Slack has become a popular communication tool for businesses of all sizes, and as a result, the need for individuals with different levels of expertise has arisen. Slack Administrators, Developers, and Consultants are three roles that play important functions in managing a company's Slack workspace. Each role has core responsibilities and skill sets that are essential for optimizing a company's use of Slack. Moreover, Slack has an official certification program available via SlackCertified.com for each of these roles to validate an individual's experience and expertise in their respective areas.
In this blog post, we will explore the differences between a Slack Administrator, Developer, and Consultant, and how they can help businesses get the most out of Slack.
What is Slack Administrator?
✔️ A Slack Administrator is responsible for managing a Slack organization and/or workspace(s). The role of a Slack Administrator encompasses hands on tasks that are essential to ensuring the smooth operation of the platform and the productivity of the team. Plenty of people wear a version of this hat now while working on teams like Business Systems, Operations, IT, HR, and others as they are responsible for the administration of tools within the business. Here are the key responsibilities of a Slack Administrator:
User Management - Responsible for managing user accounts and granting access to the Slack workspace. This includes creating and removing user accounts, assigning roles and permissions, and managing user profiles and user groups.
Channel Management - Responsible for creating and managing channels which includes setting up channels for different departments, teams, or projects and monitoring their activity to ensure they are being used effectively.
Integration Management - Slack integrates with a variety of tools and services, and the administrator is responsible for setting up and managing these integrations. This includes configuring integrations with tools such as Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Trello and many others via the Slack App Directory.
Security and Compliance - Responsible for ensuring the security and compliance of the Slack workspace, which includes implementing security measures such as data encryption, setting up two-factor authentication, and monitoring for security threats.
Training and Support - Responsible for training users on how to use the platform effectively and for providing ongoing support to users. This includes creating and distributing training materials, responding to user support requests, and resolving technical issues as they come up.
In short, a Slack Administrator helps a company get the most out of Slack by owning the day-to-day operations, configuration and administration of the platform.
What is Slack Developer?
✔️ A Slack Developer is a software developer who specializes in developing applications, integrations, and customizations for Slack. Slack Developers have the skills to create custom bots, build apps, and integrate Slack with other tools and systems to enhance the user experience. These responsibilities fall to roles like Systems Engineer or Software Engineer at companies without this dedicated role. Here are the key responsibilities of a Slack Developer:
Custom Slack Apps and Integrations - This involves creating custom applications and integrating Slack with other tools to enhance the user experience using APIs and Slack Platform Developer tools (and the next-gen platform coming soon!)
Developing Slack Bots - Responsible for creating custom bots within Slack to automate tasks, such as responding to specific keywords or managing workflows for teams.
Enhancing Slack Functionality - Can create custom scripts and integration configurations to extend the functionality of Slack and meet specific business needs specifically around security and compliance for Enterprise Grid organizations (i.e. HIPAA, FINRA, and others).
Debugging and troubleshooting - Responsible for fixing bugs, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring that the Slack platform runs smoothly for all using the custom apps, integrations, and bots.
In short, a Slack Developer can help a company get the most out of Slack by creating and implementing custom apps, bots and integrations that are specific to the business's needs and processes.
What is Slack Consultant?
✔️ A Slack Consultant is a professional who helps organizations effectively utilize the Slack platform to meet all of their needs across the company. They have a deep understanding of Slack's features, roadmap, integrations, apps... and can provide help to clients on how best to utilize these to achieve their desired outcomes. They play a crucial role in understanding client operations, defining strategy, long-term vision and delivering customized solutions to meet their specific requirements. Here are the key responsibilities of a Slack Consultant:
Understanding Client's Needs + Goals and Vision - A Slack Consultant must have a full understanding of their client's requirements and goals for using Slack, so that they can provide customized recommendations and solutions to meet their specific needs. These are then translated into short term goals and long term vision for a company's usage of Slack.
Drive Guidance and Recommendations - A Slack Consultant is well-versed in Slack's various features and integrations, and drives guidance and recommendations to clients on how they can best utilize these to achieve their vision.
Helping with the Setup and Configuration - Assist client administrators with setting up and configuring Slack workspaces, including customizing settings, creating channels, and integrating with other tools and applications. In some cases, where clients are not yet equipped, they handle the launch configuration and administration and then hand off later as the team is built.
Training on how to use Slack effectively - Provide training and support to end-users, admins and champions on how to use Slack effectively, including best practices, tips and tricks, and how to take advantage of Slack's various features and integrations -- not to mention how to leverage what is put into place specifically for the company as far as channels, workflows, processes, etc.
Ongoing Support and Troubleshooting Help - Provide ongoing support and troubleshooting assistance to clients, addressing any issues or concerns that may arise and ensuring the smooth operation of Slack. This may include performing regular check-ins, providing updates and improvements, helping to resolve technical issues as needed and having a Slack Connect channel set up for async support.
In short, a Slack Consultant helps a company get the most out of Slack by providing expert advice and strategic guidance on how to optimize the platform for the specific needs of the business long term, while working closely with (or doing the work of) Slack Administrators and Developers.
Who do I need for my business?
Well the short answer is... it depends! 🙂 Typically what we see is a combination of the three -- where companies just getting started may need a mixture of an administrator and a consultant, and then longer term they look for a developer as their needs and use of Slack matures. But it all depends on what you are looking to do for your business and what the goals and objectives are. Hopefully this article gave you enough insight to understand where to start!
At 21b, we have a team of Slack Certified experts who are experienced in all of these essential roles. We are well-equipped to provide assistance with any of your Slack-related needs, whether you require the services of a Slack Admin, Developer, or Consultant.
👉 If you are interested in exploring how our team can help your business optimize its use of Slack, please do not hesitate to reach out to us (or schedule a free Slack Workshop here). We are always available and ready to provide our expertise and support. ✌️
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