In Slack, a Matter trial works best when you follow this plan: set up Matter in a Slack channel on day one, send your first kudos, then let Matter run. Feedback Friday, Celebrations, and Surveys all work automatically, so a 30-minute setup today means you experience every feature over the next two weeks.
Who can use this: Workspace Owners and Admins during the free trial. Slack only. Using Microsoft Teams? See the Matter trial guide for Microsoft Teams.
For a company-wide rollout, see the Matter setup and rollout guide for Slack.
Pick your pilot group approach
There are two common ways teams run a Matter trial:
Small immediate team (3 to 5 people): your own team, plus whoever installed Matter (often IT). Add them right after you install and configure as you go. It's the fastest way to see Matter working.
Larger pilot group (20 to 30 people): an entire department, or a cross section of members from different departments. Install Matter, add your admins, and configure your workspace settings first, then add your pilot group once everything is ready.
Either way, Matter's member list automatically syncs with your Matter-connected channel, so adding people to that channel is all it takes.
Install Matter in Slack
Install Matter in your Slack workspace and add Matter to a Slack channel. Video: Installing Matter in Slack.
Add your admins
Important: whoever installs Matter becomes the Workspace Owner. Anyone else helping run the trial (HR, People Ops, or team leads) needs to be made a Matter Admin to access workspace settings. This takes less than a minute: Adding and updating Workspace Owners and Admins.
Configure everything today (about 30 minutes)
You can set up every feature in one sitting, then experience each one throughout your trial. Work through this checklist. Each item links to its guide.
Custom Kudos (company values): add some of your company values as custom kudos to make recognition feel like yours from day one. Kudos Guide.
Celebrations: add birthdays and work anniversaries. Pro tip: include at least one date that falls within your trial window so you see a celebration fire automatically. Dates attach to members, so add them once your pilot group is in the channel. Celebrations Guide.
Feedback Friday: enabled by default. Confirm or adjust the settings (day, time, and frequency) so your first automated recognition reminder lands the way you want. Feedback Friday Guide.
Rewards and coins: rewards are enabled by default. Coins give people something to look forward to when they're recognized. Review the rewards catalog and coin settings. Rewards Guide.
Company Swag: add your logo to a few products so branded swag is live in your Company Store during the trial. Matter finds your logo automatically, and it takes about two minutes. Branded company swag.
Challenges: set a challenge live. The default challenges are ready to edit and a quick way to get people involved during the trial. Challenges Guide.
Pulse Survey: set up your survey now, but launch it once your pilot group is in the channel, so responses roll in during your trial and you can see the analytics in action. You can send it right away, or Matter sends it between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Thursday. Pulse Survey Guide.
Add your pilot group
Add your pilot group by adding people to your Matter-connected Slack channel.
Share the member training video with your pilot group so everyone knows how Matter works: Pro plan or Basic plan.
Add your pilot group's birthdays and work anniversaries, and launch your pulse survey.
Send kudos right away
Once your pilot group is in the channel, send kudos to one person or several, with coins attached. This is the moment Matter clicks for everyone. A lively feed on day one shows your team exactly how Matter works, and you'll usually see people start sending kudos on their own before you say a word. Sending kudos in Slack.
Encourage a few pilot members to browse the rewards store and request a reward. Requests wait for approval until you upgrade, because the trial has no payment method on file.
What happens automatically during your trial
With everything configured, Matter takes it from here:
Feedback Friday triggers on the day you set, reminding everyone to recognize their peers.
Celebrations fire automatically on the dates you added.
Survey responses roll in as your pilot group participates.
Coins accumulate and pilot members can request rewards, which you approve after you upgrade.
This is Matter on autopilot, exactly how it works after a full rollout.
Evaluate your results
You don't need to wait until day 14. Within the first week, you'll have plenty to evaluate:
Check your analytics: see participation rates, kudos activity, and engagement across your pilot group. Analytics Guide.
Send a wrap-up survey: use a Custom Employee Survey to collect qualitative feedback from your pilot group, with questions like these. Employee Survey Guide.
How has Matter impacted recognition on our team?
What's your favorite Matter feature so far?
Should we roll Matter out to the whole company? Why or why not?
Share with your decision-maker: your participation data and survey responses make the business case for a company-wide rollout, so bring them to your team's decision conversation.
Need more time or have questions?
Want a trial extension? Let us know. We're happy to give your team more time to evaluate.
Questions during your trial? Schedule time with us anytime.
Ready to roll out? Check out pricing and the Matter setup and rollout guide for Slack for announcing Matter to your whole company.