How to use (and improve) Slack for project management

As of this 2019 GP Bullhound report, Slack was one of the fastest-growing software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in history, reaching an annual average recurring revenue of $400 million in less than five years. By 2025, Slack has become the default communication platform for millions of teams worldwide.

Then the pandemic hit, and with that - well, you've probably seen the memes. Slack went from one of the leading business collaboration tools to a household name that remote workers everywhere rely on to stay connected to their teams (over 20 million daily active users as of 2025).

We all know and love Slack as a great communication channel for brainstorming (quick idea sharing, threaded discussions), holding standups (daily check-ins, async updates), and more. But one thing Slack isn't known for? Project management (tasks, timelines, dependencies, resource allocation, budget tracking). However, with the right tools in place (integrations with project management platforms like Teamwork), you can turn it into an amazing project management hub - combining Slack's communication strengths with Teamwork's project management capabilities.

To that end, we'll show what makes Slack a great project management software option when integrated with proper project management tools - and we'll show you how to integrate it with Teamwork.com to make it even better.

Why Slack alone isn't enough for project management

Slack is a messaging platform, not a project management platform - it lacks essential project management features like task tracking (can't assign tasks with owners and due dates), timelines (no Gantt charts or dependency tracking), resource management (can't see team capacity or utilization), budget tracking (can't track costs or profitability), and reporting (can't generate project health reports or completion metrics). Messages in Slack are ephemeral (scroll up and they're gone, search is limited), unstructured (no task status, no completion tracking, no dependencies), and context-poor (hard to see project big picture from scattered messages).

The fix: integrate Slack with dedicated project management software (Teamwork, Asana, Monday, ClickUp) to combine Slack's communication strengths (real-time chat, quick questions, informal discussions) with project management's organizational strengths (structured tasks, tracked progress, clear accountability, reportable metrics). This hybrid approach lets teams communicate in Slack (where they already are) while managing work in Teamwork (where structure and tracking live).

Reasons why Slack is a powerful tool for project management

Credit: Slack

Slack is most often billed as a communication tool for remote, hybrid, and distributed teams - and that's exactly what it is (team messaging platform). But with the right integrations (connect Slack to project management software like Teamwork.com), it can become a project management hub - not replacing dedicated project management tools but extending them into Slack where teams already spend their time. You can use Slack integrations for Teamwork.com and other apps to facilitate team collaboration (discuss work in Slack channels), project planning (create projects from Slack), task management (create, update, view tasks via Slack commands), and more - without leaving Slack to switch to separate project management tools constantly.

1. Turns ideas into actions by creating tasks or messages

Slack is an excellent tool for brainstorming (quick idea sharing, rapid-fire discussion, informal creativity) - and once you've integrated Slack with Teamwork.com, you can easily transform those ideas into actionable tasks or documented messages without leaving Slack. Creating a task is as simple as using a slash command directly from Slack (type /teamwork create task in any channel or DM), which will bring up a template for you to fill out with the task details including task name, description, assignee (who owns it), due date (when it's due), project (which project it belongs to), and task list (which list within project). Task is created in Teamwork.com instantly, assignee gets notified, and discussion participants can click link to see task in Teamwork.com.

You can also use the integration's tools to add Slack messages to Teamwork.com as either comments (attach to specific tasks for context) or messages (post to project message board for visibility). All you need to do is click the Options dropdown (three dots icon) on any Slack message to reveal options for "Add to Teamwork.com as comment" or "Add to Teamwork.com as message". This way, you and your team won't need to waste precious time hunting through Slack for those amazing ideas you had (Slack search is limited, messages get buried in scroll) - important discussions are captured in Teamwork where they're organized, searchable, and attached to relevant tasks or projects.

2. Provides real-time updates on current projects

While Slack is a great tool for asynchronous collaboration (post message, get response hours later when convenient), it's also awesome for teams working together in real time (instant messaging, quick questions, rapid coordination). That's why, in a post-pandemic world, it has become one of the leading communications tools for remote teams - replacing email (slow, formal, scattered) with instant messaging (fast, informal, organized by channel).

