How to make a helpdesk shortcut channel in Slack

A helpdesk channel in Slack is a great way to handle internal IT requests, collect feedback, or triage requests. It provides a central place for people to submit requests and for the helpdesk team to manage them.

Here's how to setup a Slack helpdesk channel

1. Create a new Slack channel
2. Change Slack channel posting permissions

Create a new Slack channel

First, you'll need to create a new Slack channel.

1. Click the plus icon next to "Channels" in the left sidebar

   

2. Enter a name like "it-requests" and add a description

3. Click "Create" to create the channel

   

Change Slack channel posting permissions

Next, you'll need to change the posting permissions for the channel.

Slack channels can be configured to only allow certain users to post messages. This is useful for helpdesk channels where you want to limit who can post messages to keep things organized.

Note: Changing channel permissions is only available if your have the Business+ plan or greater in Slack

Here's how to change the posting permissions:

1. Open the settings by clicking the down arrow next to it's name.

   

2. Navigate to the settings tab and select edit on the posting permissions section.

   

3. Select admins only

   

Once you've limited the posting permissions, the chat box will be disabled for other non admin users. However, they'll still be able to start threads on messages.

In the next section, we'll go throw what needs to be done to get the Slack shortcut (lightning bolt) setup.

Add a helpdesk shortcut workflow

1. Open the workflow builder in Slack

   It's located in the tools submenu from the top left hand workspace dropdown (see screenshot).

   

2. Choose templates from the top navbar

   

3. Choose the #it-requests channel you created above and hit "Next"

   

4. Slack will open up the workflow steps for your helpdesk shortcut.

   

5. After making adjustments, make sure you hit publish.

   

Using the shortcut from Slack channel

1. Open the shortcut menu

   

2. Click the helpdesk shortcut

   

3. Slack will open a form for you to fill out.

   

Creating a helpdesk rotation

Install Tellspin

1. Click "Add to Slack" on Tellspin's home page

   Slack will prompt you to approve some permissions. Tellspin follows the "least privileged" principle, only requesting permission it absolutely needs to function.

2. Tellspin will send a welcome message

3. Click "Create a schedule" button

   

   You can also make a new schedule from Tellspin's Home screen.

4. Insert the @mention in your helpdesk message workflow step.

When the message is posted in Slack, Tellspin will contact the person on rotation via Slack's built-in contact methods.