Introduce your team to Airtable
Airtable
6 min read
Written by
Airtable
Filed Under
Collaborate with your team
TOPICS
Introduce your team to Airtable
You’ve created your rollout plan and prepared your base for your collaborators. Now comes the fun part of Airtable: Using it!
This article will help you get everyone up to speed and into Airtable. We’ll run through the process of putting together a launch announcement, inviting your team on board, and using resources to get your team familiar with Airtable.
(🎁 P.S. We also included example messaging you can use to invite your team.)
1. Draft your Airtable launch announcement
While you might be tempted to grant everyone access to your base right away, use your launch announcement to give them the context first.
First impressions matter. This is your opportunity to take team members from thinking “Sigh, another tool!” to getting excited about what’s possible in Airtable.
Your announcement should showcase ways Airtable can make your team’s work more impactful, and highlight clear improvements it can make to your current workflows. If you’re using Airtable for an existing project or process, call out pain points that exist today and how you’re solving them.
We also recommend including next steps and setting expectations around timing so your team feels prepared.
Example message for introducing Airtable
Here’s some example messaging you can modify for your team announcement:
Hi all,
We’re excited to share that our team will soon be using Airtable to solve our challenge with [problem statement]. For those not familiar, Airtable is an easy-to-use platform that allows fast-moving teams (like ours!) to build custom workflows. Together, we can streamline and improve the way we work.
Airtable at [organization name] Using Airtable for [process/project name] will allow us to:
Outcome 1 (e.g. streamline how information is collected and forgeo our weekly status meeting)
Outcome 2
Outcome 3
What to expect We’re excited about what Airtable can do for our team, and we’re eager to get everyone into the product. Our plan is to have everything up and running by [date]. Until then, here’s what to expect:
Access: You’ll soon be added to our workspace in Airtable. Once added, you’ll receive a welcome email with instructions for logging in.
Training: Before we start working in Airtable, we’ll hold an in-depth walkthrough of the platform and how it works for [project/process name]. This training will be interactive, so please be sure to log in before the session to get the most out of it. We will also record the session for those who can’t attend.
In the meantime, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Best,
[Your Airtable sponsor’s name]
Take action: Customize your launch message
You can copy the example message above to introduce Airtable to your team, use it as a jumping off point, or (of course) do your own thing. The problem statements and pain points identified in your rollout plan will come in handy here.
2. Announce your Airtable launch
We recommend “officially” announcing that your Airtable base is ready to go to your team.
If possible, someone on the leadership team should make the announcement, ideally the Airtable sponsor you outlined as part of your launch team. This helps reinforce the importance of using Airtable.
Take action: Identify the best announcement channels
This could be through a team meeting, an email, a post in your #announcements channel, or however you normally share big news. The important thing is that everyone who’s going to use Airtable knows it.
3. Invite your team to Airtable
After everyone at your company understands the “why” of Airtable, you’re ready to transition to the “how.” Start by getting your team comfortable working on the platform.
Before your first training, we recommend you invite your team to your Airtable base. Using the share icon, you can add people to a specific base, or to your entire workspace (and all your bases) to bring them on board, and determine the amount of control they have.
Pro Tip
Help your teammates jump right into Airtable (and avoid overwhelming them with data) by setting up permissions and personal views ahead of time. Learn more about choosing the permission levels in the next step.
4. Host a kickoff training
Live training is a great way to show your team how you plan to use Airtable. Here are some resources and best practices for a successful training sessions:
Airtable 101: Before getting into specific use cases, make sure everyone is at least familiar with the fundamentals. Our 10-minute quick start guide is a good starting point, or this playlist of Getting started videos that cover all the basics.
Dive into details: Guide team members through their new base to show them where specific information lives. We recommend demo-ing a few specific workflows from start to finish.
Make it interactive: Let teammates test out a few use cases on their own—like updating a record, creating a view, or building an automation. This will help newbies learn the ropes, and they can see for themselves that actions in Airtable are always reversible.
Record your training: In a perfect world, your entire team will attend your training(s), fully caffeinated and primed to learn. Regardless of attendance numbers, we recommend recording the training. It will come in handy in the future—whether distributed to absentee employees, or a refresher for anyone who wants to revisit the core concepts.
Take action: Schedule a team training
Using the resources and tips above, start to build the agenda for a kickoff training tailored to your team’s needs. If there are only a few of you, hop into a virtual meeting or conference room to go over these resources live. If you’re deploying to a larger team, set up a training meeting for the team to learn together.
5. Support your team with additional resources
That first training goes a long way. But there will be follow-up questions, feedback, and ideas that arise as colleagues begin to grasp the platform’s capabilities. Here are some tips to ensure your team feels supported:
Dedicate a time and place for help: Try holding regular office hours for the first few weeks after your Airtable rollout, where colleagues can come and ask Airtable-related questions. If your team prefers to ask questions async, you can also create a dedicated channel in your company’s messaging platform (Slack, Teams, etc.).
Create a home for your resources: Put all your training content—like the recording from your training, a link to your base, or anything else you create—in one place. Your resources can live in a wiki, Google Drive, or wherever your team already goes to look for information. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our learning base.
Share Airtable support resources: Beyond resources created by your team, ensure your organization is aware of the (growing) library of content from Airtable. Our support center and YouTube channel covers common “how-to” questions, in-depth webinars, and more.
Take action: Create and share a resource hub
Work with your launch team to determine what resources you and your team need, and bring them on board to help you build ongoing support channels.
As you’re inviting your team to Airtable, we recommend reviewing the permission levels you’ve assigned to different roles on your team. Our next guide will cover how to do just that.
