Check-ins gives everyone in your organization (and especially managers and their direct reports) a dedicated, structured space for recurring 1:1 meetings with a shared agenda, action items, and notes, all in one place. Everything carries over from one session to the next, so nobody arrives cold.

When connected to Google Meet, Check-ins goes a step further. It pulls your meeting transcript after each call and uses AI to draft a summary, populate action items, and suggest talking points for the next session, so the check-in fills itself in.

Why it matters: When a 1:1 has a home and a rhythm, it stops being the first thing that gets dropped in a busy week. Managers keep the habit, and direct reports stop wondering when they will next get time.

What gets discussed in a check-in stays on the record and flows into review cycles (via the Worker context), so performance conversations start from what actually happened, not from what anyone can remember.

Before you begin

You must be:

A client admin with organization admin or Engage admin permissions

In an organization with Engage enabled (check this under Organization settings → Engage)

In an organization with Check-ins enabled as an Engage module. Go to Organization settings → Engage → Configure Engage and confirm Check-ins shows as Enabled. If it doesn't, go to General settings → Show or hide features and toggle it on for your organization.

Who can access Check-ins and what each role sees

Worker and manager view

Workers and managers access Check-ins from Engage > Check-ins in the left navigation.
When Check-ins is enabled, each person sees their active check-ins listed in the left panel. The current session is shown by default.

Admin view

At the moment, there is no separate admin dashboard for Check-ins. Everything happens at the individual worker level.
Admins access and review check-ins through their own worker account, the same way any participant would. This keeps conversations private between the people involved.

Manager analytics: Your team

Managers have access to a Your team view inside Check-ins, accessible from the top of the Check-ins page. It gives managers a single overview of how consistently they are meeting with each direct and extended report.

The dashboard shows three columns for each report:

Employee: The person's name and check-in cadence.
Streak status: Whether the check-in habit is on track. A status of "Attention needed" appears when sessions have been missed consecutively (for example, 3 missed in a row).
Recent check-ins: A visual history of recent sessions, showing which were met and which were missed.

The met/missed status in Recent check-ins is based on whether a transcript was imported for that session or notes have been made manually, rather than whether a session took place.

This view helps managers spot patterns early, for example, a direct report whose check-ins have been repeatedly missed, without having to open each individual session.

How Check-ins works

How to create a check-in

Go to Engage > Check-ins in the left navigation menu.

Check-ins can be set up between any two people in your organization, not just managers and direct reports. This is perfect for cross-functional collaborators who meet regularly and want to keep on track.

Examples:

An HR business partner and a department head
A finance lead and a people ops manager
An engineering manager and a product lead
A customer success manager and a solutions engineer
A new hire and their onboarding buddy

To create a check-in:

Click Create in the top right corner.
In the New Check-in dialog, select the person from the Meeting with dropdown.
Choose a Frequency. Options include every day, every weekday, every week, every month, every year, or a custom cadence.
Set the First check-in date and your Timezone.
Click Create check-in.

Note: The cadence and frequency can be updated at any time after creation.

What's inside a check-in session

Each check-in session is a shared workspace with three sections:

Agenda: Topics for the meeting. Both participants can add talking points. Uncompleted items carry over to the next session automatically, and can be added to the next check-in with one click.
Actions: Tasks and follow-ups. Check items off as they are completed. Standing commitments can be set as recurring defaults.
Notes: Three tabs: Shared (visible to both participants), My notes (private, only visible to the individual writing), and Transcript (auto-populated when Google Meet is connected, or uploaded manually).

How to configure a check-in: recurring items, calendar, cadence, reminders, and archiving

Once a check-in is created, click Configure in the top right corner of the session to access its settings. From the Configure page you can:

Set recurring agenda items and actions. Anything you add here appears in every future session automatically, useful for standing topics like a monthly goals review or cross-team collaboration updates. Changes here won't affect sessions that have already started.
Connect Google Calendar. Link your calendar to sync the check-in schedule and pull transcripts from Google Meet automatically. Once connected, Google Calendar becomes the source of truth for this check-in's cadence.
Adjust cadence and frequency. Change how often sessions repeat: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or a custom schedule.
Set your time zone. Participants will see session times adjusted to their own time zone.
Enable reminders. Turn on notifications so both participants get a reminder before each session, by email and through in-app notifications. A 1-day reminder is on by default and cannot be removed. You can add additional reminders, for example, 3 days before, and remove any that you added.
Archive the check-in. Found at the bottom of the page under Danger zone. Archiving ends the check-in and all future sessions. Past session notes remain accessible in your archive.

