Plot twist: This isn’t your typical boring handbook. We promise to keep the corporate jargon to a minimum and actually help you understand how to use your companies service desk. Consider this your survival guide for navigating support requests without losing your sanity.
What’s Ravenna?
Your organization just upgraded from the dark ages of service desk tickets. Remember those days of submitting requests into the abyss and praying to the IT gods for a response? Well, forget about em. Ravenna lives right in Slack, which means no more “have you tried turning it off and on again?” email marathons or wondering if your ticket got lost in some digital vortex. It’s like having a personal assistant who actually responds and doesn’t judge you for asking how to work the office printers for the fifth time, or is it sixth time?What can you get help with?
IT support
Software access, equipment requests, troubleshooting, and yes, password resets
HR assistance
Onboarding questions, policy clarification, benefits, and “which form do I need?” mysteries
Facilities
Office supplies, desk assignments, maintenance requests, and the eternal quest for more monitor space
Operations
Process questions, vendor requests, compliance support, and “how do we actually do this?” moments
Reality check: Your specific workspaces and request types depend on how your organization set things up. If you’re not sure what’s available, just ask.
Why this doesn’t suck (unlike traditional helpdesks)
⚡ Faster support (no, really)
⚡ Faster support (no, really)
Get help without leaving Slack. Submit requests from any message and track progress in the same thread. No more “please submit a ticket” redirects when you just need someone to reset your password for the third time this month.
📊 Easier tracking (goodbye ticket limbo)
📊 Easier tracking (goodbye ticket limbo)
See all your requests in one place and get updates as they progress. Your support team will actually thank you for not asking “what’s the status on my request?” every six hours. Revolutionary, we know.
🧠 Self-service options (for the overachievers)
🧠 Self-service options (for the overachievers)
Get instant answers to common questions through AI-powered responses and searchable knowledge. Skip the “did you check the wiki?” runaround that nobody has time for. The AI actually knows where things are.
Opening requests
So you need help with something. Great! Here’s how to get it:Ravenna Slack app
Your personal help assistant, right in the Slack sidebar
Public support channels
The traditional route, but with modern conveniences
Ravenna Slack app
Think of this as your help desk headquarters, right in Slack.- Look for Ravenna in your Slack sidebar under “Apps”
- Click to open your shiny new support interface
- Marvel at how organized everything looks compared to your email inbox
App overview
- Home Tab
- Chat Tab
- History Tab
Your mission control center. This dashboard shows all available workspaces, lets you view and manage tickets, track approvals. All in one place, because who has time to hunt around?
Actually getting help
- Home Tab
- Chat Tab / Conversational
For the button-clickers. Use the big, obvious “Create Request” button to open a new ticket.
1
Click 'Create Request'
Select the “Create Request” option in the Ravenna app home tab.
2
Select a Workspace
Pick the team that’s most likely to know what you’re talking about.
3
Choose request type
Pick the form that matches your need.
4
Fill in details
Describe what you need help with. Be specific. Think “helpful detail,” service desk heroes love that.
5
Submit
Your request is created and you’ll get updates in a dedicated thread.
Public support channels
The community approach: Sometimes it’s nice to ask questions where everyone can see the answers. Your coworkers will thank you when they have the same question three months later, and Ravenna can learn from these interactions too and answer future questions with more accuracy.
Finding your support channels (the treasure hunt)
Look for channels like these (your organization might have different names, but you get the idea):#ask-itfor IT requests#ask-hrfor HR questions#facilitiesfor office requests#supportfor general “help me” moments
Submitting requests in channels
The generous-spirited approach: Posting in public channels means when Sarah from accounting has the same question next week, she can find your answer instead of asking again. You’re basically a workplace hero.
💬 Drop your question
💬 Drop your question
Type your request directly in the channel. Be clear about what you need.
🎫 Watch for the magic
🎫 Watch for the magic
Ravenna will work its behind-the-scenes magic. Look for a 🎫 emoji reaction on your message or an acknowledgment in the thread. Each organization customizes this differently, so this experience will be totally unique for you, but the gist is there.
