We live in a hybrid workplace era where employees constantly have to collaborate with one another constantly. Because of that, more and more collaborative tools are being introduced. Slack is one of the most capable, famous for its productivity-boosting features and easy user interface. But if you still don’t know how to get the most out of this collaborative software, then this article will show you seven useful slack features that you can try to do hybrid work in a better manner.

1. Keyword Notifications

Let’s admit it, we all look for slack messages that are related to our work. So, wouldn’t it be nicer if we get notified of that rather than going through all the messages? Well lucky for you, Slack has an excellent built-in feature called Keyword Notifications. Using this option, you will be notified instantly when someone shares a message containing keywords you’re interested in. To set it up, head towards the Preferences from your Workspace, then inside the Notifications, find My Keywords. Now enter the keywords using commas to separate each keyword.

2. Setting Custom Reminders

When working with multiple projects inside a hybrid workplace, getting lost in the shuffle is easy. So, setting up reminders like checking in about a project, messaging your other teammates or even taking a daily lunch break makes more sense. You will be glad to know that you can use the Slackbot to set up different reminders for you. To use this feature, type a forward slash remind (/remind) in any channel or simply direct message Slackbot to remind you of that.

3. Using Built-in Slash Commands 

Typing a forward slash remind to create reminders is just one built-in slash command in Slack, and there are heaps of others to speed up your workflow. For instance, if one of your channels is filled with images and videos, it will be difficult for you to read. In this case, use the forward slash collapse (/collapse) command in the message field and hit enter. By doing so, all of the videos and images from that channel will be hidden only for you. But if you decide to bring them back, then use the forward-slash expand command (/expand).

4. Taking Notes in Slack

You would be wrong if you think you can’t use Slack to jot down your ideas. Just open up a Slack message with yourself and write down the ideas or to-do list for a project you are working on. This way, your messages won’t get pushed away by new messages from your teammates. All of your messages will always be right where you left from.

5. Schedule a Message

Speaking of messages, do you know that you can schedule a message in Slack? It’s a convenient feature where you have to send an important message but not the right way. For example, you might be collaborating with a team in a different time zone, so to use this feature, first, type a message, then click on the drop-down menu right next to the send button and select custom time according to your needs. Here you’ll find when your message will be sent with all your scheduled messages.

6. Split View

Oftentimes, you need to follow critical instructions from your superiors’ channels and pass them to your subordinate simultaneously. To do that, usually, you go back and forth to them, which consumes a lot of your valuable type. To tackle this problem, you can open two different parts of slack side by side with the new Split View to tackle this problem. You can enable this by holding the Control key in Windows or Command key in Mac and then clicking on the person you want to message. Another way you can do this is just right-click on the person from the direct message and then select Open in split view.

7. Advanced Search Filters

Working with a large team won’t take much time for your channel to fill up with messages. Then, it will become hard to find the correct information that you are looking for. Thankfully, Slack has powerful search capabilities to save you from this hassle. Using the search bar, you can select your search from Messages, Files, Channels and People. Then from those options, you can further narrow down your searches using different filters.

Final Verdict

So, that was all about the 7 useful Slack features that can make your hybrid work better. There’s no denying that Slack is one of the most capable collaborative tools, popular for its productivity-boosting features and easy user interface. We hope this article will give you some knowledge if you don’t know how to get the most out of this collaborative software.