How to connect Google Meet for automatic transcripts

When a worker connects their Google Calendar, Check-ins fetches their meeting transcript after each call and automatically prepares the recap, so people spend the meeting talking, not typing.

Before you connect

A Google Workspace admin needs to enable transcripts org-wide: admin.google.com > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet > Meet video settings > enable Meeting Transcripts.

The event organizer needs to enable it per calendar event: open the event, click the gear icon in the video call options, go to Meeting records, check "Transcribe the meeting," and choose a language.

To connect Google Meet for automatic transcripts:

Open a check-in session. You will see a Sync your Google Calendar banner. Click Connect Google Calendar.
A setup panel opens explaining what the connection does: auto-transcription and automatic action items. Click Connect Google Meet.
Review the AI transparency information. The AI only captures what was said, never scores or judges anyone.
Back in Check-ins, click Select event to link a recurring Google Calendar event to this check-in.
Search for the event. You must be the event owner, and it must be set up as recurring. One-time events will not appear.
If the calendar event's cadence differs from your check-in cadence, Deel will update the check-in to follow the calendar event. Click Confirm 1:1.

Once connected, a Google Meet button appears in the top right corner of your check-in. From there you can join the meeting directly, copy the meeting link, or open the event in Google Calendar.

After the meeting ends, Check-ins fetches the meeting transcript and prepares a recap automatically. Workers will see a "Preparing your check-in recap" notification at the top of the session. When it is ready, completed agenda items are checked off and any unfinished items show an option to carry them forward to the next session.

Note: Transcript import requires Google Meet transcript access, available on Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, or Enterprise Plus. If you are unsure which plan your organization is on, check with your Google Workspace admin.

Caution: Microsoft Teams and Zoom are not supported at this time. You can still upload a transcript manually (.txt, .docx, or .pdf) from the Transcript tab.

AI features in Check-ins

Check-ins includes three AI-powered features to reduce manual work and help your team get more out of each session:

AI agenda and actions suggestions: AI automatically surfaces agenda items and actions from past sessions that were added but never resolved, so nothing falls through the cracks.
AI session recap: After a session ends, AI generates a check-in recap based on your agenda, action items, and notes, shown as a panel at the top of the session. There is a button to Add to shared notes.
AI assistant: Use the Deel AI persistent chat panel to ask questions about your check-in history and to help you prepare for the next check-in.

Note: All AI outputs are suggestions for users to review and adjust. They remain in control of what gets saved. The AI only pulls out what was actually said, such as a task someone agreed to follow up on. It never scores, judges, or comments on anyone's performance.

Your organization's data is never used to train AI models. Transcripts are stored with the check-in and only visible to the people in that session.

Introducing Check-ins to your team

Rolling out Check-ins works best when people understand the purpose before their first session opens. Here are a few ways to set your organization up for success:

Communicate before you launch. Let managers and their direct reports know Check-ins is coming and what it is for. A short message explaining the cadence, what goes in the agenda, and how action items work goes a long way toward adoption.
Clarify what is shared and what is private. Workers sometimes hesitate if they are unsure who can see their notes. Remind your team that the My notes tab is private, and that shared notes only appear when someone actively uses the Shared tab.
Check-ins feeds into reviews. Let managers know that what gets discussed and tracked in Check-ins flows into review cycles. This gives the habit a clear business purpose beyond the meeting itself.
If your organization uses Google Workspace, make Google Meet connection part of onboarding. Share the setup steps with your team before their first session so they are not figuring it out mid-meeting. The sooner it is connected, the sooner sessions start filling themselves in automatically.

Tip: Explore an interactive product tutorial of Check-ins.

Announcement template to share with your team

Once Check-ins is set up, share the news with your team. Copy the template below, fill in the bracketed placeholders, and send it over email or Slack.

Subject: Introducing Check-ins: a dedicated space for your 1:1s

Hi team,

We've turned on Check-ins in Deel, a structured space for recurring 1:1 meetings between managers and their direct reports.

Starting today, every manager and direct report has a shared session automatically created. Each session has:

An agenda you can both add to before the meeting

Action items to track follow-ups between sessions

Shared and private notes

You'll find it in Deel under Engage > Check-ins.

