LinkedIn has globally launched a new ‘Polls’ feature, a quick, easy way for members to tap into the collective knowledge of their professional networks to gain opinion and perspective on topics and conversations related to the contemporary scenario.

The polls allows users to reach out to their networks to ask for feedback, share it with others, spark new conversations, and make informed decisions based on the responses.

Amid the current uncertain environment, recruiters, HR heads, marketers, and company heads are all using the feature in diverse ways to solicit feedback across relevant subjects such as workplace preferences, shopping habits, and key company goals.

Here’s how you can create a lightweight poll to gain insights:

● Start a new post and click the “Create a Poll” option in the chooser menu

● Type a question, enter up to four answer options, and select the poll’s duration—between 24 hours and up to two weeks

● Write up a post to go along with the poll—you can include hashtags to help your poll get more attention

● Push the poll live to either connections, specific Groups you are part of, or to anyone across the LinkedIn network. By targeting specific Groups with the poll, members can get even more relevant insights.                

In India, members and companies such as L&T have currently been using Polls to shape workplace policies, and identify industry trends and hiring trends for the future. And globally too, companies such as Amazon and Hootsuite have been using the Polls feature to understand what is most important to job candidates while choosing an employer or how their audiences are using ads on LinkedIn.