--- title: "Team offsite location poll template for Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/offsite-location/" description: "Plan a team offsite in Slack. Templates to rank destinations, find dates that work and collect travel and accessibility needs anonymously." --- # Offsite location poll for Slack When to use it: When you are planning a team offsite and want the team to weigh in on where and when before you book anything. How often: Once per offsite An offsite people helped choose is one they turn up for. Three short polls cover it: where, when, and what people need to get there. Run them in that order and book after each one closes, while the options are still available. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Where should we hold the spring offsite?" "Lisbon, 2.5h flight" "The Lake District, 3h train" "Berlin, 1.5h flight" "Stay local, rent a venue" ranked close after 3 days ``` Destinations, ranked, closing after three days. *Premium: closing automatically.* ```text /poll "Which offsite dates can you make?" "First week of May" "Second week of May" "Last week of May" "None of these" close after 2 days remind 1 day before closing ``` Date windows. Pick every window you can make. *Premium: closing automatically, reminders.* ```text /poll "Offsite planning" "Anonymous. Helps us make sure everyone can come." anonymous close after 3 days --- "How far can you travel?" "Day trip only" "A short flight is fine" "Anywhere" limit 1 --- "Any dietary needs?" short text optional --- "Any accessibility or travel needs we should plan for?" short text optional --- "Anything else that would stop you coming?" short text optional ``` The needs survey. Anonymous, every free-text question optional. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.* ## Where Shortlist three to five destinations you have already checked for budget and availability, then run a ranked poll. Ranked suits destinations: most people have a favourite and a clear "anything but that one", and instant-runoff finds the place with the broadest support, not the one with a loud fan club. Put the deciding facts in the options: "Lisbon, 2.5h flight" tells people what they are voting for. ## When Offer two or three date windows and let people pick every window they can make. A single-choice vote here hides the window everyone could attend. Add "None of these" so people with a conflict tell you before you book. ## What people need Travel limits, dietary needs, accessibility and caring responsibilities decide whether everyone can come. Ask in an anonymous survey with free-text questions (Premium), and read every answer. Mark the questions `optional`, so nobody has to write anything to submit. ## The mistake people make Putting a destination on the poll you can't afford or can't book. If it wins, you have to overrule the vote. Check budget and availability before anything goes on the shortlist. ## FAQ ### Can people see which destination is winning? Not in a ranked poll. Voters see the results only once it closes, which stops people switching to the front-runner. ### How are ranked poll results counted? With instant-runoff voting. The option with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated in rounds, and those votes move to each voter's next choice, until one option has a majority. ### Can I collect dietary needs with names attached? Yes. Leave out `anonymous` if the organiser needs to know who needs what. On Premium, the poll creator can also export the answers to CSV. ## Used by - [Slack polls for executive assistants](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/executive-assistants/) - [Slack polls for remote teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/remote-teams/) - [Slack polls for sales teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/sales-teams/) ## Related - [Holiday party planning poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/holiday-party-planning/): When you are organising an end-of-year party and want the date, format and details settled by the people who will be there. - [Event feedback poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/event-feedback/): Around a team offsite, company party, conference trip or community meetup: a few days before to shape it, and the day after to learn what to repeat. - [How to create a ranked choice poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-ranked-choice-poll-in-slack/): In a ranked choice poll, each person puts the options in order of preference instead of picking one. Simple Poll counts the result with instant-runoff voting, so the winner is the option with the broadest support, not just the most first choices. Ranked polls work on every plan. - [How to create a survey in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/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 remote teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/remote-teams/): On a remote team, Slack is the office, and a lot of what an office does for free has to be asked for on purpose: who is around when, how people are doing, where to meet up once a year. Polls are how you ask without scheduling another call. ## Sources - [How are the rankings calculated when using rank options?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/119-how-are-the-rankings-calculated-when-using-rank-options) - [Using Simple Poll for events](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/146-using-simple-polls-for-events) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.