[Remove this section if your organization does not use Google Workspace]

You can connect Google Meet to sync your calendar and get AI-generated notes and action items after each call. To set it up, open your check-in, click Connect Google Calendar, and follow the steps. It only takes a few minutes.

[End of optional section]

Open your first session this week, add a talking point to the agenda, and see how it works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started

Does Check-ins require any additional Deel license or is it included with Engage?

Check-ins is part of Engage. No additional license is required beyond your existing Engage subscription.

Can I enable Check-ins for specific teams only, or is it all-or-nothing?

Check-ins is enabled at the organization level. It cannot be restricted to specific teams or departments at this time.

Can I have a check-in with anyone in my organization?

Yes. You can start a check-in with any person in your organization, regardless of reporting line or team.

Creating and managing a check-in

Can I change the frequency of a check-in after it has started?

Yes. You can update the cadence and frequency at any time from the Configure page. If you have connected Google Calendar, the calendar event will become the source of truth for the cadence.

Can I set an end date for a check-in?

No. Check-ins run on an ongoing cadence. If you want to stop a check-in, you can archive it at any time from the Configure page.

Can I delete a check-in?

Check-ins cannot be permanently deleted, but they can be archived. Archiving ends the check-in and all future sessions while keeping past notes and action items accessible in your archive.

Running sessions

Who can see a person's check-in sessions, just the two participants, or also HR admins?

Only the two participants in a check-in can see its content. There is no admin dashboard for Check-ins. Admins access check-ins only through their own worker account, as a participant.

Do uncompleted agenda items carry over to the next session?

Yes. Any agenda item that is not checked off automatically carries forward to the next session. You can also manually add items to the next check-in with one click.

Can I share my check-in sessions with someone outside the meeting?

No. Check-in sessions are private to the two participants. There is no option to share or export session content to others.

What happens to a check-in if a participant is deactivated in Deel?

When a participant is deactivated in Deel, the check-in is archived automatically. Future sessions are paused and no new sessions are created, but all past sessions, notes, and action items remain accessible.

What happens to a check-in when someone leaves the company or changes manager?

Nothing happens automatically. Since check-ins are self-initiated, Deel does not track reporting line changes. Either participant can manually archive the check-in from the Configure page when it is no longer relevant.

Google Calendar and other tool integrations

If I don't connect Google Calendar, how will I know when a check-in is coming up?

You will be notified by email and through Deel in-app notifications ahead of each session. You can also find all your active check-ins at any time by going to Engage > Check-ins in the Deel app.

How do I navigate between sessions?

Use the date picker at the top of the check-in to move between sessions. The current session is labeled Next up. Past sessions are accessible below it, sorted by date.

What happens if I don't connect Google Calendar, can I still use Check-ins?

Yes. Google Calendar is optional. All core features (agenda, action items, shared and private notes) are fully available without it. Connecting Google Calendar adds automatic transcript import and calendar sync, but is not required.

My organization does not use Google Meet. Can I still use all the functionalities of Check-ins?

Yes, with one exception: automatic transcript import is only available via Google Meet (Google Workspace Business Standard and above). If you use a different video tool, you can still upload a meeting transcript manually (.txt, .docx, or .pdf) from the Transcript tab, and the AI will process it the same way.

Can I use Check-ins with Microsoft Teams?

Not at this time. Automatic transcript import is only available via Google Meet. If you use Microsoft Teams, you can still upload a transcript manually (.txt, .docx, or .pdf) from the Transcript tab.

Can I use Check-ins in Slack?

Not yet. Check-ins is available in the Deel app only.

Can I integrate Check-ins with tools outside of Deel?

The only external integration available is Google Calendar and Google Meet. Check-ins does not connect to other third-party tools.

AI features and other Engage modules

Can I edit or delete AI-generated notes?

Yes. AI-generated notes and action items are populated into your session as drafts. You can edit, delete, or add to them before the session is shared. You remain in control of what gets saved.

Do check-in conversations feed into performance review cycles?

Yes. What gets discussed and tracked in Check-ins is visible when review cycles run, so performance conversations start from what actually happened rather than what anyone can remember.

Can I add learning materials or resources to a check-in session?

Not at this time. Check-ins is designed for structured conversations with agenda items, action items, and notes. Learning content is managed separately in Engage Learning and learning courses can be added to development plans.