A check-in is a few short questions your team answers on a regular schedule. Done well, it tells you how people are going before small problems become big ones. Done badly, it's a form everyone fills in with "fine" and "nothing".
The difference is mostly the questions. Here are twelve that work, grouped by how often you'd ask them, with what each one tells you.
Weekly questions
A weekly check-in is the best place to start. Friday afternoon works for most teams: the week is fresh, and you have time to reply before Monday.
1. How was your week, from 1 to 5?
A number is quick to answer and easy to compare. One low week means little. Two in a row is worth a conversation. Keep the wording the same every week so the numbers mean the same thing.
2. What did you get done on your goals?
This ties the week back to goals, not just busyness. It also gives people a moment to notice their own progress.
3. Any blockers I can help with?
The most useful question on the list, as long as you act on the answers. "I can help with" tells people you'll do something, not just read it.
4. What is your top priority for next week?
One priority, not a list. It shows you whether their focus matches yours, and gives you something to ask about next Friday.
Daily questions
Daily check-ins suit new starters, busy projects or short programmes. Keep them to three questions or fewer, or they become a chore.
5. How was your day, from 1 to 5?
The daily version of question 1. Patterns show up fast.
6. What did you get done today?
Short answers are fine. The point is a small daily record.
7. Is anything blocking you?
Asked daily, blockers get cleared in hours, not weeks.
Monthly and quarterly questions
Longer gaps call for bigger questions. These suit a quarterly review or the lead-up to a performance conversation.
8. How well did you deliver on this quarter's goals, from 1 to 5?
Their own rating, before you share yours. Big gaps between the two are worth talking about.
9. What are you proudest of this quarter?
People often undersell their work. This question gives them permission not to.
10. What didn't go to plan, and what did you learn?
Pairing the miss with the lesson keeps it from feeling like blame.
11. What are your three goals for next quarter?
A natural lead-in to writing the goals themselves.
12. What support or development would help?
Training, time, tools or a different kind of work. You won't always be able to say yes, but you should always know.
How to pick yours
- Three or four questions. Short check-ins get answered. Long ones get skipped.
- One number. A single 1 to 5 question gives you a trend over time. More than one muddies it.
- At least one open question. Numbers tell you something changed. Words tell you why.
- Ask the same questions for a while. Changing them every month makes trends impossible to read.
- Reply. A check-in with no reply teaches people that nobody reads it. A one-line reply, or a quick acknowledgement, is enough.
Who sees the answers
People answer more honestly when they know who's reading. Tell your team up front. In Lifetick, answers go to each person's own manager, and other team members never see them. See Who can see your answers.
In Lifetick
Lifetick has a starter check-in for each rhythm, every day, every week, every quarter and every year, with questions like the ones above ready to go. You can change any of them. A check-in can have up to ten questions, each a Scale 1 to 5 or a Short answer, and goes out daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or yearly in each person's own time zone.
1 to 5 answers become a mood trend on each person's page, and low answers are flagged for you. See Send your first check-in and Read and reply to answers.
Try it with your team.
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