The Social Hour: Why I Check In With My Team Every Week

A lot can happen in a week.

Life happens every day, and some people’s lives are more chaotic than others; that’s just how it is.

That’s why I check in with each of my team members each week, because it’s more than just dedicating time for questions, answers, clarifications, etc.

And here’s why:

Fosters Open Communication and Builds Trust

Creating frequent touch-points for connection with your team helps to shake up that tired, strict “boss-employee” relationship we all grew up with.

The more open I am with conversing with my team, the more they will feel comfortable being open with me and also with each other. 

I meet with my team weekly, meaning there are roughly 50 times per person throughout the year that are dedicated to just talking, reviewing, and connecting. 

That’s more than the 12 times it would be if I conducted check-ins monthly. Specifically, it’s approximately 38 more times that I spend getting to know my team better. 

Identifies Issues Early and Provides Timely Support

Emails and messages are great for communicating with team members, but not everything can be explained over text; sometimes you need to call.

Having weekly calls means that there is a specific dedicated time to follow up with tasks, troubleshoot live, or explain more abstract concepts that could be harder to understand just with reading a message.

On top of that, more frequent check-ins mean that things aren’t left waiting or stuck for very long, especially for those tasks that aren’t a “right this second”, more of a “in a few days or so”.

Boosts Engagement, Motivation, and Accountability

Remote team-building is HARD, with each other, and also with me.

These weekly check-ins help in ultimately keeping my team members engaged, tackling obstacles together that impact motivation and productivity, and also keep us accountable to each other and hold that standard company-wide.

When problems are left to fester, they impact everything, including morale, quality of work, and/or deadlines. These check-ins are meant as a two-way street to holding each other accountable. 

Checking in shows that I’m committed to my team, and the hope, or more so the expectation, is that they are committed in return, not just for me, but for themselves. Building from the place of open communication and trust leads to an environment where, if I’ve let down a team member or if they’ve let me down, we can work together, motivated to find a resolution that drives us forward, not holds us back.

The more we engage with our team members, especially as leaders, the more we bridge the gap in leadership ambiguity and lead by example, directly impacting the culture of the company and how your team carries that forward with each other and in their work.

I’ll leave you with this final question:

How well do you know your team, and how well does your team know you?