How to use Fellow + Slack’s Workflow Builder

Little automations can help make your work day run smoother. 

If you use both Fellow and Slack, here are some ways that you can set-up the Slack Workflow builder to streamline some of your routines:

1 Set up recurring action items

Sometimes action items are not just one and done. Instead, some of your action items might be recurring or part of a regular routine. For instance, maybe every Friday you need to fill out a summary report. In this case, you can set-up a Slack workflow so that a specific action item gets added to your daily planner every Friday morning. In other words, you are selecting a scheduled date and time for an action item to be added to a stream. 

This workflow will ensure that your daily todo list is up to date, without you having to manually type in the same task weekly. 

• To set this up, navigate to the Slack Workflow builder and select “Scheduled date & time”. Specify the details about when/how often you would like this workflow to happen.
• Click add a step and add the Fellow step “Add an action item to a stream”. Write the contents of the action item and clarify what stream it should be added to.
• Then, sit back and let the automation run. 

Learn more about Fellow’s action items feature

2 Prompt team members to add meeting notes

Set it up so that meeting notes are automatically sent to a Slack channel an hour before the meeting begins. This will help nudge your team to add to the meeting agenda if they haven’t already. The reminder can help encourage meeting attendees to be prepared, contribute their own talking points, and foster a productive discussion. 

• To set up this workflow, navigate to the Slack Workflow builder.
• Press create and select “Scheduled date & time”. Specify the details about when/how often you would like this workflow to happen.
• Then, click add a step and add the Fellow step “Send an editable note to a conversation”. Specify the meeting notes that you would like to be sent.
• Once this is set up, the notes will be automatically sent to that channel before the meeting starts. 

3 React with an emoji, create a talking point

In Slack, you might have a dedicated support or product channel where issues are reported and feedback is shared. With a Slack workflow, you can set it up so that every time someone reacts with the eye emoji (👀), a talking point is added to a specific stream, maybe even your next product meeting or Bug Safari. 

You can also set it up so that every time someone reacts to a post in the #general channel with a heart (♥️), that post gets automatically added to the Shoutouts section of the Weekly Town Hall. Great reinforcement for a positive feedback culture. 

• To get this set up,  navigate to the Slack Workflow builder and select the trigger “Emoji reaction”. Pick the channel and what emoji should trigger the workflow.
• Then, click add a step and add the Fellow step “Add a talking point to a stream”. Identify which stream/meeting that these talking points should be added to.
• Publish your workflow to get it started!

4 Include New Project Team Members

When a new person joins a team, there are often a lot of places/programs that they need access to. And while some of the big websites are easy to remember, it can be harder to remember something like a collaborative project to-do list. Reduce one of these steps by creating a Slack workflow that will automatically add a new team member to a shared stream once they have been added to a slack channel. Two birds. One stone. 

• If you want to set this up, navigate to the Slack Workflow builder and select “New channel member”.
• Specify what slack channel this should relate to. Essentially, whenever someone new is added to the channel this Slack workflow will be triggered.
• Then, click add a step and add the Fellow step “Add user to a stream”. Choose which stream that they should be added to.
• Once this is set-up, you’ll have one less system to invite a new team member to. 

5 Recap notes

A good practice to ensure teammate accountability is to send a meeting recap to attendees after the meeting has ended. But this practice doesn’t have to be another step on your todo list. Instead automate it, so that 5 minutes after the meeting ends the notes are sent to a Slack channel. 

• To set up this automation, navigate to the Slack Workflow builder and select “Scheduled date & time”.
• Specify the details about when/how often you would like this workflow to happen. Then click add a step and add the Fellow step “Send an editable note to a conversation”.
• Specify the meeting notes that you would like to be sent. 

Those are some of the workflows we’ve created here at Fellow. Let us know if you have any of your own cool workflows – we’re always interested in learning more about the creative ways people use Fellow.