I’m trying to set up an automated workflow in Zapier that sends direct messages to new team members when they join our Slack workspace. The setup process seems straightforward, but I’m stuck on one crucial detail.
When configuring the action step, there’s a required field for specifying the message recipient. The dropdown only shows existing usernames from our workspace, but I need it to dynamically target whoever just joined. I can’t figure out what value to use here since new members obviously won’t appear in the preset list.
Should I be routing these messages through a bot account instead? Or is there some way to use dynamic data from the trigger? The documentation doesn’t clarify this part of the setup process.
had the same headache! skip that dropdown entirely - click straight into the recipient field and look for the lightning bolt or plus icon to add dynamic data. your trigger should automatically pass the new member’s user ID. i always go with user ID instead of username since it’s way more reliable. test it by joining a test workspace yourself to confirm the mapping works.
You’re on the right track with dynamic data from the trigger. Don’t pick from the existing users dropdown at all. Look for the dynamic content option (usually a small icon next to the field) and grab the user ID or username from your trigger step. I hit this same problem last year setting up our onboarding flow. Zapier sends the new user’s info from the trigger event, so you’ve got to map that data into the recipient field instead of picking a static user. Just make sure your trigger’s actually catching the ‘Member Joined Team’ event properly - that’s what gives you the user details you need.
Yeah, recipient fields can be tricky with new members who aren’t listed in the dropdown yet. It’s best to skip the dropdown entirely; just click in the recipient field and type or paste the dynamic value from your trigger. When someone joins, Zapier captures their user ID in the trigger data, so you should map that field directly into the recipient box. I encountered this issue while setting up welcome messages and found that entering the dynamic field works much better than using preset options. Just ensure you’re testing with Slack’s actual user ID format, not the display name.