When you integrate Slack with Teamwork.com, you can turn Slack into a notification hub that delivers live updates on important action items from Teamwork. Get alerts on project status updates (project moved to "At Risk", milestone completed, budget threshold reached), new task assignments (you've been assigned to Task X in Project Y, due Friday), task updates (someone commented on your task, task status changed, file uploaded), and more - all appearing in Slack where you already are instead of requiring you to check Teamwork.com constantly. The Slack integration for Teamwork.com also makes it easy to add comments to task updates as you receive them (click "Reply in Teamwork.com" button on Slack notification, add comment without leaving Slack).

3. Aligns team members with clients and vice versa

Within Teamwork.com, you can set up dedicated Slack channels for each of your projects (e.g., #project-clientx-website-redesign, #project-clienty-q1-campaign), then invite everyone involved to those channels. That includes not just the teams working on the projects (project manager, designers, developers, writers), but clients and stakeholders, too (client contacts, external partners, freelancers). It's an easy way to keep teams and clients in the loop and up to date with project-specific communication (all discussions about Project X happen in #project-x channel, not scattered across DMs or email).

Here's a tip: Make sure your team knows which Slack channels are client-facing (clearly label channel descriptions with "CLIENT-FACING" or use naming convention like #client-projectname). That way, they can keep all the team chit-chat and memes private (in #team-internal or #random channels), and project-centric discussions focused and professional in client-facing channels. This prevents embarrassing moments where clients see internal discussions or casual banter not meant for external eyes.

4. Provides automated task reminders and updates

One of the best things about the Slack integration for Teamwork.com? Automation - reducing manual status updates and coordination overhead!

With automations, you can get updates in Slack whenever tasks in Teamwork are updated (status changes from "In Progress" to "Review", assignee changes, due date shifts, comments added, files uploaded), which gives everyone real-time notifications to help keep track of updates without manually checking Teamwork.com constantly or sending "what's the status?" messages. You can also set up notifications or reminders that happen automatically whenever a trigger event happens - like sending Slack reminder to task owner 1 day before due date, posting to #project-x channel when milestone completes, or alerting project manager when task becomes overdue. This automation reduces coordination overhead from 30% of time to 10-15% by eliminating manual status update meetings and email threads.

5. Allows team members to share documents seamlessly

In Slack, you can share links to documents and other project resources (Google Docs, Figma designs, PDFs, spreadsheets - paste link in message, Slack shows preview). When you've integrated Slack into Teamwork.com, you can take these links and add them to your links library in Teamwork.com - instantly (click Options on message with link, select "Add to Teamwork.com", choose project and location). Not only can team members share documents seamlessly this way (share in Slack where discussion happens, save to Teamwork.com where it's organized and findable), but you'll build up a well-organized repository of project resources that you can access from anywhere (Teamwork.com's links library, files section, or task attachments - searchable, categorized, version-controlled).

Between these two apps (Slack for communication, Teamwork.com for organization), you can create automations (automatic notifications, triggered actions), share files (documents, designs, assets), build a resource library (organized repository of project files and links), manage your to-do list (tasks with owners, due dates, priorities), and more - all without constant tool-switching. It's the perfect combination for agencies that need to track, manage, and collaborate on multiple projects (5-20+ active client projects) - Slack for speed and communication, Teamwork.com for structure and tracking.

The power of Slack and Teamwork.com together

Consolidate communications into a centralized space. Pull content, ideas, or requests from Slack into the Teamwork.com platform and instantly convert them into project-managed tasks.

Add Teamwork to Slack

Key insight: Slack + Teamwork.com solves the "where should this live?" problem

Teams struggle with "where should this live?" - important project decisions discussed in Slack (fast, convenient) but then lost in scroll (can't find them later, not attached to tasks, no clear record). Or teams post everything in Teamwork.com (organized, trackable) but miss the informal discussions happening in Slack (where actual decisions are made). The fix: Slack-Teamwork.com integration bridges this gap - discuss in Slack (where conversation flows naturally), capture in Teamwork.com (click button to add message as comment on task or save link to project). Trade-off: pure Slack (fast but disorganized, ephemeral) vs pure Teamwork.com (organized but slower, formal) vs integrated (best of both - discuss in Slack, capture in Teamwork.com).

