Polly.ai Review and Pricing: 5 Reasons Why You Should Think Before Buying

Hey, I completely understand the challenge of encouraging your team to openly share their thoughts. It's like herding cats – nearly impossible, right?

You launch surveys with high hopes for insightful feedback, only to be met with silence or trivial snack suggestions. It's downright frustrating!

You might even feel compelled to ask, "Why is this so hard?" I've been in your shoes, struggling with the same frustrations.

As a team leader or HR professional, you recognize the importance of employee engagement in creating a vibrant workplace. However, discovering the right tool to facilitate this can be a daunting task.

When I first heard about Polly.ai, I was intrigued by its promises to revolutionize engagement and feedback in Slack. As a regular Slack user myself, I wondered - could this tool really deliver on those bold claims? That's when I decided to take Polly for a test drive.

I personally explored features like Polls & Surveys, Suggestion Box, and Workflows to get a feel for what the platform could do. I wanted to see if it could truly enhance and streamline our team's communication efforts.

Throughout my hands-on testing, I analyzed whether Polly lived up to being a "beacon of hope" for making Slack more collaborative and productive.

The big question remained: did my real-world experience with Polly match up to the ambitious vision outlined on its website and marketing materials?

Could this tool meaningfully boost engagement within our existing Slack workspace? As I put Polly through its paces, I was searching for answers.

After thoroughly testing Polly.ai within our own Slack channels, here's what I've unearthed. We're going to dive deep into:

• My firsthand experience with Polly.ai and how to integrate it seamlessly into Slack.
• The genuine cost of adopting Polly.ai for your team.
• The benefits we've observed (and the downsides we couldn't overlook).
• Key reasons why Polly.ai might not be the all-in-one solution it claims to be.
• An exceptional alternative that offers more features and superior performance.

By the end of our exploration, you'll have a clear understanding of whether Polly.ai is the engagement tool of your dreams, or if there's another solution that could better serve your team's needs.

I'm here to share my genuine experience, sparing no details, so you can make an informed decision that might just earn you those celebratory high-fives in the corridor (real or virtual).

So, if you're ready to tackle employee engagement head-on, join me. Our goal is to find the ultimate tool that ensures every team member feels heard, appreciated, and thrilled to contribute to your collective success.

Let's discover together if Polly.ai stands up to the test or if there's a better way forward. Let's dive in!

First things first, let’s talk about Polly.ai and how it works.

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You also get a free AI health score during your trial.
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What is Polly.ai?

Polly.ai has positioned itself as a go-to tool for Slack users seeking to enhance team engagement through polls, surveys, Q&As, and more. Basically, Polly is an employee listening tool allowing leaders to take the pulse of their organization.

Its features are designed to make feedback collection seamless and integrated within your digital workspace.

From instant polls to comprehensive analytics, Polly aims to empower teams to make informed decisions quickly.

In short, Polly.ai aims to streamline feedback and foster engagement across teams.

Now, As someone who has explored and used Polly.ai within my team’s Slack workspace  to discern if it truly could enhance our team engagement and streamline feedback processes as promised.

I wanted to share an authentic, balanced perspective based on real-world experience rather than just the marketing language. Here’s my experience with Polly.ai's Features:

Polls & Surveys:

• Creating quick polls and multi-question surveys was simple enough right within familiar Slack channels, allowing our distributed team to gather opinions across locations.
  
  

• Having real-time data at our fingertips provided valuable insights. However, we often found survey fatigue setting in over time, with declining response rates, indicating the novelty wears off.
  
  
• Most critically, we struggled to consistently act upon the feedback, with surveys becoming just another data collection exercise rather than driving meaningful change.

Q&A Sessions:

• The live Q&A integration helped the engagement in our virtual all-hands meetings, but its success depended largely on meeting size. The interactivity made our small team meetings quite vibrant.
  

• Yet, scaling up our large 100+ person town halls, the upvoting mechanism failed to surface difficult but critical questions. Despite anonymity, many seemed hesitant to share openly in such a wide group context.

