Slack and Flows
Slack is a pivotal platform for real-time collaboration and information sharing, complementing Salesforce’s powerful capabilities. As we anticipate more robust Salesforce-Slack integrations, understanding the current tools—like the Slack AppExchange package and Unofficial SF actions—is essential. This approach prepares us for a future where Salesforce flows and Slack become intertwined in our daily communications, shifting away from traditional methods like emails and chatter.
The Importance of Slack for Communication
Flow helps us communicate with the user via screen flows. For example, I can display a message on the screen and initiate a custom notification, a chatter post, or an email. I can also collect input from the user via screen flows. Field updates, approvals, rejection of process steps are all possible.
When I was at Dreamforce in 2021, I saw many demos that included Salesforce user interactions on Slack. Unfortunately, most of this functionality is still not generally available.
Current Slack and Salesforce Integration Tools
We currently have a Slack AppExchange package that supports sharing records on Slack and a list-view of relevant Slack posts inside Salesforce. In addition, there is an Unofficial SF package that comes with several actions to support Slack posts from Salesforce Flows.
Preparing for the Future of Salesforce and Slack
I have good news, though; Salesforce said during the last release webinars that approval processes would support Slack. And I am hoping that we will receive more functionality related to Salesforce-Slack integration with the next release.
I am preparing myself for a future where I can use Salesforce flows and Slack together when I interact with users.
Less and less daily communication flows through emails and chatter nowadays. Therefore it might make sense to learn how to use Slack effectively in any case.
Key Takeaways from the Administrator Exam
Let me share with you a couple of things I learned in preparing for the administrator exam:
- Use threads.
- Ask yourself whether a specific content needs to be private; if not use public channels and tag the relevant people. Public post is knowledge, and it is searchable.
- Don’t use @channel or @here excessively.
- For private stuff that is not temporary, create a private channel.
- For private stuff that is temporary, create a group chat or use DM.
- It is super easy to schedule your post; use it when you come up with a genius idea at night.
- Use huddles and screen share when needed. Super useful.
- Explore async; record a voice or video clip with screen sharing and send it to one or multiple people.
- Be aware of guest or external users and channels shared with guest or external users. Share only what needs to be shared.
- User groups are a thing, and they are useful. For example, you can create a flow user group and tag this when needed.
I shared this list on LinkedIn at this link. Many folks have added comments to this list since then. Please check them. A good idea that one of my followers shared there is the following: Remember Slack channels support posting via email; you can direct emails from Salesforce to Slack. This can be a handy hack.
Enjoy.
Explore related content:
Enabling Slack Webhook Workflows
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