The cloud-based version of Microsoft Office – Office 365 – is quickly becoming one of the more popular product offerings from the Redmond tech giant. While there are numerous programs included in the suite, Lync, which enables communication, could be the most useful. Because it enables more effective collaboration it can make decision making easier. One useful feature of Lync is polls.

Here is an overview of polls in Lync.

Before you begin a poll
Because you can create a poll directly in group chats in Lync, you will first need to start a group chat, or be made a presenter in an existing chat. If you are not a presenter or the organizer of the group, ask the organizer to update your status.

Polling is also made easier if you take a moment before creating it to jot down or think about what exactly you are polling for e.g., for feedback on a specific point or to form part of a more complex decision making process. This will help you devise the questions or options participants choose from.

You should also be aware that this feature allows for only one poll to be active at any one time and each poll can only have a single question and up to seven answers. If you need to ask more than one question, separate polls will be needed.

Creating a poll in Lync

You can create a poll by:

1. Opening a group chat – it can be either IM, phone or an audio/visual conversation.
2. Hovering over the monitor icon and selecting Poll.
3. Entering a name for the poll in the Poll name box, followed by the question in the Question box.
4. Entering your answers in the Choices box.
5. Pressing Create to launch the poll.

Managing the poll
Once you have created the poll the question and choices will appear in the group chat window. You will see a Poll Actions button at the bottom of the window, this allows you to manage the poll.

For example, if everyone has voted, press the Poll Actions button and select Poll is closed to end the poll. You can also save the results as an image by pressing Save the poll results.

To close the poll, press Stop Presenting at the top of the chat window. This will allow users to continue chatting and also allow you to launch another poll if need be.

If you are looking to learn more about using Office 365 in your business, please contact us today to see how we can help.