Suggestion Box:

• Offering an anonymous forum sparked candid input from typically reticent team members. However, it also highlighted that anonymity should not be required for staff to feel psychologically safe sharing feedback.
  

• We need to nurture conditions enabling people to openly share needs without fear. Alongside technology like Polly, continual human efforts to foster trust and inclusive, ethical leadership practices are vital.

Standups:

• Transitioning from live Standups to asynchronous written Standups gave flexibility for our distributed team across time zones. The efficiency of not having another meeting was also welcomed by many.
  

• However, we inadvertently lost some relationship building and spontaneous problem-solving that comes from live video interactions.
  
  
• Saving previous standups gave helpful visibility, but it wasn't quite the same dynamic as everyone gathering at once live.

Workflows:

• Linking surveys to business events like project completions did help streamline our processes. However, prioritizing efficiency too narrowly has its drawbacks.
  
  

• Automation enabled more data yet undervalued human relationships that uplift teams. People felt distanced by the automated experience, longing instead for genuine care and interest in their needs beyond metrics.

Team Building:

The social activities definitely offered a dose of fun community amid stressful work lives. But we found creativity and play have their place while deeper nurturing of psychological safety, trust in leadership, and interpersonal bonds sustain teams through ups and downs rather than games alone.

You can liven up your remote teams with fun activities beyond just chatting, like icebreakers, trivia, or even friendly debates, like this one-

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These creative avenues for recognition and relationship building increase adoption across organizations less excited by routine surveying.

Cross-Department Data:

• Accessing wider response pools across departments was illuminating for understanding organization-wide dynamics.
  
  
• But volume alone means little without compassion. We required not just hearing all voices but deep, active listening that turns feedback into understanding and eventually wisdom through discourse. Data informs but human relationships transform.

While Polly.ai proved beneficial helping gather team insights on Slack, we learned software has notable limitations.

Tools should complement rather than attempt to substitute for building healthy team culture, psychological safety, trust, and humanizing leadership.

Our team still needed dedicated effort to have meaningful dialogue amid the data, nurture deeper relationships, and live the values that uphold community.

How does Polly.ai work?

Polly.ai is a powerful tool that allows you to create polls and surveys directly within your workspace, making it easy to gather feedback and opinions from your team members. Setting up Polly.ai is a straightforward process that can be completed in just a few steps.

Integrating Polly.ai into Your Workspace

Polly.ai seamlessly integrates with popular platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams, allowing you to use its features directly within your existing workflow.

To get started, you can either visit the Polly.ai website or search for Polly in your platform's app directory.

For Slack Users:

1. Adding Polly to Your Slack Workspace:
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   1. Navigate to the Slack App Directory and search for Polly.
   2. Click on the "Add to Slack" button.
   3. Follow the on-screen instructions to authorize Polly to access your Slack workspace.

2. Configuring Polly:
   
   
   1. After installation, you can access the Polly Dashboard through the link provided or by interacting with Polly directly within Slack.
   2. In Slack, simply type `/polly` to start creating polls right in your conversation window.
      

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3. Creating Your First Poll:
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   1. Use the `/polly` command followed by your question and answer options.
   2. For example: `/polly "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?" "Vanilla" "Chocolate" "Strawberry"`
   3. Polly will then display the poll in the channel or direct message, allowing your team members to cast their votes.

Polly.ai supports multiple languages, making it accessible to users worldwide. If you prefer using Polly in a language other than English, you can easily change the language settings within the Polly Dashboard.

Tips for an Engaging Polling Experience:

• Keep your questions concise and clear to ensure high participation rates.
• Encourage team members to provide additional feedback or suggestions in the comments section of each poll.
• Use Polly regularly to foster a culture of open communication and continuous improvement within your team.

With Polly.ai, gathering valuable insights from your team becomes a fun and interactive experience. Whether you're making important decisions, seeking feedback on projects, or simply wanting to boost team engagement, Polly.ai has you covered.

