The practice of checking-in during traditional team meetings, huddles, stand-ups, or one-on-one meetings is a great way to quickly reconnect and engage with team members. The right meeting check-in questions go beyond simply providing status updates and help to stimulate feedback, identify potential challenges, promote effective communication, build rapport, and even increase team morale and employee engagement.
What are Meeting Check-In Questions?
Check-in questions are prompts used by leaders at the start of a meeting to assess things like progress, productivity, or morale. These are open-ended questions meant to solicit feedback from an individual or group.
Oftentimes, the answers from simple check-in questions can spark new ideas or create a framework for further discussion.
Tips for the Best Meeting Check-In Questions
When used in the right way, check-in questions or check-in meetings can be a valuable tool for any team leader.
- Use the right context. The best check-in questions are the ones that most appropriately fit the environment or situation. If your team members are coming up against a tight deadline, checking in to see how you can help remove obstacles may be a better fit than taking their time asking for status update. Ask yourself first, is this question relevant to the situation?
- Respect timing. There is a distinct difference between micromanaging and checking-in with your team members. The cadence of your check-in meetings should allow your team enough time to be productive or identify challenges. On the flip side, if you wait six months to ask a new direct report how satisfied they are with their role, you have likely missed several opportunities to provide support.
- Know the goal. As a leader, know what you are looking to achieve by checking-in with your team members. Structure your check-in questions in a way that promotes better collaboration and mutually benefits everyone involved in the discussion. Regular check-ins should always have a purpose and bring value.
- Act on responses. The best way for team members to feel the value of participating in these check-in meetings is by the team leader acting on their responses. There is a much greater chance of eliciting candid and helpful responses when team members associate positive change with check-in meetings.
101 Check-In Questions for any Type of Meeting
One-on-one Meeting Check-in Questions
One-on-one meetings should be used for more than just annual performance reviews. One-on-one meetings provide an excellent opportunity for leaders to build strong relationships with direct reports and take the pulse of their overall well-being.
By using good one-on-one check-in questions, leaders can create a safe space to build rapport and better understand how they can help remove barriers to progress. This unique opportunity is less about small talk and more about uncovering what motivates individuals while getting to know them on a personal level.
- What have you been working on since we last met?
- What are your highlights since we last met?
- What challenges are you experiencing?
- In what ways can I better support you?
- How can I help you with the tasks at the top of your to-do list?
- How do you feel about the timelines of your current projects?
- What takes up most of your time?
- What motivates you?
- What’s something that you enjoyed at work since we last met?
- What does the work environment look and feel like when you’re doing your best work?
- Is your current role helping you achieve your career goals? If not, what can I do to help?
- Is your current role helping you achieve your personal goals? If not, what can I do to help?
- On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about your work-life balance? What can we do to help improve your work-life balance if it’s not where you want it to be?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- What professional development opportunities are you interested in?
- What, if any, new skills do you have an interest in learning?
- What questions do you have for me?
Team Meeting Check-in Questions
The most effective team meetings provide a great opportunity for camaraderie, informative updates, and identifying useful action items. Use some of the following questions during team check-ins to help engage the whole team and bring more value to your meeting agenda.
- What successes did we have as a team since we last met?
- What words would you use to describe our current team dynamics?
- What is the biggest challenge we are facing right now as a team?
- How can we help each other boost productivity?
- Which team members do you want to thank today and why?
- What other ways can we show each other appreciation?
- What can leadership do to help you be successful this week?
- What can you do for each other to help the team be successful this week?
- What things can we do to improve our team communication?
- Is there anything you feel we should be discussing more as a team?
- What do you enjoy doing as a team?
- What can we do better to make sure team members feel included and valued?
- On a scale of 1-10, how strong is our team’s growth mindset?
- What are the strengths of our team?
- What additional training would be helpful for our team?
- How can we improve our team meetings?
- What would be the best use of our time during team meetings?
- What is one thing we can do to make our next meeting more creative?
- What was most helpful about this meeting today?
