Slack user groups let you mention a set of people with a single handle. Type @design-team and everyone in that group is notified, whichever channel you're in. It's the tidy answer to two bad habits: listing eight names by hand, and using @channel to reach five people while disturbing two hundred.
This guide covers what user groups are, how to create and manage them, how to name them so they stay useful, and a few things they make possible that most teams never try. One note before the steps: user groups are a feature of Slack's paid plans, and Slack moves menus around from time to time, so the exact labels on your screen may differ slightly.
What Is a Slack User Group?
A user group is a named list of workspace members with its own @handle. It has three parts:
- A name, such as "Design Team".
- A handle, such as
@design-team, which people type to mention the group. - Members, and optionally a set of default channels that members are added to automatically.
Mentioning the handle notifies every member, the same as mentioning each person by name.
User Groups vs. Channels vs. @channel
| Tool | What it is | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| User group | A list of people with a handle | Reach a specific team from any channel |
| Channel | A place where conversation happens | Hold ongoing discussion on a topic |
| @channel | Everyone in the current channel | Urgent news for all members of that channel |
| @here | Everyone in the channel who's active now | Timely but not critical messages |
The distinction that matters: a channel is a room, a user group is a list of people. You can call the on-call engineers into any room by mentioning @oncall, without them needing to be members of it beforehand.
How to Create a Slack User Group
By default, workspace owners and admins can create user groups. Owners can change that in workspace settings so that all members, or only certain roles, can create and edit them.
- On desktop, open the people directory. Depending on your version it's under More in the sidebar, labeled People or People & user groups.
- Select the User groups tab.
- Click the button to create a new user group.
- Enter a name, a handle, and a short purpose so people know what the group is for.
- Optionally add default channels. Anyone added to the group is added to those channels too.
- Add members and save.
The handle is available immediately. Type @ and the first few letters in any message to check it appears.
How to Mention a User Group
Type the handle in a message, exactly as you would a person's name. A few behaviors are worth knowing:
- Everyone in the group is notified, subject to their own notification settings and do-not-disturb hours.
- Members who aren't in the channel still get the mention. Slack will usually offer to invite them, which is helpful in public channels and worth a pause in private ones.
- The handle is clickable. Anyone can click it to see who's in the group, which makes user groups a decent lightweight org chart.
- It works in threads, which is useful for pulling a team into a specific conversation without a new top-level message.
How to Edit, Update or Remove a User Group
Return to the User groups tab, open the group, and use its menu to edit details, change members, or disable it. Three practical notes:
- Assign an owner. A group is only as accurate as its last update. Make someone responsible, usually the team lead.
- Disabling keeps the history. A disabled group can no longer be mentioned, but old mentions remain readable, and it can be restored later.
- Automate it if you can. Larger organizations sync user groups from their identity provider or HR system so membership follows the org chart. On-call tools can also update a group like
@oncalleach time the rota changes.
Naming Conventions That Scale
A handful of groups needs no system. Fifty groups do. Pick a pattern early.
- Use prefixes by type.
@team-design,@team-platformfor departments;@proj-checkoutfor projects;@loc-berlinfor offices;@role-managersfor roles. - Keep handles short and guessable. People should be able to type the handle without looking it up.
- Use lowercase and hyphens throughout.
- Avoid names that collide with channels. A
#designchannel and a@designgroup cause endless confusion. The prefix solves it. - Write a purpose for every group. "Engineers currently on call for production incidents" tells people when to use it.
The same thinking applies to channels; see our Slack tips and tricks for more workspace housekeeping.
User Groups Worth Creating First
- Each department or team. The obvious start.
@oncall. One handle that always reaches whoever is on duty.@managersor@people-leads. For announcements that managers need first.@new-hires. With default channels set, so adding someone to the group handles their channel onboarding. Our getting started with Slack guide pairs well with this.@it-help,@people-ops,@finance-help. So nobody needs to know which individual to ask.- Location groups. For office news that doesn't concern everyone else.
- Interest groups.
@runners,@book-club. Opt-in, low stakes, good for culture.
Etiquette: When to Mention a Group
A group mention interrupts every member. Use it when most of the group needs to see the message, and soon. For a question one person could answer, post in the team's channel without a mention. For anything that can wait, skip the mention and let people find it. Groups that are mentioned for trivia get muted, and a muted group is a broken one. More on this in Slack recognition etiquette.
Use User Groups to Recognize a Whole Team
Here's the use most teams miss. A user group isn't only a way to ask a team for something. It's also a way to thank one.
A message like "Thanks to @team-support for clearing the weekend backlog before Monday" notifies every person on the team that their work was seen, in public, in one line. It costs nothing and it's far better than "thanks, support folks."
Our own product builds on this, and we should be clear that Propsly is ours. Propsly is a peer recognition app for Slack, and its /props command understands user groups:
/props +5 @team-support for clearing the weekend backlog before Monday #customerfirst
Propsly expands the group, gives props to each member, sends each of them a notification, and posts the recognition to your feed channel. It's free for unlimited users. For more ways to celebrate a group, see our team recognition ideas.
Common Questions About Slack User Groups
Are user groups available on the free plan?
No. User groups are part of Slack's paid plans. On the free plan, the nearest substitute is a small dedicated channel for the team.
Who can create user groups?
Owners and admins by default. Workspace owners can extend that permission to other members in the workspace settings.
Can I see who is in a user group?
Yes. Click the handle in any message, or open the group from the User groups tab.
Can someone leave a user group?
That depends on your workspace's permissions. If members can't edit groups themselves, ask the group's owner or an admin.
Do user groups work in direct messages?
You can type a group handle in a direct message, but it's designed for channels. In a DM, people outside the conversation won't be able to see the message.
The Short Version
A Slack user group is a list of people with one handle. Create them for teams, roles, and rotas; name them with a consistent prefix; give each an owner; and mention them only when most members need to know. Then use them for good news too — a thank-you addressed to a whole team is one of the cheapest morale lifts Slack offers.