Picture this: your company has hundreds, maybe thousands, of Slack channels. In one, the CEO drops a strategic bombshell. In another, an employee vents about the soda machine running out of Coke. Both messages get the same level of attention, buried in a never-ending stream of notifications, lost in the noise.

Sound familiar? It’s a problem we see with a lot of clients, and frankly, we’ve experienced it ourselves when working in-house. The root of the issue? The way Slack channels are set up—by topic, not by importance.

It’s the default for most companies: channels dedicated to every imaginable topic, from #sales to #product to #office-fun. But here’s the problem: when everything is organized by topic, there’s no clear way to gauge the importance of a message. Critical updates from leadership end up stacked on top of casual chats about the next team lunch. It’s no wonder things get lost in the shuffle.

And because people quickly recognize how noisy it all gets, you start seeing the proliferation of channels like #sales-1, #sales-1b, #sales-new. This is often an attempt to sweep past discussions into the digital dustbin and start fresh. But it doesn’t solve the problem—it just creates more noise.

At our company, we’ve flipped the script on how we use Slack. Instead of treating it like an all-you-can-eat buffet of chatter, we’ve turned it into a curated flow of information. We don’t organize by topic; we organize by importance. We streamlined our channels into just five, each one defined by the significance of the messages: Critical, High, Medium, and Low.

Why fewer channels work better

Fewer channels aren’t just about cutting clutter—they’re about creating order. It’s like cleaning out a messy drawer and giving everything its proper place. Here’s how it plays out:

1. Critical: The red-alert zone. Only the most urgent issues land here—think company-wide crises that need immediate action. The key is keeping this channel light, so when a notification pops up, everyone knows it’s go-time.

2. High: Reserved for strategic updates from leadership. It’s not for every memo, but for the heavy hitters that directly impact the company’s direction.

3. Medium: Your bread-and-butter updates live here. Project status reports, team wins, and other day-to-day updates that are important but not urgent.

4. Low: The catch-all for non-essentials. Office updates, social events, and those miscellaneous messages that don’t require immediate attention.

The payoff

1. Beating Notification Overload: By categorizing channels and setting notification preferences- including muting, employees can ignore the noise and zero in on what matters. No more drowning in pings from every corner of the company.

2. Lowering Stress Levels: When you know only the crucial stuff will break through, it’s easier to stay focused and calm. The fear of missing something important goes out the window.

3. Sharpening Focus: With a clear system, your team can sift through the noise and zero in on the important stuff. They know exactly where to go for what they need and can allocate their attention where it’s needed most.

Rethinking prioritization

Prioritizing communication isn’t about playing favorites—it’s about recognizing that not all information is created equal. Most of it doesn’t need an instant reaction. By organizing our Slack channels into a tiered system, we help our team navigate the flood of information with purpose and clarity.

In your company, think about how you can streamline your communication flow. Consider ways to help your team focus on what truly matters. Implementing a structured approach won’t just cut down on chaos—it’ll empower your employees to work smarter and more effectively.