How to Set Up RSVP and Calendar Poll in Outlook

Would you like to encourage your email recipients to respond quickly to your emails or appointment invitations? Or maybe you need everyone to vote on the next meeting time to ensure that it suits everyone? Setting up a calendar poll in Outlook allows you to perform these tasks.

Learn how to set up a calendar poll in Outlook and ensure you get an RSVP to invites and polls with these simple steps. This feature only works on Microsoft Exchange accounts, and these instructions are for desktop-based Outlook only. Check with your administrator that the option to create a calendar poll in Outlook is switched on for your account.

How to Set Up a Calendar Poll in Outlook — Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1. Create a new email by clicking the “New Email” button.

Step 2. Add content and recipients to your email.

Step 3. Go to the “Message” tab and look for “New Scheduling Poll.”

Step 4. You can also find this option in the “Calendar” section of Outlook, by setting up a new appointment/meeting and looking for “New Scheduling Poll” under the “Meeting” tab. To set up a new appointment, simply open your Outlook calendar and double-click on the day you’re proposing to have your meeting. This creates a new window where you can find the relevant scheduling option, as shown.

Step 5. With both methods, you’ll see a “Scheduling poll” window appear. This gives you the option to choose the date and duration of the meeting, and choose various times. If the recipients also use Outlook, you will see an indication of whether they are available or not next to each time slot. In the example shown, both recipients are available at all the given time slots. You can see this by the marker indicating a person and the number “2” beside it.

Step 6. Finish composing your email or calendar invite with any relevant information. Don’t forget to attach any documents or an agenda that your recipients may need. Once you send the invite or email, the recipients can click on the poll option that makes the most sense for them. You will receive responses directly in your email inbox. If you toggle on “Schedule when attendees reach consensus,” the calendar invite will automatically update to the time most suitable for your recipients. To make changes, simply double-click the appointment in your calendar and manually change the date and time as required.

Note: You may be able to add a scheduling poll on web-based Outlook as well as desktop-based Outlook, but your Microsoft network administrator will need to set this feature up.