Mastering Check-in Questions for Productive Meetings

Businesses rely on remote workers and hiring globally more often. This diversity benefits your team by bringing in different perspectives and expertise. But, it may be tricky to stay attuned to your team’s feelings and opinions when remote working.

Leaders and managers compensate for the lack of in-person communication through many meetings. However, these meetings should have a purpose and structure.

This is where check-in questions can be a great help. These are an important tool a manager or leader should have. They offer a better way to have more purposeful meetings with your team.

What are check-in questions, and why do you need them?

Check-in questions are questions designed to keep your team engaged and on the same page during regular check-in calls. Often called stand-ups, these meetings derive from daily scrum meetings and are a great way to touch base with your team.

These meetings offer a great opportunity to stay on track about what your team is working on. It will also help discover potential problems before they arise. But, when managers don't have the proper tools to conduct them effectively, they may devolve and become a nuisance.

This is where check-in questions come into play. When used properly, check-in questions can help encourage open communication, and the exchange of ideas and opinions in a productive manner. Plus, it will help your employees feel valued and heard.

However, not all questions are good check-in questions. You need to understand how to formulate them in the right way to get the most out of the meeting and keep your team engaged rather than bored.

Types of check-in questions for meetings

Depending on the type and agenda for the meeting, you may opt for different types of check-in questions. Let’s see what questions you have at your disposal.

Team building questions

Team building questions are those you could ask to understand your team better. They can also help you to estimate the quality of collaboration of your remote team. These questions are useful for staying attuned to your team’s mood and their opinion. Some of the team-building questions are:

• What can each member of the team do to ensure that we work well together as a team?
• Are there any blockers or issues that are preventing you from moving forward?
• What can we do to ensure everyone contributes equally to the team?

New hire questions

One of the main challenges of hiring a global team is onboarding, as you can’t communicate with your new team members as easily. But, there is a set of check-in questions that you can use to help the new member of your team feel comfortable.

• What type of management and communication methods do you prefer?
• Are you experiencing any trouble learning our technology or systems?
• What have you enjoyed most about the role so far?

Project and progress questions

With remote teams, keeping track of their progress on a specific project can also be tricky. You want to ensure that everyone is contributing to the project. You also want to ensure that the team has all the needed tools and resources to complete it. Here are some check-in questions to help you keep track of project progress.

• Are you on track to meet your deadlines or should we support you to do so?
• Do you need any extra resources to complete the project on time?
• Are there any obstacles we need to discuss and assist you with?

Performance-related questions

Performance-related questions will help you and your team members learn of areas for improvement. It’s important to phrase them right so that your team members don’t feel criticized, but rather motivated to improve.

• How do you feel about the progress you made on your current project?
• How do you stay true to yourself and your goals?
• How did you improve your performance since joining the team?

Experience and culture questions

Experience and culture are two things that are unlikely to be lacking in a global remote team. However, you should make sure your team is comfortable with sharing it. You can use these questions to motivate your team to share their experiences with the rest of the team.

• What are you most/least excited about at work?
• What new strategies can we use to help manage work-life balance?
• Are you feeling connected to the team and the work we’re doing?

How to formulate check-in questions? Check-in questions do’s and don’ts

When drafting your check-in questions, you need a bit of creativity. But, you should also follow a set of best practices. So here’s what you should keep in mind while crafting your check-in questions.

How to create engaging check-in questions?

You should do your best to set the proper, positive tone upfront. You need to provide your team with context before you start with the questions. This allows them to prepare for the meeting and give you more tailored answers.

Their answers will also depend on how you plan your questions, so try to keep them specific, yet open-ended. For example, the answer to “How did your week go?” may tempt your team to say “Fine.” But, if you asked them “What did you achieve this week you’re very proud of?” you’ll likely get a more detailed response.

Lastly, make sure to mix it up. Using the same questions for each meeting defeats the purpose of using them in the first place. You might not get the same engagement or response after the first couple of meetings.

Check-in questions don’ts

The first thing to avoid when asking check-in questions is to put focus on your team’s progress and achievements only. This will put greater pressure on them, and they may start to dread the check-in meetings. Instead, try to encourage honesty and openness.

But, you still need to keep your meetings on schedule, and cannot have it devolve into chit-chat. Don’t ask too many questions, and try to allow people to maintain their own pace with their answers. Make sure to “put a pin” on open issues, and schedule other meetings to discuss them.

Follow-up is another aspect of check-ins you should not skip. If someone from your team has voiced any concerns or asked for help or clarification, make sure to schedule another meeting to discuss it. Ignoring what your team said in a meeting for the sake of keeping the meetings short and rare can only have negative consequences.

FAQ:

How do you do an effective check-in meeting?

For an effective meeting, you should set goals and frequencies upfront. It’s good to have a meeting agenda for each meeting, as these can help keep meetings on track. It’s also important to stay open to feedback and encourage your team to share their opinions and concerns. Lastly, make sure to conclude the meeting with key takeaways, and to follow up on what was said in the meeting if necessary.

What are check-in activities?

Check-in activities are typically short, fun, or encouraging activities. Managers usually introduce them to their check-in meetings. These aim to set the tone for the meeting, increase employee engagement, or gauge their level of interest during the meeting.

Managers also rely on check-in activities when they want to check their team's progress. They can be used to introduce a new employee or encourage team building among remote employees.

How do you run a team mood check?

Your team mood plays a key role in productivity and engagement, so a team mood check might be beneficial. There are many ways to do this, but the most common ones include asking team members to use colors or emojis to express their current state. Keeping track of individuals’ moods may help discover potential unhappiness. If you notice issues with your employees’ well-being, you should address them in a one-on-one meeting.