Question bank
Employee Check-In Questions
A check-in is only as good as the questions in it. This is a question bank you can pull from two ways: as a manager getting ready to sit down with a direct report, or as the direct report thinking through your own answers before you walk in.
Both sides win from the same prep. When a manager asks better questions and a teammate shows up with honest answers ready, the half hour stops feeling like a status update and starts being a real conversation. Pick a few from the groups below, not all of them, and leave room to follow the answers wherever they go.
How they’re doing and workload
Start with the person, not the project. These get past a quick "fine" and surface how the week really feels.
How are you doing this week, honestly?
How is your workload feeling right now, light, steady, or too much?
What has been draining your energy lately?
Is there anything going on outside work I should keep in mind?
On a scale of one to five, how manageable does the next two weeks look?
Progress and priorities
Talk about the work without turning the check-in into a status report. Aim at what matters most, not a list of everything.
What are you most focused on this week, and is that the right thing to be focused on?
What progress are you proud of since we last talked?
Is anything on your plate that you secretly think we could drop?
Where are your priorities and mine not quite lined up?
What would make next week feel like a win?
Blockers and support
"Any blockers?" usually gets a no. These dig into what is really in the way and what you can do about it.
What have you been stuck on the longest?
What is slowing you down that I could help clear?
Is there a decision you're waiting on from me or someone else?
What is one thing I could take off your plate this week?
Where do you need more from me, or less?
Feedback (both directions)
Ask for feedback on yourself first. It signals to your teammate that it's safe to be honest, and it tends to loosen up the rest of the conversation.
What's something I could do differently as your manager?
Is there anything I'm doing that gets in your way?
Is there feedback you've been sitting on that you haven't shared yet?
Was there a recent moment where you wanted more support and didn't get it?
What's working well between us that you'd want to keep?
Growth
Career talk slips when no one protects it. One or two questions here keep it from waiting until review season.
What kind of work do you want more of? Less of?
What's a skill you'd like to build, and what's one step toward it?
Where do you want to grow this quarter?
Is there a project coming up that you'd want to be part of?
Looking a year out, what would make this a great year for you?
Looking ahead
Close by setting up the next conversation and catching anything that didn't come up.
Is there anything I should know that I haven't asked about?
What's the one thing you want me to take away from today?
What follow-ups do we both want to carry into next time?
Anything you want on the agenda for our next check-in?
The two things that make these work
First, keep them open-ended. A question that can be answered with “yep” usually will be, and then you’re both stuck staring at the agenda. “What have you been stuck on the longest?” gets a real answer where “any blockers?” gets a shrug. The phrasing does a lot of the work.
Second, follow up on last time. The best question in any check-in is often the one that picks up a thread from the last conversation: how that thing they were nervous about turned out, whether the follow-up you both agreed on happened. That continuity is what tells your teammate the conversation matters, and it’s what turns a string of check-ins into something that compounds.
If you want more to draw from, browse the broader 1:1 questions to ask on the manager side. If you’re the direct report, the questions to ask your manager and the guide on how to prepare for a 1:1 with your manager will help you turn these into your own notes before the check-in.
Frequently asked questions
What are good check-in questions?
Good check-in questions are open-ended and easy to answer honestly. The strongest ones mix how the person is doing ("how is your workload feeling?"), what's in the way ("what have you been stuck on the longest?"), feedback in both directions, and a look at growth. A question you can answer in one word, like "everything good?", tends to close the conversation rather than open it.
How many check-in questions should I ask?
You don't need many. Two or three real questions, with time to follow up on the answers, beat a long list you rush through. A typical check-in runs 25 to 30 minutes, so pick one question from a few of the groups above and let the conversation go where it wants.
Can a direct report use these questions too?
Yes. The same questions work as self-reflection before a check-in. A direct report can read through workload, progress, blockers, and growth and jot down a few honest answers, which makes the conversation faster and more useful for both sides. The questions to ask your manager are a natural extension of that.
How do I get more honest answers in a check-in?
Honesty grows from consistency and from going first. Ask for feedback on yourself before you give any, wait through the pause instead of filling it, and follow up on what was said last time so people see their answers actually land. When a teammate trusts that what they say will be remembered and acted on, they share more.
Better questions when you remember the answers
The strongest follow-up question is the one that picks up where last week left off. MeetFika keeps every check-in, carries your follow-ups forward, and surfaces what your teammate flagged, so both of you walk in already knowing what to ask.
Free to start.