I came up with three options for using Slack with external people, so I’ll introduce them.
Background: Want to use Slack with external people
Ways to Use Slack with External People
Option 1. Use shared channels
? Guide to using shared channels | Slack
Advantages
- Can communicate within each other's Slack Workspaces
Disadvantages
- Both Slack Workspaces must be on paid plans to create shared channels
Option 2. Invite external people as guests to internal Slack Workspace
Advantages
- Easy operation for internal members as they don't need to switch between different Slack Workspaces
Disadvantages
- Guest accounts (single-channel, multi-channel) may cost money depending on the number of accounts
- External people can see who's in the internal Slack (since they can search for people via DM)
Option 3. Create a new Workspace
Advantages
- Can use the free plan
- Prevents the issue of external people seeing who's in the internal Slack Workspace
Disadvantages
- Communication happens in a separate Workspace, making it harder to share internally
There are feature limitations:
- Message display: Viewing and searching are limited to the most recent 10,000 messages.
- File storage: You can add up to 5 GB of files to the workspace.
- Apps: You can install up to 10 third-party and custom apps.
? Message, file, and app limits on Slack’s free plan | Slack
That’s all from the Gemba, where I considered ways to use Slack with external people.