilising Slack user groups for your own purposes after reading this blog post.

I'll go over some of the most used features of user groups in this post, including creating, modifying, and granting rights. I also demonstrate how to easily assist your dev teams with support by having users in user groups rotate according to a timetable. You'll rapidly come up with a tonne of fantastic uses for user groups once you get the hang of them.

Use Slack user groups as follows:

  1. Form user groups
  2. Speak with a user group
  3. Look up Slack groups.
  4. Adapt user groups on Slack
  5. Turn a user group back on
  6. Users in Slack groups should be rotated.
  7. Modify the permissions of user groups so that everyone may

It should be noted that Slack does not always display the menus and choices shown below since editing user groups needs a Workspace Owner or Slack admin. Before you may see user group permissions, a Slack admin must alter them. Additionally, user groups are a premium feature that call for a premium Slack plan.

Slack user groups: what are they?

You can put users in Slack user groups that have comparable tasks or responsibilities under a single alias. Without having to change channels every time there's a change regarding a certain issue, such as team objectives or daily duties, they can remain in constant communication for brief exchanges on any subject.

You can create a user group with the handle @marketing, for instance, and include every member of your marketing team. Everyone in the user group is alerted when the handle is used in Slack.

Slack was created to facilitate more effective teamwork. Making the most of Slack groups is a terrific method to boost team output and your own productivity.

Form user groups on Slack

  1. Choosing "People & user groups" from the menu on the left sidebar.
  2. Choose "New User Group" from the menu at the top.
  3. In the "Create User Group" dialogue, take two actions.

Speak with a user group

User groups function in a manner akin to interacting with other users via Slack or social media platforms like Twitter (@).

  1. In Slack's message input, type a @.
  2. Enter the group's first letters.
  3. Choose the user group.

A message can be typed either ahead of or after the user group. When you click send, Slack notifies (or pings) the group's members, who can then respond to the notification in any manner that best suits their own preferences.

Look up Slack groups

Your Slack workspace may already have user groups set up, depending on its size. Slack offers a simple method for searching the groups.

  1. Choosing "People & user groups" from the menu on the left sidebar.
  2. Select the "Groups of Users" tab.
  3. Enter a search term.

Adapt user groups on Slack

There are several ways to edit user groups in Slack. Clicking on the user group you wish to edit is the simplest method.

To select a user group from the menu:

  1. In a message, click the handle of the user group.
  2. From the Slack admin sidebar, choose "User groups" (see Open your workspace settings).

On the right, a side menu will appear (see below). You can add or remove users, enable or disable user groups, and modify parameters like the handle and name from the user group menu.

Participate in user groups by adding members

  1. To add members, select "Edit Members."
  2. Choose members

Take people out of a user group

  1. In the members list, mouse over the user.
  2. Choose the three-dot ellipsis.
  3. Select "Delete from group..."

Modify the name or handle of a user group

  1. Choose "Edit group details..."
  2. Modify the handle or name

Relaunch user groups on Slack

Slack user groups are just disabled; they are never erased. If a user group was created by someone else last year and deactivated, it may occasionally cause problems if you attempt to create the same group and receive an error.

The error notice "This handle is already in use by a member, channel, or another group" may have appeared to you. You might need to reactivate the user group after creating a new one.

  1. Choosing "People & user groups" from the menu on the left sidebar.
  2. Use the top menu to select the "User groups" tab.
  3. Select "Filter."
  4. Turn off the feature "Hide deactivated user groups."

At this point, you can locate and enable the user group.

  1. Look up the user group.
  2. Choose the user group (@on-call, for example).
  3. From the menu on the right sidebar, choose "Enable group."

Users in Slack groups should be rotated

Changing the members of a user group periodically is one approach to guarantee fairness. How often this change should occur, such as once a week or once a month, is determined by a rotation interval, or rota.

You can ensure that every user receives their fair share without having one person dominate for an extended period of time by using a rota! To create on-call rotations or just to keep track of who is responsible for housekeeping, a rota can be helpful.

Your team may quickly implement task rotations or on-call duties with the aid of a Slack app. With a single click, Pagerly automatically generates task rotations or on-call rosters, generates schedules, notifies team members of who is next on call (and why), and allows you to override shifts as needed to ensure that your business never misses a beat!

Set up Pagerly

  1. On the Pagerly homepage, select "Add to Slack."

You will be prompted by Slack to provide certain permissions. Pagerly only asks for permission when it really requires it in order to operate, adhering to the "least privileged" principle.

  1. Pagerly is going to send out a greeting.
  2. Select the "Create a schedule" option.

Additionally, the Pagerly Home screen allows you to create a new timetable.

Using Pagerly to create a rotation schedule, or rota

  1. Select a method of contact.

Three ways to reach Pagerly are through user groups, channels, or keywords.

User groups function similarly to reaching out to individual users, making them the most natural.

If you're not an admin on Slack or are using Slack for free, keywords and channels are fantastic (user groups are a subscription feature).

  1. Select users for rotation

With Pagerly, you may choose users using a dropdown menu or by using user groups to choose users alternately.

  1. Choose the rotational interval.

For a rapid setup, select from daily, weekly, two-week, or monthly. Pagerly also offers much greater customisation options for rotation intervals to meet the requirements of your team.

  1. The schedule is available to everyone on the Pagerly's Home tab.

Modify the Slack user group's permissions so that all users can

If you go into workspace settings, you can change the rights if you are an Owner or Workspace Admin.

  1. Access your workplace configurations.

Select "Workspace settings" by expanding "Settings & administration" by clicking on the dropdown menu next to your company's name.

  1. Navigate to the permissions tab.

  1. Modify the rights of user groups

Once you reach the user group section, scroll down. To see it, you might need to scroll down a little.

"Everyone, except guests," "Workspace Admins and Owners only (default)," and "Workspace Owners only" are the three user group permissions available in Slack.

In summary

I hope this piece has helped you think of some ways that Slack user groups could improve internal communication within your company. A user group might be helpful when working with others on projects. They also offer a chance to solicit input on concepts that might ultimately be turned into goods or services.

For more Information checkout: Welcome to Pagerly

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