Action: Establish team norm - "If it's important, add it to Teamwork.com" - and make adding messages to Teamwork.com frictionless (one-click from Slack Options menu). This prevents "I can't find that Slack conversation from 2 weeks ago" frustration.

Tips for staying productive while using Slack for project management

According to an IDC report, Slack has enormous advantages in terms of productivity. Users report 32% fewer emails to sift through (reduce email volume by replacing with Slack messages) and 23% fewer meetings (async communication in Slack replaces status meetings). That said, time management can be tough when Slack notifications are constantly pinging away - the average Slack user receives 50-100+ notifications daily, creating constant interruptions (every notification costs 5-10 minutes in lost focus and context switching). Follow these tips to make the most of Slack's project management benefits (real-time coordination, quick questions, informal discussion) - without the distractions (notification overload, endless scrolling, "always-on" pressure).

Create team guidelines

The most important thing you can do is create a set of team guidelines that outline how to use Slack to stay productive without notification overload or communication chaos. Consider guidelines like:

• Keep individual project discussions confined to the relevant private channel (e.g., #project-clientx-campaign for all Client X campaign discussions) - no clutter in general channels or cross-posting across multiple channels. This makes information findable (search in project channel, not across 20 channels).

• Keep watercooler chat in a watercooler channel (#random, #watercooler, #off-topic) so that project discussion doesn't get lost in chitchat. Separate work (project channels) from social (watercooler channels) for clarity.

• Set a timeframe to respond to Slack notifications (e.g., "respond within 4 hours during business hours, next business day for after-hours messages"). Most people won't want to interrupt workflows to respond immediately (constant interruptions kill productivity) - but notifications shouldn't sit indefinitely, either (24+ hours creates bottlenecks). Define expectations to balance responsiveness with focus time.

• Set guidelines for which updates should be posted in Teamwork.com vs Slack (e.g., "Important decisions, task assignments, deadline changes, client approvals go in Teamwork.com; quick questions, informal discussions, brainstorming stay in Slack"). This prevents critical information from getting lost in Slack scroll while keeping casual communication fast and informal.

Those are some examples. As you and your team use these apps, you'll likely come up with some additional guidelines that help everyone streamline team communication - document guidelines in shared location (Teamwork Spaces, Notion, Google Doc) and reference during onboarding.

Use your primary project management tool for important updates

Slack is great for hosting discussions and for brainstorming (quick back-and-forth, rapid iteration, informal creativity) - but it can also lead to information overload (50-100+ messages daily across 10-20 channels, constant notifications, fear of missing important info in scroll). Like we've said, since Slack messages tend to ping all day long (average 50-100 notifications daily), many team members are liable to save messages for later (mark unread, star for follow-up) so that they're not interrupting project work to formulate responses - but this creates backlog anxiety and "I'll get to it later" pile-up.

So, if you're using Slack to send out priority messages and important updates (project deadline changes, client approvals, budget alerts, critical blockers), they can get lost in the shuffle (buried in 50 other messages, missed because someone muted notifications, forgotten in "read later" pile). Instead, use your primary project management tool (Teamwork.com) to send out updates for the biggest, most important things (task assignments, deadline changes, milestone completions, budget alerts, client decisions). This way, your team knows which notifications to check pronto (Teamwork.com notifications = important, requires action), and which can wait until later in the day (Slack messages = informational, can batch-process). Separation of signal (important updates in Teamwork.com) from noise (casual chat in Slack) improves focus and reduces missed critical information.

Learn all of Slack’s functionality – keyboard shortcuts, formatting comments, and creating your own commands

Lots of people treat Slack as a basic messaging tool for remote work (type message, send, done) - but it has so much more functionality than that (keyboard shortcuts, formatting, slash commands, workflows, apps, integrations). To make the most of the Slack app and improve productivity (save 5-10 minutes daily on common actions = 25-50 minutes weekly), be sure to learn all of its features.

