28 check-in questions to start a meeting

Project management

5 min

Posted on

4/2/2026

Is your business affected by acute reunionitis syndrome? At work, meetings are often considered to be time-consuming activities that hinder employee productivity. In fact, according to a study carried out by OpinionWay In 2017, only 52% of meetings were productive. This figure is largely insufficient, especially when you know that managers spend an average of more than 6 weeks per year in meetings.

So, to avoid organizing useless or unproductive meetings during which participants take the opportunity to take a nap or respond to their late emails, there are several proven solutions and methods. In this article, we talk about the verification questions (or check-in questions in English) that you should ask your employees during each meeting to gain time and efficiency.

What are audit questions?

In meetings, it is often difficult to start the first exchanges and to make participants feel comfortable so that they dare to express themselves. To break the ice, we have seen that it is possible to organize short fun activities called ice breakers. It is a great way to relax the atmosphere and help those present feel at ease.

Check-in questions start from the same principle, but unlike ice breakers, they generally concern work and the subject of the meeting. The idea is to help start the discussion and get right to the heart of the matter, but also to understand the mindset of your employees. These questions also allow participants to immerse themselves in the meeting and to take a break from what they were doing just before.

In summary, audit questions allow you to:

to make your employees forget the concerns of their employees when they arrive in a meeting so that they can focus on the agenda and participate actively;
to encourage the participation of all those present, especially the most timid or reserved people, by helping them to relax and speak through less formal questions;
to assess how your employees feel about the tasks assigned to them and their responsibilities, and thus to make the necessary adjustments;
to monitor the progress of your team and/or a project;
to promote understanding and team cohesion because check-in questions can also be used as a team building method by allowing each member of the team to discuss and get to know each other better.

Ready to adopt audit questions? Here is a list of check-in questions to ask depending on the type of meeting you are organizing.

Check-in questions for stand-up meetings

Stand-up meetings, also called scrum, are quick daily meetings (15 minutes maximum) that usually take place standing up. These short meetings take place at the beginning of the day. They allow each member of the team to review their progress and achievements the day before, and on their goals for the day.

Because these meetings are very concise, it is essential to get to the point right away. These verification questions are there to help you:

What did you do yesterday?
What are your goals for today?
Are you facing obstacles?
Do you need help today?

To prepare your check-in questions, you can also use the PPP method for “progress”, “plans” and “problems”. It involves asking three questions to your employees, each containing one of the three P's:

What progress (s) did you make yesterday?
What are your plans for today?
Are you having problems? If yes, do you want to talk about it?

Check-in questions for project meetings

The project meeting is essential to monitor the progress of a project, to know the progress of current tasks and to identify the difficulties your team may face. With verification questions, you show your employees that you are there to support, help and guide them on a daily basis.

Here are some examples of check-in questions to ask during project meetings:

What are you excited about this project?
Do you have concerns about this project?
As a project manager, how can I help you/what do you expect of me?
Are you having trouble meeting the deadlines for your tasks? If yes, why?
What challenge (s) did you encounter while completing your tasks last week?
How do you manage your workload?
What resources do you need to complete your tasks?

Check-in questions for team meetings

Team meetings can cover a wide variety of topics. You can talk about current projects as well as the annual budget, upcoming company events, quarterly results or even new market trends.

Here, the audit questions will help guide the discussion on the topics you want to address during this meeting with your team.

Here are a few examples:

How could team productivity be improved?
How can we encourage creativity and initiative?
What is motivating you right now?
What work process (s) would you change/improve?
What is your current workload?
Are you happy with your work/life balance right now?
What do you like about this team?
On the contrary, what do you dislike?

Check-in questions for one-on-one meetings

For a manager, a one-on-one meeting is the ideal way to strengthen relationships with team members, and to discuss everyone's expectations, priorities, and problems one-on-one. As for employees, they feel more comfortable sharing their feelings or opinions alone with their manager than in front of the rest of the team.

During these face-to-face meetings, the exchange of mutual and constructive feedback is highly recommended. These check-in questions can help you:

Do you feel supported in your daily work?
How can I best help you with your work?
How do you feel about being part of the team?
How can we help you reach your career goals?
What do you like the most about your work? And the least?
What accomplishment made you the most proud of recently?

Check-in questions can be used in a variety of situations. In particular, they help you get a meeting off to a good start, better understand your team, and become a better manager. Consider using them in future meetings.