Summary: This guide is for team leads, managers, and communicators who want to gather quick feedback, streamline decisions, or boost interaction in their network. It covers how to build a poll from the post composer, set an automatic voting deadline, and manage comments, reactions, and notifications.
1. How to create a poll
Whether you are gathering employee input on a big operational change or simply picking a lunch spot, polls can go network-wide or be targeted to individual departments and groups.
To build a poll:
- Go to your Feed and open the post creation window, or click the +.
- Go to the content type picker at the top of the creation window and select Poll.
- Type your main question into the Question field.
- Add any background or context in the Description field.
- Enter your answer choices in the Answers list fields.
- Review your target audience and click publish to share it live to the Feed.
Curious what voting looks like for your colleagues? See Interacting with a Poll.
2. Setting a voting deadline
You control how long a poll stays active, so your data collection fits your timeline.
If you want to close participation automatically, toggle the Voting ends option to ON and use the built-in calendar picker to set the exact end date and time.
- While the poll is active: Voters see a real-time countdown showing exactly how much time remains to submit their votes.
- Once the deadline passes: The system automatically disables voting, shows a message indicating when the poll ended, and reveals the final percentage results to the audience.
3. Managing comments, reactions, and notifications
Depending on what you're after, you may want open discussion under your poll, or no interactions at all. You'll find these settings by clicking the gear wheel icon directly below your answers list.
By default, all interactions are enabled. You can adjust the following options before or after publishing:
| Setting | What it does |
| Allow comments | Turn on to create an open discussion space under your poll, or turn off to keep the focus purely on the votes. |
| Allow reactions | Turn on to let colleagues like or react to the poll with emojis, or turn off if reactions aren't needed. |
| Notifications | Choose whether the targeted members receive push notifications when this poll hits their Feed. |
Frequently asked questions
How do I create a poll to get quick feedback from my team?
Open the post creation window in your Feed, click the content type picker at the top, and select Poll. Fill in your question, description, and answer choices before sharing it with your group or department.
Can I schedule a poll to close automatically at a certain time?
Yes. Enable the "Voting ends" toggle, select your exact date and time, and the platform automatically locks voting and shows the final results once that moment passes.
Where do I find the settings to turn off comments or reactions on a poll?
Click the gear wheel icon directly underneath your answers list. From there you can toggle comments, reactions, and notifications on or off.
What do voters see once a voting deadline has passed?
Once a poll closes, the voting options are replaced with a message stating when the poll ended, and the final percentage breakdown of all submitted answers is shown.
Still stuck?
Email us at support@speakap.com with your network name and a link to the poll, and we'll help you out.