🧵 Follow the thread
🧵 Follow the thread
Ravenna has perfect Slack etiquette, all the back-and-forth happens in the message thread to keep things tidy. You’ll also see these tickets in the Home tab of the Ravenna app, with a handy link back to the public thread.
The old-school approach: Some people still prefer the comfort of their email client. We see you, and we respect your commitment to the classics.
How it works (spoiler: exactly like before)
- Send an email to your team’s usual email address
- Write your request like you normally would - no special formatting required
- Hit send and carry on with your day
- Get responses in your email, just like the good old days
The best of both worlds: Even if you submit via email, your request will show up in the Ravenna Slack app too. So if you ever decide to join the Slack revolution, your ticket history will be waiting for you.
Knowledge
The feedback loop: When Ravenna’s AI answers your questions using your company’s knowledge base, you can help make it better for everyone. Think of it as training your digital coworker.
How the AI learns
When Ravenna answers a question using your company’s knowledge - whether in a public channel or private chat - you’ll see those familiar reaction buttons. Here’s where the magic happens:👍 Good answer
👍 Good answer
Hit that thumbs up when the AI nails it. This tells your company that the knowledge document is working well and helps the AI get better at finding the right answers.
👎 Not quite right
👎 Not quite right
React with thumbs down when the AI misses the mark or gives outdated info. This flags the knowledge document for review AND automatically opens a ticket to get you the real help you need. Two birds, one stone.
Why this matters
Your feedback helps your organization:- Identify knowledge gaps - What documents need updating or creating
- Improve AI accuracy - Better answers for everyone over time
- Fix outdated information - Keep the knowledge base fresh and relevant
The virtuous cycle: The more people use these reactions, the smarter Ravenna can be.
Approvals
The power position: Sometimes you’re not the one asking for help - you’re the one who gets to say “yes” or “nah, try again.”
How you’ll know someone needs your approval
- Public tickets
- Private tickets
When someone submits a request in a public channel and it needs your approval:
- You’ll get tagged directly in the message thread
- A notification appears in the Ravenna app with handy approve/reject buttons
- Everything shows up in your Home tab under “My Approvals” section
- The whole conversation is visible to everyone (keeping things transparent)
Your approval options
✅ Approve
✅ Approve
Click approve and the request moves forward. The requester gets notified, and the agent can continue working on the ticket.
❌ Reject
❌ Reject
Sometimes, you have to say no. Reject with a reason so everyone can understand and can potentially resubmit with fixes if suitable.
💬 Ask questions first
💬 Ask questions first
Need more context? Jump into the conversation before making your decision. It’s perfectly acceptable to ask “why do you need access to the executive bathroom?”
Managing your approval queue
Your Home tab in the Ravenna app becomes your approval queue:- My Approvals section shows everything waiting for your decision
- One-click actions for quick decisions
- Full context available with a single click
Pro tip: Don’t let approvals sit forever. That budget request for office plants isn’t going to approve itself, and your team is depending on you to keep things moving.
Wrapping up
Congratulations: You’ve now mastered the art of getting help at your company. You’re officially ready to navigate the wonderful world of workplace support requests like a pro.
What you now know how to do
You can now confidently:- Submit requests through the Ravenna app, public channels, or good old email
- Track your tickets without forgetting or losing them
- Help train the AI with thumbs up/down reactions
- Handle approvals like the decision-making champion you are
- Get instant answers from the knowledge base when possible
The bottom line
Ravenna isn’t just another corporate tool to learn, it’s designed to make your work life easier. No more lost tickets, no more email chains that go nowhere, and no more wondering if anyone actually received your request. The system works best when everyone uses it, so don’t be shy about:- Posting in public channels (your coworkers will thank you)
- Giving feedback on AI responses (it gets smarter over time)
Still confused about something? Just ask Ravenna in the Chat tab and if it can’t help, open a ticket with your internal support team. They’re ready and waiting to assist.