Polly.ai Pricing

Polly offers different pricing tiers for integration with various platforms, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, and an Enterprise. Today, we'll focus on the pricing for Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Polly.ai Pricing for Slack:

1. Free- $0 per user/ month
   
   
   1. You're limited to just 25 responses each month. That's not gonna cut it for a team that's looking to really talk and share.
   2. You can only look back at answers for 45 days. Short history means you can't track progress over time.
   3. Features: Basic polling features, including polls, surveys, and standups. Limited in scope with essential functionalities.
   4. It also lacks comprehensive features like AI health reports and recognition programs.

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2. Team- $2 per user/ month
   
   
   1. Unlimited responses for everyone.
   2. Keep your results as long as you want.
   3. Allows you to export results and share them.

Cool Stuff Costs More:

• Still missing key features like rewards, a whistleblower portal. It forces businesses to upgrade sooner.
• Costs add up with more team members.
• No AI insights or trend analysis to understand team health.

3. Business- $4 per user/ month
   
   
   1. Responses per month: Unlimited
   2. Results history: Unlimited
   3. Exclusive Features: Includes everything in Team Plan, plus Q&A and Suggestion Box. And integrations like Google Sheets.
   4. You get a bit more control with IT CSAT workflows and API access.
   5. With admin controls for managing the platform.
   6. Data & Reporting: Enhanced data reporting features like CSV data exports, demographic filtering, and custom workflows.

Why you might want to reconsider:

• Even pricier, especially for larger teams.
• Lacks personalized recognition and rewards systems.
• No celebration board for team milestones or birthdays.
• Also the advanced security features and custom data policies are exclusive to the Enterprise plan. This is a potential barrier for small to medium-sized businesses.

4. Enterprise- Custom pricing
   
   
   1. Responses per month: Unlimited
   2. Results history: Unlimited
   3. Premium Features: Builds upon the Business plan with more advanced options like official Pollys, secure link sharing outside of Slack, full access to integrations, API access, webhooks, and custom data retention policies.
   4. Security & Support: Offers the highest level of support and security features, including priority support, dedicated account management, and custom agreements for data protection and service levels.

Unclear costs and missing features:

• Custom pricing means you need to contact them for details.
• Still missing comprehensive engagement features like celebration boards.
• Despite the high cost, lacks AI-driven insights for deeper understanding of team dynamics.

And also the broad range of features in higher plans might not be fully utilized by all businesses, questioning the cost-value ratio.

So, we can see that Polly offers different pricing plans to fit your needs. It starts from basic polling for free to advanced features for large companies.

While each plan offers certain perks, it's crucial to weigh what you're actually getting for the price.

Polly.ai falls short on delivering essential features that could genuinely enrich team engagement. It lacks AI health reports, recognition and rewards programs, private suggestion boxes, whistleblower features, and celebration boards.

And if you're seeking a tool that provides a holistic approach to employee engagement and team health, Polly.ai might not be the most cost-effective or feature-rich option available.

Polly.ai Pricing for Microsoft Teams:

1. Free Plan ($0 per month):
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   • Permits 25 responses monthly. It doesn't suffice for extensive feedback.
   • Unlimited templates and a mix of question types.
   • But it offers limited responses. A 30-day results history that limits tracking over time.
   • Enables quizzes, trivia, and Q&A in Teams Meetings.
   • Again no AI insights.

2. Standard Plan ($49 per month, 3-month subscription):
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   • Increases response limit to 500 but with a significant price hike.
   • Builds on the Free Plan with unlimited results history and chat messaging.
   • Still missing deeper engagement tools.
   • And once again No AI health reports for comprehensive team analysis.

3. Pro Plan ($24 per month, 12-month subscription):
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   • Boosts responses to 2,500 monthly.
   • Includes Standard features with added user and license management.
   • Requires long-term commitment.

4. Enterprise Plan (Custom Pricing):
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   • Offers unlimited responses and wide-scale deployment.
   • Comprehensive package including AgilePolly and dedicated support.
   • Why reconsider:
     • It has an unclear cost structure.
     • Still misses out on vital engagement and analysis features.
     • Custom support doesn't make up for the absence of essential tools.

