👋Hey there! Want to conduct anonymous polls on Slack without fear of being judged or causing a backlash?😬 Look no further than MegaVote! Our app provides a powerful tool that enables your team to express their honest opinions anonymously. In this post, we'll show you how to **create an anonymous poll in Slack using MegaVote**, step-by-step. By the end of this post, you'll be a pro at leveraging the anonymous polling feature in Slack to improve collaboration, communication, and decision-making within your team. 🚀

Before continuing with this post, please make sure that you have installed MegaVote to your Slack workspace and are familiar with polling and voting in Slack. If not, please refer back to the post [How to Create a Poll in Slack](/blog/how-to-create-poll-in-slack). Now, let's dive in! 💪

## 😰 Mistakes Can Happen: Using Public Polls to Ask Sensitive Questions
Have you ever conducted a poll only to find out later that you made a big mistake? That's what happened to me recently. I conducted a poll on a sensitive topic, and as a result, some team members were unhappy with the outcome.

The problem was that I used a public poll, which displayed people's names and choices. As a result, some people felt pressured to choose a particular option, even if it wasn't what they really wanted. Below is my question with MegaVote to my team:
```
/megavote "💰💸💰 Team budget surplus! Should we donate some of it to a school affected by a typhoon?👩‍❤️‍👨 Vote now!🔥" "💰💰 100%" "💰 50%" "🙅‍♀️ Sorry!"
```
The poll results looked unrealistic, with almost everyone choosing to donate 100% or 50%. It was clear that I needed to make a change.

![Unrealistic results of the poll](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0003.how-to-create-an-anonymous-poll-in-slack/anonymous-failed.webp)


## 💡 Fixing the Problem: Using Anonymous Polls with Slack

To avoid a similar situation in the future, I decided to use an `Anonymous Poll` for our team's next vote. I chose MegaVote, a Slack app that supports anonymous polling. With this app, only the total number of votes is displayed, and the results are only revealed after the poll is closed. Additionally, the names of the voters remain anonymous, even to me as the vote organizer. This ensured that everyone could freely express their opinion without fear of judgement or pressure to conform to a particular outcome.
```
/megavote "💰💸💰 Team budget surplus! Should we donate some of it to a school affected by a typhoon?👩‍❤️‍👨 Vote now!🔥" "💰💰 100%" "💰 50%" "🙅‍♀️ Sorry!"
```
In the vote detail, I set:
- Anonymity: `Anonymous`
- Show Results: `Once Closed`

![Configure Anonymous & Show Results Once Closed](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0003.how-to-create-an-anonymous-poll-in-slack/anonymous-config.webp)

After the poll results came in, I was relieved to see that they reflected a more accurate representation of our team's opinions. Out of 20 team members, 9 chose to donate 0%, 8 chose to donate 50%, and only 3 chose to donate 100%. This meant that the total donation amount would be 35%. More importantly, everyone felt happy and engaged, as they were able to express their true opinions without fear of judgment or backlash.
```
Donation: 35% 👏 (9 x 0% + 8 x 50% + 3 x 100%)
```

> ⚠️ The demo result below is just a sample (not the real result from my team).

![The poll results looked good](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0003.how-to-create-an-anonymous-poll-in-slack/anonymous-success.webp)


## 👌 Conclusion: MegaVote to the Rescue

Overall, I'm grateful to have discovered MegaVote and its anonymous polling feature. I created a clip to show you the full process of creating an anonymous poll in Slack with the help of MegaVote, so you can avoid making the same mistake I did.

![Demo clip for the Game](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/12.anonymous-success.webp)

In conclusion, the lesson I learned is that when it comes to sensitive topics, it's crucial to use the right tools and carefully consider the appropriate scenario and rules. After all, team engagement activities are for people, and it's important to ensure everyone feels comfortable and valued.

Thanks for reading!

No more boring polling logic for Reservation Queue problems. The Queue feature in MegaVote helps your team organize events such as First-come, First-served events and invitations with Limited-seats,...

This post will guide you on how to organize Reservation Queue events for your team. Before continuing with this post, you need to install MegaVote to your Slack workspace and be familiar with polling and voting in Slack. If not, please head back to the post [How to Create a Poll in Slack](/blog/how-to-create-poll-in-slack). Now, let's get started!

## Scenario 1: How to correctly organize a Reservation event in Slack
### Mistake 1: Using boring polls for Reservation events
Instinctual action will be to create an old-school poll for such a case by using the command below
```
/megavote "🍔🥤 Friday Lunch 🥤🍔: Will you be joining us? 🤔💭💭 Please register now! 💻📝👇" "Heck yes! 🙌🎉" "Nope sorry! 😴"
```

The poll has 2 options:
1. `Heck yes! 🙌🎉`
2. `Nope sorry! 😴`

![Results of the old-school polling method](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/reservation-poll.webp)

Can you see? No one chooses option #2 `NO`. Most people, if they cannot or do not want to join, they always politely keep quiet. So, instead of setting up just two options, why not find a more creative way to solve this problem?

