How to run an employee poll

When a poll is the right tool

Use polls for quick choices and short pulse checks where a few options cover the likely answers. Do not use a poll for sensitive matters. Complaints of harassment belong with the Internal Committee, and individual grievances need your grievance process. Detailed feedback needs a proper survey or a group discussion. Above all, poll only on questions where you are willing to act on the answer; asking and then ignoring the result is worse than not asking.

Writing the question and options

A leading question gets a useless answer. Compare 'Don't you think the new shift timings are better?' with 'Which start time works for you for the general shift: 8:30 am, 9:00 am, 9:30 am, or no preference?' The second gives HR something it can use. Keep the question short enough to read on a phone screen.

• One idea per question
• Neutral wording that does not hint at the answer you want
• Options that cover all likely answers without overlapping
• A 'no preference' or 'other' option where it makes sense
• Single choice when you need a decision, multiple choice when you want to see interest across options

Anonymous or named

Make a poll anonymous when you ask for opinions about managers, workload or culture; people will not answer honestly otherwise. Keep it named for logistics, such as who is attending an event or food preferences for a headcount. Say clearly which kind of poll it is. Remember that anonymity is weak in very small groups: if only six people in a team answer, they can often guess who said what.

Worked example: choosing the annual day date

A 180-person company in Jaipur offers three dates for its annual day in a single-choice poll to all branches, open for three days. It receives 142 responses, a response rate of about 79 percent, rounded. The second date wins with 74 votes, 52 percent of responses. HR announces the result and the confirmed date the next morning, along with the vote count, so everyone can see the decision followed the poll.

• Leading or loaded questions
• Options that overlap or miss obvious answers
• Anonymous polls in very small teams
• No closing time, so the poll drifts on
• Results never shared

Step by step

1. Decide the purpose first. Write down the decision the poll will inform and confirm you are willing to act on the result before you publish anything.
2. Write one clear question. Keep it short, neutral and about a single topic, so it reads well on a phone screen.
3. Write balanced options. Cover the likely answers without overlaps, and add 'no preference' or 'other' where it helps.
4. Choose single or multiple choice. Use single choice for decisions and multiple choice to gauge interest. ZeniaHR polls on the Company Wall support both.
5. Decide on anonymity. Use anonymous polls for opinions and named polls for logistics. In ZeniaHR, polls have an anonymous option you turn on when creating them.
6. Pick the audience. Send the poll only to the people the decision affects. In ZeniaHR, polls can go to the whole company or to chosen branches or departments.
7. Set a closing time. Give two to five days for most polls. In ZeniaHR, set the closing time when you create the poll so it ends on schedule.
8. Share the result and the decision. Announce the result within a day or two of closing, with the numbers and what you will do. If you cannot act on it, explain why.

Frequently asked questions