Fill out a Check-in

Check-ins make it easy for you to regularly set goals, track progress, highlight wins & challenges, and engage with others in your organization. Filling our Check-ins gives you a voice to share that brilliant idea that’s been floating around in your head for 3 months, or to finally get some attention on that project you’re stuck on and dying to complete. Use the Check-in as your work journal to reflect on progress, and roadblocks, and get the support you need from your manager. 

In this article, you will learn...

• How to fill out and submit a Check-in
• Tools to use as you fill out your Check-in
• Best practices for filling out your Check-in

Are you more of a visual learner? Check out this video ⬇️

Fill out and submit a Check-in

1. Click on Check-ins in 15Five's main, left-hand navigation.
   
2. You are now on your current Check-in. If you need to fill out a past-due Check-in, you can navigate to it using the 'My recent Check-ins' section on the left-hand side of the screen.
   
3. Complete your Check-in using the sections below to guide you. No need to worry—15Five saves your draft automatically, allowing you to update it throughout the week and submit when you're ready.
   
   Pulse

   Each Check-in's pulse question asks, "How did you feel at work since your last Check-in?" on a 1-5 scale.

   

   How to answer the Pulse question:

   1. Select the number that most aligns with how you felt at work since you last submitted a Check-in.
   2. (Optional) Add additional written context by clicking Anything to add? and a text field will appear.
   3. (Optional) Make your written answer private to you and your manager by clicking the lock icon on the right-hand side of the text box.

   Objectives updates

   The Objectives section is where you can make updates to any objectives and key results that you own. If you don't own any objectives or key results, this section will not appear on your Check-in.

   How to update an objective or key result:

   1. Set the status of your objective. If you're the objective owner, you must select whether each objective is On track, Behind, or At risk. You won't be able to submit your Check-in without selecting a status.
      
   2. Update a key result you own by clicking Key results (#) and aligned objectives (#). All aligned key results and objectives will appear in the dropdown list, and you can change the current progress by clicking into the 'Current' box.
      
   3. Comment on an objective by clicking the chatbox icon in the upper, right-hand corner of the objective box. A comment box will appear below the objective. Any comments you leave will also be visible in the activity feed on the objective's overview page.
      
   4. Close, view, or delete an objective by clicking "..." in the upper, right-hand corner of the objective box. If you need to make updates to an objective or key results, select 'View' from the dropdown and follow the steps to edit your objective.
      
   5. Updates made to your objective or key results will be reflected on the Objectives dashboard once you submit your Check-in.

   Priorities

   The Priorities section of your Check-in allows you to create, track, and mark priorities as complete. Two sections appear here: 1) Mark priorities from your past Check-in as complete, and 2) What do you intend to accomplish between now and your next Check-in?

   Mark priorities from your past Check-in as complete

   In this section, you will see the priorities that you set on your previous Check-in. This section will not appear on your first-ever Check-in, as you have yet to set any priorities.

   

   • If new priorities pop up during the current Check-in period, you can add them to this section by clicking Add a new priority. Doing this makes it easy for you to communicate to your manager what you accomplished during the Check-in period— even if you didn't originally set it as a priority.
   • Mark a past priority as complete by clicking the checkmark to its left.
   • Comment on a past priority by clicking the chatbox icon to its right.
   • Carry an incomplete priority over to your next Check-in by clicking the cycle icon to its right. This will cause the priority to show up in the "What do you intend to accomplish between now and your next Check-in?" priorities section of the Check-in you're filling out.
   • Leave a past priority as 'incomplete' by doing nothing. When you submit your Check-in, the priority will show as incomplete and will not automatically carry over to your next Check-in.
   • Edit a past priority by clicking into the priority's text field and making desired edits.
   • Delete a past priority by clicking into the priority's text field and removing all text.
   • Link a past priority to an objective you own by hovering over the priority and clicking the link icon. All objectives you own will appear in a dropdown menu for you to select from.
   • Add an emoji by hovering over the priority and clicking the smiley face icon. You can also add an emoji using the control + command + spacebar shortcut on your keyboard.

   What do you intend to accomplish between now and your next Check-in?

   In this section, you should choose what your priorities will be for your next Check-in period.

   

   💡

   Tip

   Instead of using this section as a to-do list, we suggest that you "do less and obsess" by setting 3-5 high-level priorities that you'll complete before your next Check-in is due.

   • Add a future priority by clicking into the "Add a new priority" text field. 
   • Edit a future priority by clicking into the priority's textfield and making desired edits.
   • Delete a future priority by clicking into the priority's text field and removing all text.
   • Link a future priority to an objective you own by hovering over the priority and clicking the link icon. All objectives you own will appear in a dropdown menu for you to choose from.
     Linked priorities will appear on the Objective page in the 'Priorities' section, which is located above the activity feed. Only people that have visibility into your Check-in can see your linked priorities on the Objective page.
   • Add an emoji by hovering over the priority and clicking the smiley face icon. You can also add an emoji using the control + command + spacebar shortcut on your keyboard.