For example, keyboard shortcuts let you do things like compose a new message (Cmd+N or Ctrl+N), upload a file (Cmd+U or Ctrl+U), add emojis (Cmd+Shift+\ or Ctrl+Shift+), toggle video, search messages (Cmd+G or Ctrl+G), and more - saving seconds per action that add up to minutes daily. Here's a list of commands you can use.

You can also use formatting features to create comments and messages that are easier to read and scan. Use bold text (*bold*), italic (_italic_), strikethrough (~strikethrough~), block quotes (> quote), bullet points (* item), numbered lists (1. item), and code blocks (``` code ``` ) to make parts of your message stand out and improve readability. Formatted messages get read faster and understood better than walls of plain text.

Last, the Slack API lets you create your own slash commands for actions your team performs often (e.g., /standup to post daily standup template, /clientupdate to generate client status update, /timesheet to open timesheet submission form). This is incredibly useful if your team performs certain actions often (daily, weekly) - custom commands save 2-5 minutes per use. You can learn more about creating your own slash commands here.

How to implement Slack for project management

Ready to make the most of Slack project management features? We’ll show you how to integrate Slack with Teamwork.com so that you can create the perfect workspace for your team. Follow the steps below to get started.

Integrating from Slack

If you already have Slack, then here's what you need to do to integrate it with Teamwork.com (setup takes 5-10 minutes). And before you start, here's a hint: If you plan to have a dedicated Slack channel for Teamwork.com updates (e.g., #teamwork-notifications or #project-updates), be sure to set it up before following the steps below so that you can select it during the integration process.

1. Go to the Teamwork.com app page within the Slack app directory.

2. Choose the Slackworkspace that you’d like to integrate with Teamwork.com.

3. Sign into the selected workspace.

4. Click Add to Slack to begin the setup process for Teamwork.com.

5. Select an existing Slack channel or direct message — this is where your updates from Teamwork.com will be posted.

6. Click Allow to grant Teamwork.com access to your Slackworkspace.

7. You’ll be asked for your Teamwork.com login credentials. Log in, and select the relevant Teamwork.com site that you want to connect.

And that’s it, you’re done!

Integrating from Teamwork.com

If you're starting from the Teamwork.com side of things (already using Teamwork.com, want to add Slack integration), you'll need to follow these steps:

1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com’s main navigation menu.

2. From there, find and select a project.

3. Switch to List or Table views (which may be located under the More… section).

4. Click Automate to enter the automations builder.

5. Next, click Browse Templates.

6. From there, select Slack in the Integrations section, which is in the left navigation pane.

7. Select one of the predefined Slacktemplates.

8. Click Connect to Slack in the Then section.

9. Enter your Slackworkspace name, which is formatted like a URL (example: mycompany.slack.com).

10. If you have multiple Teamwork.com sites, the next step is to select the relevant site to select — otherwise, you can skip this step.

11. If Slack asks for your login credentials, enter them.

12. Click Allow to grant Teamwork.com access to Slack.

13. You can stop here — or you can go back to the automations builder to create Slackautomations.

That’s all it takes to connect Slack from Teamwork.com. Once these steps are out of the way, you’ll be good to go.

Try the Teamwork.com Slack integration today!

Ready to get started with Slack for Teamwork.com? It's easy (5-15 minutes setup) - and you'll unlock a whole lot of functionality that makes Slack more useful for agencies, agile project management, scrum, and more by combining Slack's communication strengths (real-time chat, quick questions, informal discussion) with Teamwork.com's project management capabilities (tasks, timelines, resources, budgets, tracking). Between Teamwork.com and Slack, you'll have all the tools needed for time tracking (track hours in Teamwork.com, get reminders in Slack), task management (create and update tasks from Slack, see task updates in Slack), project planning (plan in Teamwork.com, coordinate in Slack), and more - across all of the projects that your agency handles (manage 5-20+ client projects with seamless communication and execution).

Just follow the steps above, or visit this guide, which will walk you through the process.

Start your free 30-day trial of Teamwork (no credit card required) or book a demo to see how the Slack-Teamwork.com integration can streamline your project coordination.