--- title: "What is a pulse survey? Short, recurring team surveys" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/pulse-survey/" description: "A pulse survey is a short survey sent to the same group on a regular schedule to track change. How to design one and run it as a recurring poll in Slack." --- # What is a pulse survey? **Pulse survey**: A pulse survey is a short survey, usually one to five questions, sent to the same group on a regular schedule so you can see how things change over time. Common topics are workload, morale and engagement. Also known as: pulse check, engagement pulse. An annual engagement survey tells you how things were months ago. A pulse survey asks less, more often, so you notice a problem while you can still do something about it. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Weekly pulse" "Three questions, anonymous, under a minute." anonymous close after 2 days --- "How was your week?" scale --- "How manageable is your workload?" "Too light" "About right" "Stretched" "Unsustainable" limit 1 --- "Anything blocking you?" short text optional ``` A three-question weekly pulse. Make it recurring from the modal. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.* ```text /poll "How is your energy this week?" "Running low" "Okay" "Good" "Great" anonymous limit 1 close after 1 day ``` A one-question pulse for teams that already get too many surveys. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically.* ## What makes a pulse survey work - **The same questions every round.** The value is the trend. Change the wording and the line breaks. - **Short.** If it takes more than a minute, it's not a pulse. Three questions is plenty. - **Anonymous**, when the questions are about how people feel. - **A fixed cadence.** Weekly or every two weeks for a team, monthly for a larger group. Pick what you can act on between rounds. - **Visible follow-through.** Share the trend and one thing you're changing. A pulse that never leads anywhere turns into [survey fatigue](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/survey-fatigue/). ## Running a pulse survey in Slack Build it as one anonymous survey (Premium): a `scale` question for the headline number, a choice question if you need categories, and an optional `short text` question for anything else. Add `close after 2 days` so every round covers the same window. To repeat it, create the poll from the Simple Poll modal (type `/poll` with no text) and use the Schedule button to make it recurring (Premium). Recurrence can't be set in the `/poll` text itself. The results view shows a scale question's average and median, the numbers to track round to round. To keep a history outside Slack, export each round's results (Premium). ## The mistake people make Adding a question every round. The survey grows, responses drop, and you lose the comparison. Keep a fixed core and rotate at most one extra question. ## FAQ ### How is a pulse survey different from an engagement survey? Size and frequency. An engagement survey is long and runs once or twice a year. A pulse is a few questions on a regular cadence. ### Can a pulse survey repeat automatically in Slack? Yes, with a recurring poll (Premium), set up from the Simple Poll modal. See [how to create a recurring poll](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/). ### Should a pulse survey be anonymous? If it asks how people feel or how their manager is doing, yes. ## Related - [Weekly pulse survey for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/weekly-pulse-survey/): When an annual engagement survey is too slow to catch problems and you want a light, regular read on how the team is doing. - [How to create a recurring poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/): A recurring poll posts itself on a schedule you set, such as every Monday at 10am. You write it once and Simple Poll reposts it, so your weekly pulse or standup check-in never depends on someone remembering. Recurring polls are a Premium feature. - [What is survey fatigue?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/survey-fatigue/): Survey fatigue is when people are asked for feedback so often, or at such length, that they stop answering or start answering carelessly. - [What is the Gallup Q12?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/gallup-q12/): The Gallup Q12 is Gallup's employee engagement survey: twelve statements that employees rate on a five-point agreement scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The items are Gallup's proprietary material. ## Sources - [How to create a recurring or scheduled poll in Slack](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/124-how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack) - [How do I export the results of a poll?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/83-how-do-i-export-the-results-of-a-poll) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.