While Polly offers plans for different needs on Slack and Teams, it lacks features like AI insights, rewards, and private suggestions.

This, combined with the price, may mean it's not the best choice for teams wanting a complete employee engagement solution.

Polly.ai Reviews

While Polly boasts impressive capabilities, user reviews reveal a mixed bag of experiences. Here is a table with some of the review platforms from where I checked Polly.ai user reviews and its rating:

I analyzed Polly reviews, focusing on those that repeatedly mention its strengths and weaknesses to identify its pros and cons, respectively.

5 Things Users Liked About Polly.ai:

Ease of Use

When it comes to using Polly, I really like how simple it is. You don't need to be a tech wizard to get it up and running. Here's what stands out to me:

• The interface is clear and easy to understand. Setting up polls or surveys is a breeze.
• You don't need special permissions or help from IT to start using it.
• Adding fun elements like trivia to our workday brings a smile to everyone's faces. It's not just about work; we get to have a good time too.

Integration with Slack

Having Polly work right inside Slack is something I find super handy. It means:

• We can ask questions and get answers without leaving Slack. Everything happens in one place.
• This integration saves us a lot of time. We don't have to switch apps to see what our team thinks.

• It keeps our workflow smooth and uninterrupted. Polls become a natural part of our conversation.

Real-time Feedback

Getting feedback right away with Polly is incredibly useful for making quick decisions. Here's why:

• As soon as we send out a question, we start seeing answers come in. This instant response helps us understand what the team thinks without any delay.
• This immediate insight is especially great for teams working from different places. Everyone can participate and see what others are saying in real time.
• It makes our discussions more lively and interactive. Everyone gets to see how their opinions contribute to the conversation right away.

Customization Options:

Polly lets us tweak our questions and polls so they're just right for what we need. Whether it's getting feedback on a new project or deciding on our next team-building activity, we can set up the questions exactly how we want.

Plus, letting everyone throw in their own answers can lead to some pretty interesting discussions.

• Tailor questions to fit our exact needs.
• Include options for everyone to add their thoughts.
• Design polls that match what we're curious about.

Analytics and Reporting:

I appreciate being able to look back at the results and see what the data tells us. It's not just about counting votes; it's about understanding our team better.

With Polly's analytics, we can spot trends and see how opinions change over time, which helps us plan better for the future.

• Dive into results to get meaningful insights.
• Track how team preferences evolve.
• Use data to guide our next steps.

Exploring Polly.ai has shown me the strengths of these features in bringing our team closer and making our communication more dynamic. Each of these aspects contributes to a more engaging and responsive team environment, allowing us to collaborate more effectively and enjoy our time working together.

5 Reasons Why You Should Think Before Buying Polly.ai:

Public Web Link for Anonymous Surveys

When it comes to creating a public web link for anonymous surveys, the process is not as straightforward as one might expect.

While this feature is designed to allow external or anonymous feedback, the complexity involved and the number of steps required can be a real barrier.

The simplicity in setting this up is sorely missing, making it less appealing for those looking to quickly collect inclusive feedback. Let me walk you through the process:

• First, you need to navigate to the "Settings" section and enable the "Public Survey Links" option.
• Then, for each survey you want to make public, you have to generate a unique link and share it.
• The person receiving the link can complete the survey anonymously without logging into Polly.ai.
• However, keeping track of multiple public links and ensuring they are shared securely can become cumbersome

Default to Non-Anonymous Responses

Imagine you're trying to gather honest feedback from your team, but the tool you're using defaults to showing who asked a question and who responded.

This initial lack of privacy can deter open and honest feedback, especially in the first few attempts when trust is still being built. With Polly.ai, the default settings display the names of respondents, which might not be ideal for every situation.

Learning to change these settings to make polls anonymous requires extra effort, which can be a hurdle for those seeking a seamless experience.

• The anonymity settings are buried within various menus, making them difficult to locate.
• There's no clear indication or guidance on the importance of adjusting these settings for sensitive or confidential feedback.
• The process of toggling anonymity for each individual survey or poll can become repetitive and time-consuming.