### Fix 1: Organize Events with Reservation Queues
`@MegaVote` allows you to create a Reservation Queue to handle the same problem in a creative way, using the following command. To create the queue, enter the command into the chatbox:
```
/queue 🍔🥤 Friday Lunch 🥤🍔: Will you be joining us? 🤔💭💭 Please register now! 💻📝👇
```
The Queue Creation form will pop up. Select `Unlimited Queue | No Waiting` as you want anyone interested to register to join. That's it!

![Choose Queue type: Unlimited length & Without Waitlist](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/reservation-queue-1.webp)

Once the Reservation Queue is posted to the channel, initially it will look like in the screenshot below:

- `Register` & `Unregister` buttons to allow people to react to the invitation
- The `Queue Length` is `Unlimited`
- No `Waitlist`

![Initial Reservation Queue](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/reservation-queue-2.webp)

Your team can click `Register` to join, or someone can choose to `Unregister` to dequeue themselves later. Once the registration is closed, you can see the results as shown in the screenshot below.

![Reservation Queue Result](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/reservation-queue-3.webp)

See how easy it is to organize a reservation queue with `@MegaVote`. No more boring polls and surveys. `@MegaVote` offers a native application for you to organize such events for your team. This is a perfect solution for weekly events that every team in your workspace might have. Your team will quickly appreciate the creative way you have organized the event for them.


## Scenario 2: How to correctly organize a Limited-seat event in Slack
### Mistake 2: Using traditional polling for a Limited-seat event
Similar to above, normally people will go for an old-school polling approach for a limited-seat event by using the command below:
```
/megavote "🏃‍♀️🏃 Hurry up to take the last 2 remaining `FREE` 😋💸 movie tickets 🎪, 1st come 1st serve 🎉🙌❤️" "Let me in 🙌🎉" "Nah 😴"
```
![Result for old-school style polling](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/limitedseat-poll.webp)

The poll has 2 options:
1. `Let me in 🙌🎉`
2. `Nah 😴`

Can you see? There are two issues with this poll:
- No one chose `NO`. Most people, if they cannot or do not want to register, politely remain quiet.
- We only offered 2 tickets, but there are 4 people registered. What if the number of offers is larger, such as 30 to 100? Can we tell from the screen who is eligible for registration based on who arrived first?

So, let's find a more creative solution to this problem. Instead of using only 2 options with one mostly left blank, we can create a more elaborate system. We can separate the order of registration and create multiple queues based on certain criteria, such as eligibility or priority.

### Fix 2: organize events with Limited-seat Queue
`@MegaVote` allows you to create a Limited-seat Queue with the following command to handle the same problem in a creative way. Create the queue by entering the command into the chatbox:
```
/queue 🏃‍♀️🏃 Hurry up to take the last 2 remaining `FREE` 😋💸 movie tickets 🎪, 1st come 1st serve 🎉🙌❤️
```
The Queue Creation form will be popped up, continue to choose:
- `Queue Length` to `Limited Queue | Unlimited Waiting`
- `Max users in Queue` to 2

That will fit your scenario. Offer 2 tickets for early birds, and those who come late should be in the waitlist to reserve a spot in case someone in the Queue decides to `Unregister`. The earliest member in the waitlist will be appended to the Queue.

![Choose Queue type & Set Queue Length](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/limitedseat-queue-1.webp)

Once the Limited-seat Queue is posted to the channel, at the initial stage, it looks like in the screenshot below:
- `Register` & `Unregister` buttons to allow people to react to the invitation
- The `Queue Length` is limited to 2
- `Waitlist` is `Unlimited`

![Initial Reservation Queue](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/limitedseat-queue-2.webp)

You team click `Register` to join, or someone change their mind later can choose `Unregister` to dequeue themselves. Once done, you can close the registration & see its result as in screenshot below

![Reservation Queue result](https://cdn.megavote.net/blog/0002.how-to-create-a-reservation-queue-in-slack/limitedseat-queue-3.webp)

Here you can see, no more boring & handy on-screen counting:
- 2 early birds queued are eligible for the offered tickets
- 2 others coming late are in the waitlist

`@MegaVote` offers a native application for you to organize such events for your team. This can happen weekly for all teams in your workspace, and people will quickly love the creative ways you organize events for them.

> BONUS: To sum up, we created the clip to guide you throughout the whole scenario above.

![Demo clip for the Game](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/10.queue-limitedseats.webp)

## Conclusion
In this blog post, you have been guided through the `@MegaVote` Reservation Queue feature in Slack to help you stay away from boring poll logic for Queue problem. If you haven't already, please install `@MegaVote` to your Slack Workspace..

> You can also find more posts on our blog to help you engage your team with `@MegaVote`.

Thanks for reading!

