--- title: "Weekly pulse survey template for Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/weekly-pulse-survey/" description: "A short, anonymous weekly pulse survey that runs in Slack. Copy-paste /poll templates, the questions worth asking, and how to read the trend." --- # Weekly pulse survey for Slack When to use it: 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 often: Weekly A pulse survey is a short survey you send on a fixed rhythm, usually weekly or every two weeks. Three to five questions, anonymous, answered in under a minute. Because the questions stay the same, you can see what moves from week to week. Running it in Slack, where people already are, means nobody has to open a survey link from an email. Set it up once as a recurring poll and it posts itself. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Weekly pulse" "Anonymous. Under a minute." anonymous close after 2 days remind 1 day before closing --- "How was your week overall?" scale --- "How manageable was your workload?" scale --- "How clear are your priorities right now?" scale --- "Anything we should know?" short text optional ``` The standard weekly pulse. Fixed ratings plus one optional comment, anonymous. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically, reminders.* ```text /poll "Pulse check: how was your week?" "Rough" "Meh" "Fine" "Good" "Great" scale anonymous ``` The one-question pulse, on Free. Same question every week, compare the means. *Free.* ```text /poll "Fortnightly pulse" "Anonymous." anonymous close after 3 days --- "I have what I need to do my job well" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "I know what my priorities are this week" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "What is one thing we should change?" short text optional ``` Agreement statements instead of questions, for teams used to engagement surveys. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.* ## Which questions to ask Pick three to five and keep them fixed for at least a quarter. Good pulse questions are about the work and the week, so people can answer them without thinking hard: - How was your week overall? (1 to 5) - How manageable was your workload? (1 to 5) - How clear are your priorities right now? (1 to 5) - Do you have what you need to do your job well? (1 to 5) - Anything we should know? (free text, optional) Use the same 1 to 5 `scale` for every rating so the averages compare. Put the free-text question last and make it `optional`. ## When to send it Same day and time every week. Thursday or Friday works for most teams: the week is fresh, and you can act on it the following Monday. Create it once from the Simple Poll modal and schedule it to repeat (Premium). Add `close after 2 days` and `remind 1 day before closing` so the stragglers see it once more and each week's results are final. ## What to do with the results Each rating question shows a mean and median. Track them week over week. One bad week is noise. A score that falls three weeks in a row is a signal, and the free-text answers from those weeks usually say why. Post a two-line summary in the channel every couple of weeks: what you saw, what you are doing about it. That is what keeps response rates up. ## The mistake people make Changing the questions every week. You lose the trend, which is the only reason to run a pulse instead of a one-off survey. If you need a new question, run it as a separate poll. ## FAQ ### How do I make the pulse survey repeat every week? On Premium, create it from the Simple Poll modal (type `/poll` with no text), then use the Schedule button to repeat it. The `/poll` text itself can't repeat a poll. See [how to create a recurring poll](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/). ### Weekly or every two weeks? Weekly if the survey is one or two questions. Every two weeks if it is four or five. People stop answering long surveys that come too often. ### Can I export the results to track the trend? Yes, on Premium. The poll's creator can export the survey as a CSV with one row per respondent (labelled "Anonymous" on an anonymous survey). ### Do I need Premium? A single anonymous rating works on Free. Multi-question surveys, `close after`, reminders and recurring polls are Premium, with a 14-day free trial via `/simplepoll trial`. ## Used by - [Slack polls for HR and People teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/hr-and-people-teams/) ## Related - [What is a pulse survey?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/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. - [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. - [Team mood check-in poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-mood-check-in/): When you want an early, honest signal on how the team is feeling, before it shows up as missed deadlines or resignations. - [Gallup Q12-style engagement survey for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/gallup-q12-survey/): When you want a structured engagement check covering the basics of a good job, without sending people to a separate survey tool. - [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. - [Slack polls for HR and People teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/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. ## Sources - [How to create a recurring poll in Slack](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/124-how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack) - [What is a multi-question poll?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/129-what-is-a-multi-question-poll) - [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/.