How to use Microsoft Office 365 Outlook Calendar Polls

Written and Recorded by Brandi Koloski - Marketing Assistant, i3 Business Solutions

We like to plan a lot of meetings and social events here at i3, so we definitely know the headache of trying to find a date and time that works best for all attendees. We discovered a major solution to this problem – Microsoft Outlook Calendar Polling! So how do you use Microsoft Office 365 Outlook calendar polls?

We can tell you from experience that it really reduces the juggling of responses. The poll easily integrates with your Outlook Calendar and is simple to manage and gather responses – but keep in mind, this feature is only available on the web browser version of Outlook!

Check out the “How To” video that we made for you! As always, if you have any questions about this feature, contact us today!

How To Do It

The video above covered one way to create a poll. Here are more in depth instructions.

Option 1

1. Head on over to Microsoft Outlook in your web browser
2. Click the calendar icon in the lower left hand corner of the window
3. In the upper left hand corner of the calendar, click the down arrow next to new and choose "Poll for a time to meet" (a new window will pop up)
4. You can now input all of the information that is nessecary
   1. Title
   2. Location
   3. Meeting Options: These are the times that attendees will be voting on - choose at least two.
   4. Message to attendees
   5. Invite Attendees (next column over)
5. Once you have input all of the information, you can send the invite and wait for responses!

Option 2

1. Use either the New Event button in the upper left corner of the calendar OR double click a day on the calendar to bring up the event details window
2. Input all information that you would normally use - instead of selecting one date and time, click the "poll for a time to meet" button. You can then select the multiple dates and times that are being considered for the event
3. Once you have input all of the information, you can send the invite and wait for responses!

What happens after you send the invite?

Attendees will receive a link to the poll that you have created. They can choose all dates that work within their schedule. You will receive emails when attendees complete the poll.

You can manage the poll (cancel the event or decide on the final date) or check on attendee responses by double clicking on the "HOLD" date in your calendar on the web browser.

A few things to keep in mind:

• If all attendees decide on the same date, Outlook will automatically decide on that date for you and no further action is required
• If attendee responses are inconclusive, it is up to you as the organizer to choose the most appropriate date based on responses - this can be done by double clicking the "HOLD" date in your calendar
• You are able to pick a date even if responses are not received from every attendee

That wraps it up for the basics that you will need to know to create and manage an event using polling in Microsoft Outlook on the web browser. As always if you have any questions, reach out to us today!