## Preparation - 1st time only
Before continuing with this post, you need to install the **MegaVote Slack App** to your workspace. If you haven't done so already, please [Add it to your Slack workspace](https://megavote.net/slack/install) (it's FREE). If you've already installed the `@MegaVote` Slack app, you can skip to the next section on [Create a poll in Slack](#create-a-poll-in-slack---by-command-with-question-only).

### Install MegaVote to your Slack Workspace
![Install MegaVote to your Slack Workspace](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/1.installation.webp)

### Add `@MegaVote` to a Slack channel
![Add @MegaVote to a Slack channel](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/2.add-to-channel.webp)

After installing MegaVote, you will have dozens of ways to create a poll or vote in your Slack workspace. Let's start!


## Create a poll in Slack - by Command with Question only
When you directly enter the command in the Slack input box of the channel where you want to send the poll, @MegaVote will display a Poll/Vote creation form for you to review and complete before posting it to the channel.

When you enter a blank command without appending any question, the Blank Creation form will be popped up.
```
/megavote
```

When you enter the command with a question after it, the Creation Form will be pre-filled with your Poll/Vote question.
> HINT: this will help you copy/paste or compose a complex question using the Slack emoji editor.
```
/megavote What's the best way to start a Monday morning? 🤗 🔥
```

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - by Command with Question only](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/3.create-command1.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - by Command with Question & Options
In the previous section, we introduced how to create a Poll/Vote in Slack using a simple Slack command. `@MegaVote` also supports a more complex scenario where you can provide the question and its related poll options in a single command.

This will help you to copy and paste long, complex Poll/Vote Slack commands from your notes or from our open library, help, or guide. As in the sample below, you will find a complete Poll/Vote with a question and its 4 options:

```
/megavote "What's the best way to start a Monday morning? 🤗 🔥" "☕️Coffee" "🍩 Donut" "🛌 Sleeping in" "🤔 Still thinking"
```
> NOTES: each part of the command needs to be separated inside double quotes, as different parts of the command: `/megavote "QUESTION" "OPTION1" "OPTION2"..`

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - by Command with Question & Options](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/4.create-command2.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - by Shortcut
The shortcut in Slack is a way to help you explore and find a list of quick commands available in your workspace's channel.

The shortcut menu can be accessed by clicking the small ➕ at the left side of the Slack chatbox. By typing or selecting the `@MegaVote` command in the menu, you can quickly launch the Poll/Vote Creation Form and start posting your Poll/Vote.

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - by Shortcut](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/5.create-shortcut.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - from Message
Sometimes you post a message to a channel to ask your team for an opinion, and then you realize that it should not just be a simple chat message to start a long Slack threaded discussion.

So, to turn a question into a better way to engage people and visualize the voted result with the help of `@MegaVote`, you should choose the posted message dropdown menu and find the `@MegaVote` command to create a new Poll/Vote from that message.

> HINT: You can try sending yourself a DM in Slack and experiment with different formats and emojis. Once you find the best version of your message, you can turn it into a Poll/Vote and post it to any public channel by this way.

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - from Message](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/6.create-message.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - from another Poll
`@MegaVote` offers this feature to make it convenient for you to quickly create a new Poll/Vote. Simply choose the dropdown menu of any posted Poll/Vote and then select `Create new Vote...`. This will launch a Poll/Vote Creation Form to help you start posting a new Poll/Vote.

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - from another Poll](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/7.create-from-another.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - by cloning an existing Poll
`@MegaVote` offers this feature to conveniently clone a posted Poll/Vote to a new one. Just choose the dropdown menu of any posted Poll/Vote, then choose `Create similar Vote...` The Poll/Vote Creation Form will be popped up, and all information from the posted Poll/Vote will be copied. You can then edit or post it right away.

> HINT: sometimes you find a cool Poll/Vote in one channel and want to replicate it in another channel. In such a case, you can simply clone the Poll/Vote and choose to send it to different channels to post it.

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - by cloning an existing Poll](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/8.create-by-cloning.webp)


## Create a poll in Slack - from Dashboard
`@MegaVote` provides everyone in your Slack workspace with a powerful Polls/Votes management Home. By choosing the `@MegaVote` App, you can see the Home, where you can find all your posted Polls/Votes and a complete set of features for Polling & Voting. Here, you will find the `Create` button, which will navigate you to a new Poll/Vote Creation Form for you to start posting the Poll/Vote.

Please see the demo clip below, to see it in action:
![Create a poll in Slack - from Dashboard](https://cdn.megavote.net/videos/slack/9.create-from-dashboard.webp)


## Conclusion
In this blog post, you have been guided through multiple ways to create a poll in Slack. If you haven't already, please install `@MegaVote` to your Slack Workspace.

> You can also find more posts on our blog to help you engage your team with `@MegaVote`.

Thanks for reading!

MegaVote for Slack: Blogs and News

How to Create an Anonymous Poll in Slack

How to Create a Reservation Queue in Slack

How to Create Poll in Slack