Information: Check-Ins
Hello everyone! This is going to be an informative post on check-ins that happen or can be done in sub-community forums. You can refer to this thread anytime for all information on check-ins!
Check-ins can be an important part of a thriving sub-community and can be a great way to bond and see how others in the community are doing. Each team is different, and check-ins may vary depending on team needs and interests. Here is some basic information about check-ins:
- What is a check-in?
A check-in is a thread that invites members to a safe and interesting place to meet and share their struggles, dilemmas, mental wellbeing and accomplishments with us. By doing check-ins, we are giving members the opportunity to seek support, let us know how they’re doing and interact with other members in the sub-community.
- Who does these check-ins?
Check-ins are done by the sub-community team members. They have assigned / signed-up spots for these. If there is no team member available (upon confirming) to do the check-ins, anyone can do these!
- Where are these posted?
Check-ins are posted in the individual community and appear just like other posts.
- When are they done?
Each sub-community has its own schedule - they can be daily, weekly, monthly, or really a single on-going thread that covers multiple dates. It really depends on the number of active and reliable team members.
- What is the format for a check-in?
The content varies depending upon the needs and interests of sub-communities and leaders. However, for those doing it, the basic structure (with examples) of a check-in includes:
-
Title
- X Support Community Check-In: Month Date(s) Year
-
Photo/GIF
- At the beginning or the end.
- Ensure that the photo or GIF doesn’t display flashy or triggering images.
- A description of the image/GIF can be super helpful.
-
Quote/Excerpt/Article/Video (Optional)
- For the community to share their reactions, views, etc. on.
- For the community to share their reactions, views, etc. on.
- Theme for content, if any - for instance link to any Awareness Days or Months or Events, even advertise any group support discussions that week too. Or Spring, Summer, holiday season, Thanksgiving etc.
-
Questions, mostly open-ended
- Ask what is going well and what is not going well.
- Post icebreakers or simple questions that relate to your community.
- Simply ask how they are feeling. Let them share or ask them to rate how they feel on a scale of 1-10 or relate how they're feeling to a color.
-
Community Taglist
- Use and attach the taglist at the end for members to be tagged, added, removed. Click here to know more and for a list of community taglists.
- Use and attach the taglist at the end for members to be tagged, added, removed. Click here to know more and for a list of community taglists.
-
Check-In Responses
- Ensure everyone participating is replied to and the conversation is as much as supportive as possible from your end.
- We want everyone participating to feel welcome, included, valued and cared for.
- Even if they're just stopping by to say hi, give them a wave back!
-
Reminders
- Lastly, remember to set the thread to check-in and be responsible with the whole process. It's perfectly okay to step back when needed and let someone else cover. It is not necessary to Feature it or Pin it.
- Include other discussions, events happening and resources available in your community to use in the check-in! Also include information on check-ins where applicable in non-check-in areas so people know about these.
- Don't forget to enjoy your check-in!
- Check-ins are an important tool of community building and support so we cannot thank you enough for all the efforts! You are appreciated!
A sample format for a basic check-in is here:
Title: Check-In: February 7th-13th
Photo/GIF:
[Image Description: Text in bold on a blue background that says “Good morning, (in blue, red and yellow)
Check-In Questions:
- How are you feeling today?
- What’s going well for you? What isn’t?
- What was the highlight of your week/day, if any?
Taglist:
Click HERE (hyperlink the forum thread to the taglist) to be added/removed from the community taglist
Insert names of persons in the taglist: @User1 @User2 @User3
All of this information is available in a Google Doc here! Share your check-in tips and best practices in this very thread below!
In general, not just for check ins considering including a description for images.
As an example
[A coffee on top of a book, the coffee has latte art of a unicorn]
I am unsure how many people we have who use screen-readers. If we do what we can to be inclusive though, any visitors are more likely to hang around if they don't have to initiate that inclusion themselves.
@AffyAvo That is a great thought, thank-you, I will use that in future.
@theriverissingingthanks for the post and the recognition!
Listening - One Step At A Time!
@MistyMagic Thanks! After seeing it used in other places with increasing frequency I thought it was a good thing to do myself.
@theriverissinging Thanks for adding that into the tips!
@AffyAvo
Love your input 👌😊