The best Matter trials follow a simple formula: set everything up 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 everything Matter has to offer over the next two weeks without lifting a finger. The plan below is the same in Slack and Microsoft Teams; only the install steps and training videos differ.
Who can use this: Workspace Owners and Admins during the free trial. Works the same for Slack and Microsoft Teams workspaces.
For an overview of the whole feature, read the Matter setup and rollout guide for Slack and Microsoft Teams. Related article: Sample message for launching Matter in Slack and Microsoft Teams.
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). Install, add everyone to the channel right away, and start giving kudos. Perfect for moving fast.
Larger pilot group (20 to 30 people): an entire department, or a cross section of members from different departments. For larger groups, we recommend installing Matter, adding your admins and configuring your workspace settings first, then adding your pilot group once everything is ready. It also helps to share the Member Training Video for your platform (linked in the Slack and Microsoft Teams sections below) with your pilot group so everyone hits the ground running.
Either way, Matter's member list automatically syncs with your Matter-connected channel, so adding people to that channel is all it takes.
Install and set up Matter in Slack
Add your pilot group by adding people to your Matter-connected Slack channel.
Share the Member Training Video with your pilot group: Pro Plan Video or Basic Plan Video.
Feature videos for Slack
Install and set up Matter in Microsoft Teams
Install Matter in Microsoft Teams and add Matter to a channel. Watch the Matter Installation Video for Teams.
Add your pilot group by adding people to your Matter-connected Teams channel.
Share the Member Training Video with your pilot group: Pro Plan Video or Basic Plan Video.
Feature videos for Microsoft Teams
Add your admins
Important: whoever installs Matter becomes the Workspace Owner. Anyone else helping run the trial (HR, People Ops, team leads) needs to be made a Matter Admin to access workspace settings. This takes less than a minute: How to add Matter 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 has a guide below and a video in the feature videos list for your platform above.
Custom Kudos (company values): add some of your company values as custom kudos to make recognition feel like yours from day one. Read the 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. Celebrations are set per member, so your pilot group needs to be in the channel first. Adding your pilot group later? Circle back to this step once they've joined. Read the Celebrations Guide.
Feedback Friday: enabled by default. Confirm or adjust the settings (day, time, frequency) so your first automated recognition reminder lands the way you want. Read the Feedback Friday Guide.
Rewards and coins: rewards are enabled by default, and teams that use them see record participation. Review the rewards catalog and coin settings. Read the 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. Read the Company Swag Guide or watch the Company Swag video (the same for both platforms).
Challenges: set a challenge live. Our default challenges are great inspiration and a fast way to drive engagement during the trial. Read the Challenges Guide.
Pulse Survey: launch a pulse survey (once your pilot group is in the channel) so responses roll in during your trial and you can see the analytics in action. Read the Pulse Surveys Guide.
Send kudos right away
Once your pilot group is in the channel, send kudos to one person or several, with coins attached (see Sending kudos in Slack or Sending kudos in Microsoft Teams). 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.
Encourage a few pilot members to redeem their coins for a reward, too. Experiencing rewards firsthand is very different from just seeing them in a catalog.
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 redeem rewards.
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. Read the Analytics Guide.
Send a wrap-up survey: use a Custom Employee Survey to collect qualitative feedback from your pilot group. Read the Employee Surveys Guide. A few suggested questions:
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 and Microsoft Teams for announcing Matter to your whole company.