Remote Team Meeting Check-in Questions
Trying to build relationships and increase employee engagement poses unique challenges with remote teams. One of the easiest ways to get everyone involved during virtual meetings is to kick off with some of these great check-in questions.
- How have you stayed connected with your team members in this last week?
- How does our team fit into the overall purpose and mission of the organization?
- How are you feeling about work-life balance right now?
- What energizes you about our team goals?
- What accomplishments are we celebrating in today’s meeting?
- How can we improve our communication with each other as a remote team?
- What virtual activities would you enjoy doing as a team (i.e., morning coffee meetups, lunch time book club, monthly happy hour)?
- What works well with our remote team?
- What challenges do you face as a remote employee?
- What obstacles are you experiencing right now?
- What is the most helpful thing leadership can do to support you?
- How do you incorporate breaks into your workday at home?
- What is the weather where you are located?
- Describe the view from your home office.
- Show us your favorite item from your home office.
- If you have a four-legged office mate, show us your furry friend!
Daily Stand-Up Meeting Check-in Questions
The purpose of a daily stand-up meeting is to provide a quick check-in on the team. Daily stand-up meetings are typically less than 15 minutes and help identify progress as well as any potential problems that might be in the way.
Developing a standard list of no more than 3-5 meeting check-in questions can be a great way to keep focus and create value when you don’t have much time. Here are some examples of daily check-in questions.
- Tell me how you are feeling today using one word.
- What did you accomplish yesterday?
- What are you working on today?
- What, if any, challenges are in the way of your progress?
- How can we help to remove any challenges?
- Is there anything that needs additional clarification?
- Are there any critical issues that the entire team should be aware of?
- Are there any updates or feedback you would like to share with the team?
New Employee Meeting Check-in Questions
The first month for a new team member can be overwhelming and exhausting. They are getting to know the company, their fellow team members and their manager, the role, and everything else that goes along with it.
Carving out designated time with new hires to ask some good check-in questions about their experience, observations, preferences, goals and even hobbies will get your relationship off on the right foot and highlight areas where you can best help.
- What would be the best use of our one-on-one time?
- How is your current role aligning with your expectations?
- What would you like more direction on?
- What would you like less direction on?
- What motivates you?
- What observations do you have about our team so far?
- Tell me about your best day at work in this first month.
- How do you like to celebrate team wins?
- What, if anything, needs more clarification or feels confusing?
- Do you feel like you have the right resources to be successful in your current role?
- How do you see your role fitting into the overall goals of the team?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- How often do you prefer to receive feedback?
- Which aspects of this role are exciting to you?
- Which aspects of this role concern you?
- What area of the company or organization would you like to learn more about?
- What has been most helpful to you during onboarding?
- What could we have done better or differently to improve your onboarding experience?
- How can I help support you in your current role?
- How can I help support your overall career goals?
- What professional development opportunities interest you?
- Are there any best practices from your previous roles that you believe would work well here?
- Do you have a favorite team building activity?
- What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
- How can I help to support your work-life balance?
- What can I do to help support your overall well-being and positive mental health at work?
- What questions do you have for me?
Fun Icebreaker Questions
There will always be a time and place for fun check-in questions! Whether you use them as icebreakers or during a team building event, these questions are a great way to spark connections, build camaraderie and lighten the mood!
- What is the best piece of advice you have received in life?
- What is your most used emoji?
- If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have one item with you, what would it be?
- What is your favorite breakfast food?
- What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
- What is the best book you have ever read and why did you love it?
- Name one interesting fact about yourself.
- What historical figure would you most like to meet and why?
- If we were holding this meeting in your favorite place, where would we be?
- Which fictional character do you most relate with?
- What is the worst thing you have ever eaten?
- What is your go-to karaoke song?
- What is your favorite way to relax?
- What would be the theme song to best describe your life?
Knowing the right-check in questions
As a leader, try using new meeting check-in questions to gauge which ones resonate best with your team. Good questions, or the right types of questions, will uncover new insights, foster collaboration, and address challenges.