Best Practices - Productive Employee Check-In Meetings

If you manage a team, you should hopefully already have a regular cadence for checking in on your employees - as a group, or 1-1. The frequency of these checkins will depend on the work your team does, and the amount of people reporting directly to you. 

If you manage people who also manage folks, making sure that they're having regular checkins with their team members will also allow them to filter information up to you, as needed. 

Employee check-in tips for managers

It’s up to managers to ensure check-ins happen for every direct report and focus on all things performance. They’re responsible for setting the meetings and guiding the conversation in the right direction. Here are a few tips that will help managers conduct effective employee check-ins. 

Schedule recurring meetings

Consistency is key when it comes to getting the most out of employee check-ins. They must occur on a set schedule since one meeting builds on the last, creating an on-going dialogue about performance. 

The simple act of scheduling recurring meetings on both the employee and manager’s calendars ensures check-ins don’t fall off the radar. Even if things get hectic, both parties are committed to getting together. The manager can ask if the challenges the employee was facing are being resolved and discover if performance is improving based on their recent feedback. 

Give the right feedback

Some managers are easy-going and don’t like giving much feedback. And others are too tough on employees and feel like they always need to be coaching.

As we’ve mentioned throughout this blog post, employees want both praise and feedback. They crave validation that they’re doing their job well and also want to learn where they can improve. The employee check-in meeting provides the perfect opportunity for managers to step back and provide a fair assessment of the employee’s recent job performance.

That said, it’s important managers be empathetic and consider everything that is impacting the employee’s ability to do their job. Listen to their concerns and help them overcome the issues they’re facing while also providing the feedback they need to hear. 

Help the employee grow

Since the purpose of check-ins is to create an on-going dialogue, employees should gradually progress from one meeting to the next. They should leave a meeting ready to incorporate the feedback they received into their work. 

Revisit the main takeaways from previous meetings in each check-in to determine if the employee is acting accordingly. Discover if their performance is improving and they’re growing as a professional.

Be sure to document the topics covered in each check-in so you know where to pick up in the next meeting. The goal is to look back after a few months and see that the employee has made significant progress.  

Help the employee prepare what they'd like to talk about ahead of time

You've gotten the checkin scheduled - now, what do you talk about? A checkin shouldn't be seen as a dumping ground for you as the manager - it is a time to have a back and forth conversation with your employees - making sure that you're doing as much listening as you are talking. 

During 1-1s, a great goal is to find the answer to the following questions:

• What’s going well
• What are they worried about
• What keeps them up / pondering after work
• What can I move out of their way 

The answers to these questions will help you lay the framework for how your team member is doing, and gives them the space to ask for things they may need. You may not be able to solve all of their problems - but you can't solve any of them if you don't know they exist.

Where do we document this information?

A great place to document employee check-ins is in the Notes section in Trakstar. This is a space to keep notes over time, and is an easy place to reference the items chatted about in your last call, when you're engaging again with this employee. These notes can be made as private, or visible to the employee - which is also a great way to share the accountability of the tasks that you talk about during the meeting.

How to Take Notes on Your Employees from Trakstar on Vimeo.

Why is it so important? 

Check-in meetings boost employee engagement

Engagement is unlocked when employees are happy, productive, and, of course, motivated. 

It’s easy to try to motivate employees with high pay, bonuses, or even fear of being reprimanded. However, that approach has diminishing returns. Employees will only work hard for short spurts and they’ll rarely feel compelled to go above and beyond.

Continuous productivity is achieved through intrinsic motivation—or doing a job that results in personal fulfillment. Employees want to feel like their work matters and is appreciated by their employer. A LinkedIn survey found that 69% of employees said they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized.

In addition to frequent feedback, managers can use check-in meetings to acknowledge what the employee is doing well. The combination of praise and coaching helps team members see that their manager cares about the work they do, increasing their motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction all at once.   

Employee check-ins build toward better performance reviews

From an organizational perspective, regular check-ins improve performance management. Managers already know where their direct reports are striving to improve, making it easy to complete an accurate performance review that resonates with the employee.

Many of the disadvantages of formal employee evaluations can be resolved through regular performance check-ins. Let’s explore how check-ins build toward better performance reviews:

• Managers document performance over time – Managers can note the main takeaways from each check-in meeting. When it comes time to complete a formal review, they’ll have a detailed record to consult.
• Employees are prepared for their performance review – Employees usually dislike performance reviews because they don’t know what to expect. However, they’ll have a good idea of what they’re going to hear after months of check-in conversations.
• Employees are already striving to improve – Employees go into their performance review already working on improving in the right areas. The meeting isn’t a retrospective of what they should have done better but rather an opportunity to discuss the progress they’re making.
• The performance review conversation is more productive – Since there is no need to recap the previous review period, the conversation can focus on the future. The manager can set new goals for the employee and discuss a strategy for how they’ll accomplish them in the coming months.

When conducted correctly, regular performance check-ins benefit everyone involved. Employees get the feedback they want, managers ensure they’re focused on relevant tasks, and performance improves across the workforce.