Who it’s for: Administrators with Sense Automate access
Platform: Sense Automate, Forms
Available on: Elite and Enterprise plans + Active Sense Forms Licence
Before you begin
Make sure you’ve:
☑️ An active Sense Forms Licence for your organisation.
☑️ Permission to install, configure, and deploy the workflow in Sense Automate.
☑️ Chosen the person who will create and manage the poll.
☑️ Confirmed the Sense HR-registered email address of the intended Survey Creator.
Overview
Forms - Live Poll lets your organisation create and run choice-based surveys through Forms, with results updating in real time as people respond.
The Automate administrator sets up the process by:
installing the workflow
nominating a Survey Creator
deploying the workflow
Deployment creates a Create Poll Survey Forms session for the nominated creator and sends them an email inviting them to create the poll.
The creator then builds and distributes the poll from Forms. Respondents receive their own Complete Poll Survey sessions.
When the poll reaches its configured deadline, outstanding respondent sessions close automatically and the creator receives the final results.
For creator instructions, see:
How the process works
Administrator installs and configures workflow
↓
Administrator deploys workflow
↓
Survey Creator receives Create Poll Survey session
↓
Creator builds and distributes poll
↓
Recipients complete poll
↓
Creator monitors live results
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Deadline passes and poll closes
↓
Creator receives final results
Install the workflow
Open Sense Automate
Go to Workflow Hub.
Locate Forms - Live Poll.
Click Install.
The workflow is added to Automate > Installations ready for configuration.
For general guidance on installing Library workflows, see:
Configure the workflow
Go to:
Automate > Installations
Locate Forms - Live Poll.
Open the More actions (…) menu.
Click Configuration.
For general guidance on configuring Library workflows, see:
👉 Configurations for Library Workflows
Survey Creator
Enter the email address of the person who will create and manage the poll.
This must be the email address registered to that person’s Sense HR account.
🖊️ Note: The Survey Creator doesn’t need to be the administrator who installs and deploys the workflow. The person identified here receives the Forms session used to create and manage the poll.
Click Done when you’ve finished.
Deploy the workflow
From Automate > Installations:
Locate Forms - Live Poll.
Open the More actions (…) menu.
Click Deploy.
Once deployed, the configured Survey Creator receives:
a Create Poll Survey session in their Forms Inbox
an email inviting them to create a new poll
The creator can then build and distribute the poll without needing to configure the workflow in Automate.
For creator instructions, see:
For general guidance on deploying Library workflows, see:
👉 Deploy, Manage, and Monitor Installed Library Workflows
Review workflow activity
Administrators can use the workflow activity to investigate a Live Poll after it has been distributed.
Go to:
Automate > Installations
Click the Forms - Live Poll workflow in the installations table to open its workflow activity.
The workflow activity can be used to:
identify respondents whose sessions timed out before they completed the poll
retrieve poll result information if the creator has already closed their final results Forms session
This is particularly useful after the poll deadline, when incomplete Complete Poll Survey sessions have closed.
Run another Live Poll
Once the poll has finished, the workflow can be undeployed.
When you’re ready to run another poll:
Review the Survey Creator configuration.
Update the creator’s email address if a different person will create the next poll.
Deploy the workflow again.
Deployment starts a new Live Poll process for the configured Survey Creator.
Basic troubleshooting
The Survey Creator hasn’t received a Create Poll Survey session
Check that:
Forms - Live Poll is deployed
the email address entered in Survey Creator is the Sense HR-registered email address of the intended poll creator
Respondents can’t access the poll
Check whether the configured Due date and Due time have passed.
Once the deadline passes, any outstanding Complete Poll Survey sessions are closed and can no longer be answered. The Survey Creator’s Create Poll Survey session then displays the final results, including how many recipients responded and how many didn’t complete the poll in time.
Administrators can identify respondents who didn’t complete the poll before the deadline from the workflow activity.
Go to Automate > Installations and click Forms - Live Poll in the installations table.
The Survey Creator closed the final results without retaining a copy
Once the final results session is closed, the Survey Creator can no longer access those results from the Forms session.
An Automate administrator can retrieve the poll result information from the Forms - Live Poll workflow activity while the workflow is still deployed.
FAQs
Q: Does the person who deploys the Live Poll workflow have to create the poll?
A: No. The person who deploys the Live Poll workflow doesn’t have to create the poll. Enter the intended creator’s Sense HR-registered email address in Survey Creator, and that person receives the Create Poll Survey Forms session after deployment.
Q: What happens when I deploy the Forms - Live Poll workflow?
A: When you deploy the Forms - Live Poll workflow, the configured Survey Creator receives a Create Poll Survey Forms session and an email inviting them to create a new poll.
Q: How can I identify people who didn’t complete a Live Poll before the deadline?
A: To identify people who didn’t complete a Live Poll before the deadline, open the Forms - Live Poll workflow from Automate > Installations and review its workflow activity. The creator’s final results show the number of people who didn’t complete in time, while workflow activity can be used to identify the respondents.
Q: Can poll results be retrieved after the Survey Creator closes the final results session?
A: Yes. If the Survey Creator closes the final results Forms session without retaining the results, an Automate administrator can retrieve the poll result information from the Forms - Live Poll workflow activity, while the workflow is still deployed.
Q: Can I use the Forms - Live Poll workflow again?
A: Yes. You can use the Forms - Live Poll workflow again by undeploying it after the current poll has finished and deploying it again when you’re ready to start another poll. Review the Survey Creator configuration before redeployment if a different person will create the next poll.