---
title: "Slack polls for executive assistants and office managers"
url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/executive-assistants/"
description: "How executive assistants use Slack polls for offsite dates, lunch orders, event headcounts and all-hands questions."
---

# Slack polls for executive assistants

For: Executive assistants and office managers

Assistants run the logistics nobody else wants to chase: when the leadership team can meet,
what everyone eats, who is coming, which venue. Most of that used to be a thread of forty
replies you had to tally by hand. A poll tallies it for you and gives the thread a deadline.

These polls have one thing in common: you need an answer from specific people by a specific
time. That makes `close after` and reminders (Premium) the settings that do the most work.

## Example polls

Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.

```text
/poll "Leadership offsite: which windows work?" "In three weeks" "In four weeks" "In five weeks" close after 2 days remind 3 hours before closing
```

Offsite dates for the leadership channel, with a nudge before it closes. *Premium: closing automatically, reminders.*

```text
/poll "Team lunch today: pick one" "Thai green curry" "Chicken burrito bowl" "Falafel wrap" "Mushroom risotto" limit 1 close after 3 hours schedule tomorrow 9am
```

Posts tomorrow morning, closes before the catering cut-off. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically, scheduled posting.*

```text
/poll "Questions for the all-hands. Upvote the ones you want answered." q&a anonymous
```

All-hands questions, anonymous, sorted by upvotes. *Free.*

```text
/poll "Summer party: are you coming?" "Yes" "Yes, plus one" "No" limit 1 close after 7 days
```

A headcount without a Maybe option. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically.*

## Dates for the leadership offsite

Post the date options in a private channel with just the attendees, with multiple choice
on, so each person ticks every window that works. A
[private channel](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-poll-a-private-channel-in-slack/) keeps the
conversation out of the wider company. Add `close after 2 days` and a reminder a few
hours before it closes. Executives answer polls the way they answer email: in batches,
when nudged.

Once you have dates, a second poll picks the venue. See the
[offsite location template](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/offsite-location/).

## Lunch orders that close before the cut-off

For catered lunch, schedule the poll (Premium) to post in the morning and close an hour
or two before your restaurant order is due. Set `limit 1` so you get one meal per person,
and keep it to the options the caterer actually offers. A dietary-needs question belongs
in a separate, standing list, not in the daily poll. The
[team lunch template](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-lunch/) has variants for a team pick and individual
orders.

## Headcounts for events

"Are you coming?" with "Yes", "No" and "Maybe" sounds fine and gives you a useless number,
because Maybe is where everyone hides. Ask for a yes or no by a date and make the deadline
the poll close. If you need a plus-one count, ask it as a separate option: "Yes, plus one".
For a bigger event, the [holiday party planning](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/holiday-party-planning/)
template covers dates, venue and dietary questions.

## Collecting questions for the all-hands

A `q&a` poll posted two days before the all-hands lets people submit questions and upvote
each other's. Hand your executive the top of the list in the order the company voted it.
Turn on `anonymous` if you want the hard questions. See the
[all-hands questions template](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/all-hands-questions/).

## Templates for Executive assistants and office managers

### [Meeting time poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/meeting-time/)

When you need to find a slot that works for a group and calendars alone don't tell you who can really make it.

```text
/poll "Which of these times can you make for quarterly planning next week?" "Mon 10:00 UK / 05:00 ET" "Tue 15:00 UK / 10:00 ET" "Wed 16:00 UK / 11:00 ET" "Thu 14:00 UK / 09:00 ET" "None of these work" close after 1 day remind 2 hours after posting
```

The one-off scheduling poll. Pick every slot you can make. Closes in a day. *Premium: closing automatically, reminders.*

### [Offsite location poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/offsite-location/)

When you are planning a team offsite and want the team to weigh in on where and when before you book anything.

```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.*

### [Team lunch poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-lunch/)

When you are organising a team lunch or a food order and need a decision before someone has to book or order.

```text
/poll "Where should we go for team lunch on Friday?" "Pizza" :pizza: "Tacos" :taco: "Sushi" :sushi: "Ramen" :ramen: limit 1 close after 2 hours
```

The classic. One vote each, emoji options, decided within two hours. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically.*

### [All-hands questions poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/all-hands-questions/)

In the days before an all-hands, town hall or leadership AMA, so the questions people actually care about get asked, including the uncomfortable ones.

```text
/poll "Questions for Thursday all-hands. Ask anything, upvote what you want answered." q&a anonymous
```

The basic all-hands Q&A, on Free. Anonymous questions, upvoted by everyone. *Free.*

### [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.

```text
/poll "Which dates could you make for the holiday party?" "Thursday, second week of December" "Friday, second week of December" "Thursday, third week of December" "None of these" close after 3 days remind 1 day before closing
```

The date poll. Pick every date you can make. *Premium: closing automatically, reminders.*

## FAQ

### Can I schedule a poll to post later?

Yes, with `schedule` (Premium) at the end of the poll text, for example
`schedule tomorrow 9am`. See [how to schedule a poll](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-schedule-a-poll-in-slack/).

### How do I stop people answering Maybe?

Leave it out. Offer "Yes" and "No" with `limit 1` (Premium) and a close date, and treat
anyone who has not voted by the close as a no.

### Can I get the results into a spreadsheet for the caterer?

Yes, on Premium. The poll's creator can export results as a CSV; see the export article
linked below.

## Related

- [Team lunch poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-lunch/): When you are organising a team lunch or a food order and need a decision before someone has to book or order.
- [Offsite location poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/offsite-location/): When you are planning a team offsite and want the team to weigh in on where and when before you book anything.
- [How to schedule a poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-schedule-a-poll-in-slack/): A scheduled poll is written now and posted later, at a time when people will see it: Monday at 9am rather than Friday at 6pm. Simple Poll can schedule a poll from the /poll text or from the poll form. Scheduling is a Premium feature, though it also works on Free for the whole of December.
- [How to limit votes in a Slack poll](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-limit-votes-in-a-slack-poll/): By default, a Simple Poll lets each person pick as many options as they like. That's right for "which days can you make?" and wrong for "which date should we pick?". A vote limit caps how many options each person can choose: limit 1 for single choice, limit 2 or more for "pick your top two". Vote limits are a Premium feature.
- [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 can I schedule a poll to be posted at a later time](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/102-how-can-i-schedule-a-poll-to-be-posted-at-a-later-time)
- [How do I export the results of a poll](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/83-how-do-i-export-the-results-of-a-poll)
- [Can I use Simple Poll in private channels or shared channels](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/115-can-i-use-simple-poll-in-private-channels-or-shared-channels)

---

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