Employee check-ins are typically weekly one-on-one meetings between a manager and their employees. These meetings focus on progress on projects and assigned tasks as well as any new updates throughout the week. You may be asking, why are employee check-ins important? We have the answer! In our blog below, we will cover the importance of having weekly check-ins along with some best practices you can use for your next one-on-one! 📝

What are Employee Check-In Meetings?

Employee check-in meetings are when employees and managers get together to give updates. Whether it be professional updates like new progress on a project or personal updates such as what they are up to for the week, one-on-one meetings allow employees and managers to connect and catch up. Make sure to keep your employee check-in meetings casual! These meetings are meant to be a safe place for employees to share any feedback or concerns they may have, so make sure to facilitate open discussions and keep things chilll!

Do’s and Don’ts for Check-In Meetings

Do’s: 

• Do respect everyone's time by upholding planned meetings.
• Do make it a safe space for your team to share ideas and concerns.
• Do be transparent about progress, expectations, and goals. 
• Do ask for feedback on how you can better support your team.
• Do help remove blockers that are preventing progress.
• Do use smart tools to automate and optimize check-ins.
• Do discuss career development on a regular cadence. 

Don’ts: 

• Don't let a few team members dominate the conversation or interrupt others. 
• Don't make check-ins too formal where attendees feel stressed.
• Don't just focus on status updates that aren't relevant to everyone.
• Don't go off-topic or consistently run over time. 
• Don't exclude remote team members in a hybrid work environment.

How Often are Check-In Meetings? 

The frequency of check-in meetings varies from team to team. Remote teams can benefit from frequent check-ins to ensure they stay on track. However, having too many check-ins may come across as micro-managing. Employee check-ins may be on a need-to basis or can be more consistent. Here are some of the most typical frequencies of check-in meetings:

• Daily: Some managers and employees may prefer to have daily check-ins to ensure that a project or task is staying on track. However, daily meetings may not be necessary as they may be redundant over time. 
• Weekly: Weekly check-ins are the ideal frequency as they are regular enough for feedback and there will usually be new updates for each meeting. 
• Bi-Weekly: If weekly meetings seem to be too frequent and your team does not have fresh insights each meeting, try bi-weekly check-ins instead! This way, employees can still touch base a couple of times a month. 
• Monthly: Although not recommended, monthly check-ins are as infrequent as employee check-in meetings should be. 

To determine how frequent your check-in meetings should be, ask your team how they feel! If necessary, more frequent meetings can occur when projects are gaining traction. 

How to Conduct a One-on-One Meeting? 

Regular check-ins are crucial for keeping your team on track. Make sure you are taking the right approach when leading these meetings! Below, we have some of the best practices for you to incorporate into your meeting structures: 

1 - Establish Clear Goals 

Make sure each check-in meeting has a clear purpose. It could be for checking in on your employees and ensuring they are not overwhelmed or reviewing a recent project they completed. Make sure you have clarity on the purpose of each meeting!

2 - Create a Welcoming Environment

Encourage your team to openly share their opinions and thoughts to ensure that one-on-one meetings are effective! Establish a safe space for employees to share their feedback and concerns. 

3 - Active Listening

Make sure you are actively listening to what your employees are saying. It also helps to ask open-ended questions that encourage discussion! Keep an open mindset and truly pay attention to what your employees are saying. ‍

4 - Review and Reflect

Begin each one-on-one meeting by reviewing past goals and reflecting on the process. Touch on any progress, challenges, or deviations that may have occurred. Ensure to recognize and celebrate any accomplishments as well!

5 - Set Future Goals 

Use the time during check-in meetings to establish new goals and outline any actionable sets. 

6 - Provide Constructive Feedback

We all know feedback can be hard to give sometimes. However, instead of making general statements, provide specific examples to your employees on areas of improvement and suggest some new actionable steps.

Guiding Questions to Ask 

The questions you ask in a check-in meeting can make or break the meeting. Here are some questions you can start with!

1. How’s everything going?
2. What should I start/stop/continue doing?
3. What are you most proud of this month and why? 
4. Do you have enough time to balance all your responsibilities? Can I help out in any way? 
5. What can we do to make this meeting better? 

Make sure to check out the do’s and don’ts for one-on-one employee meetings to ensure it will run smoothly. If you’re stuck on what questions to ask, check out the 5 questions we have in our blog to get the conversation started! 🗣️