   Questions

   The Questions section of your Check-in includes all company-wide, group-specific, or individual questions that have been added for you for the current Check-in period.

   Questions can be required or optional. You must answer all required questions to submit your Check-in. If a question is optional, it will appear with (optional) to its right. The frequency and audience of a question are listed underneath it.

   

   • Answer a question by clicking into the "Add a new answer" text field and typing your answer.
   • Edit an answer by clicking into the text field and making desired edits.
   • Delete an answer by clicking into the text field and removing all text.
   • Make an answer private to you and your manager by hovering over the answer and clicking the lock icon.
   • Add an answer to your 1-on-1 agenda with your manager by hovering over the answer and clicking the double chatbox icon.
   • Add an emoji by hovering over the answer and clicking the smiley face icon. You can also add an emoji using the control + command + spacebar shortcut on your keyboard.
   • Attach a file by hovering over the answer and clicking the file icon.

   Your Feedback

   The 'Your Feedback' section gives you the opportunity to share anything that wasn't specifically asked about in other sections of your Check-in by asking, "Anything else you'd like to add?". This section is optional, meaning you don't have to share anything here to submit your Check-in.

   

   • Answer this question by clicking into the "Add a new answer" text field and typing your answer.
   • Edit an answer by clicking into the text field and making desired edits.
   • Delete an answer by clicking into the text field and removing all text.
   • Make an answer private to you and your manager by hovering over the answer and clicking the lock icon.
   • Add an answer to your 1-on-1 agenda with your manager by hovering over the answer and clicking the double chatbox icon.
   • Add an emoji by hovering over the answer and clicking the smiley face icon. You can also add an emoji using the control + command + spacebar shortcut on your computer.
   • Attach a file by hovering over the answer and clicking the file icon.

   Give a High Five

   The option to give a High Five is included in the last section of your Check-in. High Fives given in this section will be sent to the recipient(s) once your Check-in is submitted. You can use @mentions to high-five an individual, multiple people, group(s), the entire company (using @all), or an external email address.

   How to high-five a teammate:

   1. Write your high-five by clicking into the "Write a message" text field and typing your high five.
      
   2. @mention teammates by typing the @ symbol, followed by the first letter or two of the team member or group you want to mention. Then, select their name from the dropdown list.
      
   3. (Optional) Include a company value hashtag by typing the symbol #. A dropdown will appear that lists all of your company's uploaded values.
      
   4. (Optional) Change the privacy of your high five from public to private by clicking 'Public' to the right of the high five and selecting the 'Private' option.
      
   5. Recipients will be notified of the high five when you submit your Check-in.

   💡

   Tip

   Want to make sure your High Five resonates? Check out our High Five Best Practices to learn how to give an effective High Five.

4. When you’re finished with your responses, click Submit at the bottom of your Check-in. Now your Check-in is off to your manager for review!
   

Check-in tools

This section walks through valuable tools you can use as you fill out your Check-in.

Best practices for filling out your Check-in

• Submit it at the right time. If your Check-in period is Mar 6-19, you should submit your Check-in no earlier than the 17th (as a best practice). The Check-in should contain information from the 6-19 of March and should contain your priorities for the coming period of Mar 20- Apr 2. You will see an alert if you try to submit a Check-in more than two days before the due date.
• Note events as they occur. It's hard to stare at a blank Check-in and fill in everything you have done over the past week or month. By the time your due day comes around, you might have forgotten what you've done, or be too exhausted to elaborate. 15Five saves your draft Check-in as you go, so that you can easily note events as they occur and come back to finish it up before submitting.
• Mention big issues. Don't let issues fester— use your Check-in to discuss them with your manager early and offer solutions! If you have an idea that could help increase efficiency or a suggestion for a process change, now is the time to bring it up. Leadership can't help you if they don't know a problem exists. The "Anything else to add?" question on your Check-in is a great place to share this feedback.
• Collaborate with your team. @mentions are a great way to bring your coworkers into the conversation. If a question pops up while you're filling up your Check-in that you think a colleague might know the answer to, or if you worked on a project with a team member and you want to acknowledge their help, @mention them and they'll receive a notification.
• Suggest new questions. Not feeling engaged? Want to change things up a bit? Share your thoughts on how to make the Check-in process more engaging for you and your team! You can do this by creating a list of suggested questions and sharing them with your manager. You never know- they might take inspiration from your feedback, and one or two of your questions might show up on your next Check-in.
• Give someone a High Five. Our High Fives feature is a recognition tool built into 15Five that allows you to show appreciation to your coworkers. Science shows that recognition increases the likelihood of collaboration and support between employees— so don't let awesome deeds go unseen!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ❓