A check-in meeting is a brief, focused, and recurring one-on-one conversation between a manager and an employee, designed to provide timely and continuous communication regarding work progress, priorities, and support needs.
Unlike traditional, infrequent annual or semi-annual reviews, check-ins are informal, future-focused, and typically held weekly or bi-weekly to discuss short-term goal progress, remove obstacles, and offer real-time coaching. The primary goal is to ensure alignment on current tasks and objectives, and to offer guidance and resources, rather than to formally evaluate past performance.
The role of a check-in meeting in performance management
When it comes to performance management, a check-in meeting helps shift the performance process from a reactive annual event to a proactive, ongoing dialogue, fostering a culture of continuous development.
Regular check-ins using employee feedback software or survey tools make it possible to quickly identify potential issues, allowing managers to intervene with coaching and support before small problems become large performance gaps. This type of consistent, two-way communication supports employee performance by:
- Building stronger working relationships based on trust;
- Increasing employee engagement by showing that the manager is invested in their success;
- Helping align individual efforts with organizational goals, leading to more relevant and impactful employee performance throughout the year.