When you're juggling client projects or internal handoffs, scattered notifications are a hassle. If you're using Baton to keep projects on track, connecting Slack and email notifications can save your sanity—or at least cut down on the "Did you see this?" pings. This guide is for anyone who's tired of missing updates, wants fewer manual check-ins, and doesn't have time to mess with clunky integrations.
Let’s get your Baton notifications showing up where your team actually pays attention.
Why bother integrating Slack and email with Baton?
Let’s be honest: project management tools are only as good as their notifications. If you have to babysit a dashboard all day, something’s broken. Slack and email are where most teams actually see things. Integrating Baton with both means:
- No more missed tasks or deadline reminders
- Faster handoffs between teams (or clients)
- Less context-switching between apps
But here’s the catch: too many notifications and people start ignoring them. So, you want these integrations set up right—no firehose, no radio silence.
Step 1: Decide what actually needs to be notified
Before you connect anything, take five minutes to answer:
- Who really needs to see Baton notifications? (Whole team? Just project owners?)
- What’s actually urgent or actionable? (Task assigned, date changes, project complete)
- Which tool is better for what? (Slack for quick nudges, email for things that need a paper trail)
Pro tip: If you send every possible notification to everyone, people will mute or ignore Baton entirely. Less is more.
Step 2: Set up Slack notifications in Baton
Assuming you’re using the standard Baton cloud app (not some ancient on-prem install), here’s how it goes:
1. Get your Slack admin on board
You’ll need permission to add apps to your Slack workspace. If you’re not the admin, now’s the time to buy them coffee.
2. Connect Baton to Slack
- In Baton, go to Settings (usually in your profile menu).
- Look for Integrations or a section named something like Notifications.
- Find the Slack integration and click Connect.
- You’ll be prompted to sign in to Slack and authorize Baton. Pick the workspace and channels where notifications should show up.
- Baton will ask what events you want posted to Slack—choose wisely. Start with essentials: task assignments, deadline changes, and project status updates.
Heads up: Some teams like a dedicated #baton-notifications channel. This keeps project noise out of #general or team chats.
3. Test it
Trigger a notification (assign a test task, change a deadline). Make sure it shows up where you want, and that it’s actually readable—not a wall of JSON or a cryptic one-liner.
Step 3: Fine-tune Slack notification settings
Most tools (Baton included) let you tweak which events go to Slack and who sees them.
- Individual vs. channel: You can often send some notifications to a private DM, and others to a public channel.
- Event filtering: If Baton supports it, only send alerts for key projects or stages.
- Frequency: Turn off instant alerts for low-priority stuff (like minor comments) unless your team genuinely needs them.
Don’t:
- Blast every update into Slack. People will mute, and you’re back to square one.
- Funnel private or sensitive client info into public channels.
Step 4: Set up email notifications in Baton
Email isn’t dead; it’s just (hopefully) less noisy. It’s good for:
- Updates you want a record of
- People who aren’t glued to Slack
- Sending to clients or partners outside your org
Here’s how to do it:
- In Baton, go back to Settings > Notifications.
- Find the section for Email Notifications.
- Pick which events should trigger emails, and to whom. You can usually set this by user, project, or event type.
- Set the frequency: instant, daily summary, or weekly roundup.
Pro tip: For most teams, instant emails for everything are overkill. Try daily digests for less urgent updates.
Step 5: Test and adjust—don’t “set and forget”
This is where most teams drop the ball. Once you’ve hooked up Slack and email notifications, don’t assume it’s perfect.
- Ask your team: Are the right people seeing the right things? What’s getting lost? What’s just noise?
- Adjust settings if you’re getting too much or too little.
- Check for duplicates. If people are getting both Slack and email for the same event, they’ll tune out.
Real talk: Every team is different. Baton’s notification controls are decent, but not magic—you’ll probably need to tweak as you go.
Step 6: Bring it all together—examples that work
Here are a few notification setups that actually work in the real world:
Example 1: The “keep it simple” approach
- All major task assignments and project status changes go to a single #baton-notifications Slack channel
- Only project owners get task-completed emails, and only as a daily summary
Example 2: The “split the signal” method
- Urgent actions (deadline changes, assignments) go as direct Slack messages to assignees
- General updates and progress reports go to a team channel
- External partners get email digests only
Example 3: The “client-friendly” setup
- Internal team uses Slack for the noisy stuff (comments, quick nudges)
- Clients only get milestone completion emails and important date changes
- Sensitive info never leaves internal channels
Ignore:
- Not every comment or status bump needs to be a notification. If you can’t remember why you’re getting a ping, it’s probably too much.
Pro tips and pitfalls to watch out for
- Don’t overcomplicate it. Start small. You can always add more triggers later.
- Slack bots can get throttled. If your team is huge, check Slack’s rate limits—sometimes integrations get muted if they post too much.
- Check permissions. Some Baton workspaces have weird permission quirks—double-check who can connect integrations.
- Test with real users. Don’t just test as an admin; make sure regular users see what they’re supposed to.
Summary: Keep notifications useful, not overwhelming
If you set up Slack and email notifications in Baton thoughtfully, you’ll spend less time checking dashboards and more time actually getting things done. But don’t go wild—start with a few key events, see how your team reacts, and tweak as you go. Keep it simple, check in with your team, and don’t be afraid to turn things off if they’re just creating noise. Integration should make your life easier, not busier.