You’ve got the setup: service requests from employees are submitted in Slack, triaged to the correct team automatically, and resolved with clear SLAs, approvals, and workflows. You’re using a Slack-based helpdesk (like Siit), and it’s saving your IT admins a ton of time.
The only problem? Not everyone is using it.
Instead, people are still DMing IT directly, dropping half-baked questions into random channels, or worse—emailing for help. Even the best system falls apart when employees don’t know how to use it properly.
That’s where training comes in. In this guide, we’ll show you how to teach every department in your org—HR, Finance, Ops, and beyond—how to fully leverage your Slack-based helpdesk, reduce chaos, and streamline internal operations across the board.
1. Set Clear Expectations Around Support in Slack
If you want employees to stop sending DMs to IT, you need to give them a better, easier alternative—and explain it clearly.
Start by defining your support workflows inside Slack:
- Which channels are for internal support? (e.g., #help-it, #tech-requests)
- Which types of requests go through the helpdesk?
- Where can employees check request status or ask follow-up questions?
Use Siit’s Slack Bot to enforce structure without friction. Instead of a vague “Hey, I need help,” users get prompted with Dynamic Forms that collect necessary context—like tool name, urgency, or department—right inside Slack.
This removes ambiguity and gives IT everything they need to triage requests fast.
2. Train Teams on How to Submit a Proper Request
Most support headaches start at intake.
Use quick demos to teach teams how to properly submit requests via Siit’s Slack Bot. Walk through what the form looks like, which fields are required, and how requests are routed based on inputs.
Remind them that submitting structured requests:
- Reduces back-and-forth
- Speeds up resolution
- Helps IT prioritize based on Request Priority and Request Attributes
Highlight features like:
- Private Requests for sensitive topics
- Tagging categories to ensure it reaches the correct team
- Request templates for common scenarios like onboarding or hardware needs
3. Educate Employees on Real-Time Request Visibility
One of the most powerful aspects of Slack-based support is transparency. But employees need to know how it works.
Show them how to:
- Track Request Status directly in Slack
- View threaded updates and Comments from IT admins
- Know when a request is being snoozed, escalated, or resolved
By reinforcing that “checking in” DMs aren’t necessary, you reduce noise for your IT team and build trust in the system.
4. Highlight the Self-Service Resources Inside Slack
Support doesn’t always have to mean submitting a request. With Siit’s AI Assistant, employees can get answers to common questions instantly.
Teach employees how to:
- Use the Slack Bot to ask common questions
- Automatically receive AI Article Suggestions from your knowledge base in Notion, Confluence, or Google Workspace
- Navigate the Self-Service Portal to access FAQs, onboarding docs, and company policies
Empowering employees to self-serve reduces request volume and enhances employee experience without sacrificing support quality.
5. Build Department-Specific Training Scenarios
A one-size-fits-all training won’t cut it. Different teams have different needs and request patterns.
Use real-life examples and run mini-trainings tailored to each department:
- HR: Requesting access to BambooHR, updating permissions, or managing offboarding workflows
- Finance: Submitting policy-related queries, tool access (e.g., to Rippling, Personio, Trinet), or travel approvals
- PeopleOps: Handling equipment logistics with Jamf, Kandji, or Microsoft Intune, managing onboarding checklists
- Ops: Access requests tied to ClickUp, Monday.com, or facilities tools
Track usage across departments with Saved Views, Tags, and Analytics & Reporting in Siit to see who needs more support.
6. Create a Slack-Based Training Playbook
Don’t just rely on one-off demos. Build a persistent reference guide directly into Slack:
- Pin a message in #help-it with instructions and links
- Use Siit’s Response Templates to guide users back to training docs
- Embed short videos (e.g., Loom walkthroughs) on how to submit requests or check status
This ensures that new hires, busy execs, and occasional requesters always have help at their fingertips.
7. Include Helpdesk Usage in Onboarding and Role Changes
Make your helpdesk part of the employee lifecycle.
Partner with HR to ensure every new hire learns how to submit requests in Slack as part of onboarding. With Siit’s integrations to Workday, Personio, Deel, and Remote, you can:
- Trigger onboarding checklists tied to helpdesk workflows
- Create role-based templates that guide new hires through access requests
- Sync employee data into Siit’s 360° Employee Profile for smarter routing and prioritization
Also revisit training whenever employees switch teams or gain new responsibilities.
8. Measure Adoption and Improve Over Time
Don’t guess how well your Slack-based helpdesk is being used—track it.
With Siit’s Analytics & Reporting, you can:
- Identify which departments submit the most (or fewest) structured requests
- Spot trends in unstructured messages vs. proper forms
- See which request types have the longest resolution times
- Track which knowledge articles are being used the most (and which aren’t surfacing)
Use this data to guide targeted re-training or to adjust workflows for better adoption.
Training Is the Real ITSM Superpower
Building a powerful helpdesk in Slack is only half the battle. Helping your people use it well? That’s where the real magic happens.
With a little upfront training and support from Siit’s smart features—like AI triage, automated approvals, embedded knowledge, and real-time visibility—you can ensure that employees across every department get what they need, fast.
It’s better for your IT admins. It’s better for your employees. And it’s a win for the entire company.
Sign up for a free trial and make Slack support work smarter for everyone on your team.
