Halp Slack Integration: Is There an Alternative?

According to a Zendesk study, 84% of employee experience experts believe that enhancing support for remote, hybrid, and on-site employees is crucial for their company's success. This often boils down to using the right internal help desk tools. And, for many businesses, this is Slack.

Yet, managing internal help desk requests within Slack is not an easy task. Slack’s native capabilities don’t cut it.

Thus for businesses, integrating tools like Halp with Slack is the way to go. But before you jump the gun, there's another contender in the ring: Thena. 

In this deep dive, we'll explore why Thena might be the superior choice for your internal Slack help desk needs.

Introduction to Halp

At its core, Halp is a solution for Slack that facilitates the management of internal help desk requests. By acting as a bridge between teams, it streamlines communications and ticket management processes.

With Halp, when an employee has an issue or question, they can simply send a message to a specific channel (or use a reaction emoji) to create a ticket. The IT or Ops team can then triage and manage the ticket right within Slack. It offers features like ticket assignment, status updates, and reporting.

Besides its primary Slack ticketing function, Halp offers features such as automated workflows, real-time tracking, and integrations with other tools, enhancing its utility.

However, as with any software, while Halp might be an excellent fit for many, it might not cater to the unique needs of all businesses. That's where alternatives, such as Thena, come into the picture.

Thena: An Alternative You’ve Been Looking For

While Halp is great, businesses and professionals should also take a look at Thena. As a robust Halp alternative, Thena is designed to streamline and elevate your internal help desk operations within Slack even further.

What makes Thena stand out is that it packs a bunch of features that support your internal teams with AI-powered Slack workflows.

Let's explore these features:

• Intelligent Internal Request Management: Thena's AI-powered capabilities enable you to detect and manage internal requests originating from Slack channels, all within a centralized, user-friendly dashboard. Furthermore, Thena’s employee request routing allows you to assign employee requests to a team member within Slack or forward them to an external system.‍

• User-friendly Timeline: For those who prefer a high-level overview, Thena also offers a timeline view where you can track internal requests in different stages, such as Unassigned, In-Progress, On Hold, and Closed.

• ‍Tags and Filters for Easy Organization: Thena’s internal help desk solution also features various tags that can help identify and organize employee problems. You can add customized tags (for example, Software, Expenses, Office, HR, or Hardware) as well as group messages based on the issue type, team, or urgency.

• Advanced Customization: One of the other Thena’s strong suits is its adaptability. While many tools come with a fixed set of features, Thena allows teams to customize their Slack workflows according to their specific needs. This means businesses can mold the software to fit their organizational structure, rather than the other way around.

• Collaborative Features: Beyond employee internal request routing, Thena promotes collaboration. You can easily integrate tools like Notion, Linear, Jira, and Shortcut, as well as your favorite CRM platforms. This enables your internal teams to work together and have complete information at their fingertips, ensuring faster issue resolution across various platforms.

• ‍Scalability: As your business grows, your needs evolve. Thena is designed to grow with them. It can handle the requirements of both small teams and large enterprises, ensuring that as your business expands, your Slack internal help desk solution won’t be a limiting factor. Add as many team members as you need, with Thena, the sky's the limit.

Comparative Analysis: Thena vs. Halp Slack Integration

When choosing an internal help desk solution, it's essential to make an informed decision. A side-by-side comparison between Thena and Halp Slack integration can provide clearer insights:

Functionality

Halp offers basic yet effective help desk features. It’s suitable for businesses needing straightforward internal ticket management within Slack. Thena, on the other hand, boasts a broader suite of tools. The advanced ticketing system and its collaborative features make Thena a comprehensive solution.

Thena is not your ordinary internal help desk tool. It's a multifaceted platform that leverages employee data to empower leadership for strategic growth with data-driven insights.

Thanks to AI, Thena can gauge the employees’ mood to equip the leadership team with valuable data. Measuring employee sentiment provides insights into the health of the workplace culture, potentially identifying areas for improvement before they escalate into larger issues.