Adding Polly.ai to Private Channels

In today's collaborative work environments, private channels play a crucial role in facilitating focused discussions and maintaining confidentiality.

However, with Polly.ai, there's an additional step required to add the tool to each private channel you want to use it in.

While this step may seem small, it interrupts the workflow, particularly when quick polls or feedback are needed. It feels like an unnecessary hurdle in what should be a seamless experience.

• You need to explicitly invite or add Polly.ai to each private channel individually.
• If you forget this step, you won't be able to access Polly's features within that channel.
• For teams with numerous private channels, this process can become tedious and time-consuming.

Automating Surveys and Reporting

In today's fast-paced work environment, automation and comprehensive reporting are essential for efficient feedback management and data-driven decision-making.

While Polly.ai offers basic reporting capabilities, many users have expressed a desire for more advanced automation and detailed reporting features.

The lack of these features can limit the tool's utility for in-depth analysis and ongoing feedback management.

• There's no option to schedule surveys or polls to be sent out automatically at specific intervals.
  
  
• Collecting data from multiple surveys into comprehensive reports is a manual process, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
  
  
• Advanced filtering and customization options for reports are limited, making it difficult to extract specific insights or tailor reports to different stakeholders' needs.

Short Timer Option for Trivia

The trivia feature in Polly.ai is designed to be a fun and engaging team-building activity. However, one aspect that often falls short is the lack of customizable timing options.

Users seeking a brisk pace for live trivia sessions find the default timer too long, which can disrupt the flow and momentum of the game.

A shorter timer option would enhance engagement and keep the energy levels high during these interactive sessions.

• The current timer settings are limited and do not cater to different group preferences or gameplay styles.
• Teams looking for a more fast-paced and dynamic trivia experience are left feeling underwhelmed.
• The inability to adjust the timer can lead to lulls in the game, diminishing the overall excitement and engagement.

While Polly.ai has many positive aspects, these areas highlight opportunities for improvement to better meet the diverse needs of teams and leaders. By addressing these limitations and enhancing the features mentioned above, Polly.ai can truly excel at fostering engagement, collecting valuable insights, and creating an exceptional user experience for all.

Is Polly.ai Worth Investing for Your Employee Engagement Needs?

After looking into Polly.ai, I feel mixed about saying it's perfect for making teams work better together. It has some good points, but also some big parts missing that stop me from fully saying "go for it."

Polly.ai works well with tools many teams use every day, like Slack and Microsoft Teams. This makes it easy for teams to say what they think and make quick choices. Being able to change questions for what you need is a big plus.

But, there are areas where Polly.ai doesn't meet the mark for really bringing a team together. Making surveys that anyone can answer without showing their name is too hard, which might stop everyone from sharing openly.

Also, if answers automatically show who said what, people might not want to share their true thoughts on touchy topics. Not having smart ways to handle feedback or see deep into what the answers mean is a downside.

Also, Polly.ai mostly focuses on simple questions and answers but misses important things for team spirit, like saying "well done" to people, giving rewards, or celebrating together. Not having smart insights or deep looks into how a team feels makes it hard to really understand and improve how everyone works together.

When we talk about how much it costs, the price for Polly.ai can add up quickly. Especially if you have a lot of people or need more than just the basics. This might not be the best deal when you think about other options that offer more for a similar or even lower price.

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So, while Polly.ai can be handy for simple things like getting opinions or quick feedback, it might not be the best option for really making a team feel connected and valued.

Looking for a tool that covers everything from getting feedback to celebrating successes could be a better choice in the long run.

In the end, I suggest checking out Wrenly that offers a more complete way to help your team do great things together. Picking something that fits what you're aiming for and gives you more for your money can help make a happier and more driven team, which is key for doing well over time.

First, let's talk about what Wrenly is.

Try Wrenly for Free!

Test out every feature for two weeks, no credit card needed.
You also get a free AI health score during your trial.
What are you waiting for?

