At LONDONmiddlebury, we value keeping an open, team-oriented work environment. One of the ways we do that is through regular team check-ins. Office check-ins can come in a variety of settings, topics, and levels of formality. They provide a great platform to gauge how everyone is feeling, what they’re working on, and what’s coming next. Holding regular check-ins increases employee engagement - in a world where workers are more unengaged than ever. According to a 2021 study by Gallup, only 21% of employees worldwide, and 33% in the US, feel engaged with their work. This leaves major room for improvement, and check-ins are a great way to keep employees feeling engaged and valued.
Why check-in with your team?
It builds relationships.
Offering employees a space to share concerns about upcoming projects, what they want feedback on, or even something exciting in their personal lives helps to build trust and camaraderie between teammates. Building positive rapport is a great way to increase collaboration. When a team member is given the platform to express frustrations with a project, they might find others are in a similar position, and get feedback from the team to help get out of a rut.
You stay on track by stepping back.
Making sure your employees are meeting, and hopefully exceeding, goals keeps focus and attention-to-detail high. When checking in on tasks or projects, open the floor to your team members and ask them to explain how they think their work is going. Allowing them the space to step back and explain their work can highlight areas they are finding success in, or spots in which they need help. Trusting in one’s ability to perform instills confidence, which can boost quality of work.
It limits miscommunication.
Completing a task or project is valuable to your business – unless it’s carried out incorrectly. This can often begin with miscommunication between a manager and employee, and snowballs into a project that doesn't quite hit the mark, costing you more time and resources. To mitigate this, a check-in can help find possible miscommunications without too much backtracking.
It keeps a pulse on the team.
Check-ins make sure everyone has realistic expectations from one another. Sometimes, it’s just one of those days where your car didn’t start, you didn’t sleep well, or you’re just feeling out of it. When employees understand what they can expect from each other, productivity can flourish.
How to setup your next check-in:
- Choose a setting (level of formality, group, 1-on-1)
- Provide goals and context ahead of time
- Keep them regular (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Limit distractions
- Ask for feedback
- End on a positive note
Every team from enterprises to small start-ups, can benefit from check-ins to keep employees engaged, valued, and focused. We love our weekly check-ins, and we think you will too!
Get in touch to learn more about our company and how we can help yours!
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