How does this work in practice?

Say, several employees have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity in the new expenses policy. They have begun logging requests asking to clarify the policy via Slack. Thena, a tool designed to identify such issues, picks up on these requests, identifies the sentiment, and paves the way to resolution.

For example, early intervention by the management—such as promptly organizing clarification sessions, providing detailed FAQs, or revising the policy documentation for better clarity—can address these concerns directly. This proactive approach not only empowers employees with a clearer understanding but also preempts a surge in queries to HR, conserving HR's time and resources.

Easy of Use

Both Halp and Thena prioritize a user-friendly experience. Halp's simplicity can be its charm for businesses wanting no-frills internal help desk software. 

Thena, despite its broader functionalities, maintains an intuitive interface. Its guided workflows ensure that even with its advanced features, all internal stakeholders have full visibility.

Users on the G2 software review platform find Thena super easy to use, giving it a strong 9.6/10 rating. And when it comes to setting it up, they're even more impressed, with a whopping 9.9/10 score.

That said, Halp also boasts a solid ease of use score of 9.5/10, as reported by G2 users. Nevertheless, its setup process garnered a rating of 9.3/10, suggesting that some users encountered minor challenges before fully leveraging the tool.

Cost-Effectiveness

Halp’s pricing model depends on the number of users. It is also important to note that the solution now comes under Jira Service Management Cloud, with the Standard pricing starting at $21 per user per month. However, for advanced capabilities, you might need to upgrade to the Premium tier.

Meanwhile, Thena offers a pricing of $5 per channel per month for Slack workspaces containing up to 50 channels. This Basic plan is ideal for small organizations that are on the growth path.

For those seeking unrestricted access to all of Thena's features, there are Growth and Ultimate packages available with customized pricing.

Support and Updates

While both tools offer customer support, Thena prides itself on its proactive approach, ensuring regular updates and enhancements based on user feedback. G2 users constantly praise Thena for having a support team that’s on the ball. 

Halp, being a mature product, might not have as frequent updates but maintains a stable and reliable system.

Use Cases of Thena for Helpdesk

Thena’s versatility stretches across various departments of an organization. Let's take a look at some of the use cases where Thena proves indispensable:

IT Support Desk

In organizations that primarily use Slack, employees facing technical challenges, such as software glitches or network issues, can swiftly generate a ticket using Thena. The IT team receives instant notifications, enabling prompt assistance and minimal downtime.

HR & Onboarding

Human resources and employee onboarding is another way you can use Thena. The HR department can streamline their response process to employee queries, from benefits to onboarding. By tracking these questions, HR can ensure timely responses and adapt resources based on recurring inquiries.

These are just a few areas where Thena excels. You’re free to tailor Thena's internal help desk to fit your needs and design a workflow that's just right for you!

Key Advantages of Using Thena's Slack Integration

Integrating Thena with Slack to power your internal help desk brings forth unmatched benefits:

• Efficiency: Say goodbye to lost employee requests or unanswered queries that leave your staff frustrated. With Thena, every request is accounted for, ensuring smooth operations and superior employee experience.

• Better Communication: Thena enhances team collaboration. The built-in features ensure seamless communication between team members, leading to happier employees and optimized team dynamics.

• Employee Data at your Fingertips: With its powerful reporting tool, your leadership team has all the data they need to make better decisions for staff.

Thena.ai vs. Halp: A Feature-Rich Comparison

Parting Thoughts

Both Halp and Thena have carved their space in the realm of Slack internal help desk solutions. While Halp offers a straightforward approach for those wanting simplicity, Thena provides a comprehensive suite tailored for businesses aiming for deeper functionality and customization.

As the digital workspace evolves, adaptability becomes crucial. If you're considering a robust, future-ready solution, Thena stands out as a strong contender.

Don't just take our word for it; request a demo and see the benefits for yourself.