Try it free

Request a demo

Wrenly: A Better Alternative to Your Employee Engagement Needs

Wrenly is a comprehensive platform that goes beyond just surveys and suggestion boxes. It offers a wide range of features designed to foster a positive and engaging work culture.

From recognitions and rewards to private suggestion boxes, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and even a secure whistleblower portal, Wrenly aims to cover all aspects of employee engagement.

Wrenly vs. Polly: What Does Wrenly Offer?

Now, let's contrast Wrenly with Polly.ai:

• Polly.ai is primarily focused on surveys, public suggestion boxes, and standups. While it's easy to use, it lacks many of the engagement functionalities that Wrenly provides.

• One of the standout features of Wrenly is its AI-powered reporting and trend analysis. It uses advanced AI to score all employee-submitted content, giving you a comprehensive view of your company's health and trending themes. Polly.ai doesn't offer this level of AI-driven insights.  

• Wrenly allows for both private and public suggestion boxes, catering to situations where employees might want to share feedback anonymously. Polly.ai only offers public suggestion boxes, which may not encourage open and honest communication in certain cases.

• Recognition and rewards are crucial for boosting employee morale and motivation. Wrenly has a built-in system for peer recognitions and rewards, allowing teams to celebrate each other's wins. Polly.ai doesn't have this feature.

• Wrenly also shines when it comes to celebrating milestones. It can track birthdays and work anniversaries, reminding leadership teams of these important dates and providing recognition summaries. Polly.ai doesn't offer this level of personalized celebration.

• For companies that value transparency and ethical practices, Wrenly provides a secure whistleblower portal, enabling employees to report sensitive issues or concerns confidentially. Polly.ai lacks this crucial feature.

Here are a few key points to consider:

• If all you need is basic surveys and public suggestion boxes, and price is a significant concern, Polly.ai could be a good fit.
  
  
• However, if you're part of a leadership or people team looking for a comprehensive solution that covers all aspects of employee engagement, Wrenly is likely the better choice.
  
  
• Wrenly's pricing is slightly higher than Polly.ai (around $5 per user per month compared to $4 for Polly.ai), but it offers a more robust set of features and advanced AI-driven insights.
  
  
• Ultimately, the decision should be based on your specific needs and priorities. If you value a holistic approach to employee engagement, recognition, and culture-building, Wrenly might be worth the investment.

Remember, I'm not trying to sell you on either platform. My goal is to provide you with an objective comparison, so you can make an informed decision that aligns with your team's needs and budget.

Here’s a quick comparison table:

This table shows that while Polly.ai has valuable tools for gathering feedback, Wrenly offers a more comprehensive suite of features that enhance employee engagement, especially in hybrid workplaces. Wrenly's approach to feedback, use of AI for insights, and focus on creating a supportive culture make it a more rounded option for fostering employee engagement

Conclusion

Before you wrap up, let's quickly summarize why Wrenly might just be the perfect choice for boosting your team's spirit and engagement:
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• If you're seeking a platform that not only gathers feedback but also celebrates your team's achievements in a meaningful way, then Wrenly stands out as the go-to choice over Polly.ai. With its recognition and rewards system, every achievement becomes a moment of shared joy and motivation.
  
  
• Should the need for both public and private feedback channels be a priority for your team, allowing for anonymous and open communication, Wrenly provides this versatility. It respects the need for privacy in sensitive matters, ensuring that all voices can be heard without fear.
  
  
• For those who value the little things that make a big difference, like remembering birthdays and work anniversaries, Wrenly automates these celebrations. It ensures no special day goes unnoticed, fostering a culture of care and appreciation within your team.
  
  
• Lastly, if making informed decisions based on deep insights into your team's dynamics and sentiment is crucial, Wrenly's AI-driven analytics offer a clear view of your organizational health. This allows for actionable steps towards a more engaged and cohesive team environment.

Why not start exploring Wrenly today? Begin with a free trial to see how it transforms your team's engagement and culture. There's no need for credit card details—just dive in and experience how Wrenly can make a difference in creating a more connected, motivated, and happy workplace.

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