Example polls
Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.
Survey (13 questions). The full twelve-theme survey with an optional comment at the end, anonymous.
/poll "Engagement survey" "Twelve statements, about three minutes. Anonymous." anonymous close after 7 days remind 1 day before closing --- "I am clear on what my job asks of me" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "I have the tools and resources to do my job properly" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Most days I get to use my strongest skills" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "When I do good work, it gets noticed" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Someone here looks out for me as a person" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Someone here is invested in my growth" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "My input is taken seriously" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Our mission makes my work feel important" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "My teammates hold a high bar for quality" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "I have a close friend at work" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Someone has talked with me about my progress in the last six months" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "This year I have had chances to learn and grow" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "Anything these questions missed?" short text optional
Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically, reminders
AnonymousClose automatically: after 7 daysReminder: 24 hours before closing
Survey (4 questions). A short version covering the first four themes, for a team that has never run one.
/poll "Engagement check: the basics" "Four statements. Anonymous." anonymous close after 3 days --- "I am clear on what my job asks of me" scale --- "I have the tools and resources to do my job properly" scale --- "When I do good work, it gets noticed" scale --- "Someone here looks out for me as a person" scale
Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically
AnonymousClose automatically: after 3 days
Scale from 1 to 5. One theme on its own, on Free. Use it to track a single weak spot week to week.
/poll "My input is taken seriously" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale anonymous
Free
Anonymous
The twelve themes
Each statement in the template maps to one theme:
- Knowing what is expected of you
- Having the tools and resources to do the work
- Getting to do what you are best at
- Recognition for good work
- Someone at work who cares about you
- Someone who encourages your development
- Your opinions counting
- A mission that makes the work feel important
- Colleagues committed to quality
- Having a close friend at work
- Talking about your progress
- Opportunities to learn and grow
The order runs roughly from basic needs to growth. If the first few score low, fix those before working on the later ones.
How to run it
Post it as one anonymous survey (Premium) in a channel everyone is in. Use the same five labels on every statement so the means compare: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. Add an optional free-text question at the end for anything the statements missed.
Give people a week, close after 7 days, with remind 1 day before closing. Quarterly
is enough: the themes move slowly, and twelve questions every month wears people out.
What to do with the results
Every statement gets a mean and a median. Sort them low to high and look at the bottom three. Those are your agenda for the quarter. Share them with the team, say what you'll try, and rerun the same survey next quarter to see if they moved.
Between full runs, put one weak theme into your weekly pulse survey so you see whether a fix is working before the next quarter.
What this is not
Your scores are not comparable to Gallup's published benchmarks. Those come from Gallup's own wording and administration. Compare your team to itself over time.
Questions
What is the Gallup Q12?
Gallup's 12-question employee engagement survey. People rate twelve statements about their job on a five-point agreement scale. See Gallup Q12.
Can I use Gallup's exact questions?
The exact wording is Gallup's. The template here covers the same themes in different words, which is fine for tracking your own team over time.
Is it anonymous?
With anonymous, nobody sees who answered what, including you as the creator.
Does this need Premium?
Multi-question surveys, close after and reminders are Premium. A single statement
works on Free. Start a 14-day free trial with /simplepoll trial in Slack.
Used by
Related
- What is the 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.
- What is a Likert scale?
A Likert scale measures attitudes by asking people how much they agree with a set of statements, usually on five points from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". Strictly, one statement is a Likert item, and the scale is several items scored together.
- Weekly pulse survey for Slack
When an annual engagement survey is too slow to catch problems and you want a light, regular read on how the team is doing.
- eNPS survey for Slack
When you want one comparable number for how likely people are to recommend working here, tracked quarter to quarter.
- How to create a survey in Slack
A survey in Simple Poll is one Slack message with several questions behind it. People click the survey's Open button, answer in a pop-up without leaving Slack, and you get the results in the same place. Surveys are a Premium feature, with up to 20 questions each.
- Slack polls for HR and People teams
People teams ask the whole company for input more than anyone else, which makes them the first to burn out a channel with surveys. The fix is a small, predictable calendar: a few polls with a clear job each, sent at the same rhythm, with results that go somewhere.