Weekly Team Updates
Stop wasting hours on disorganized team updates. Switch to weekly asynchronous updates to celebrate progress, share information, and boost performance—without another meeting!
Prep time
15m
Run time
1m
Persons
1
Prep time
15m
Run time
1m
Persons
1
Summary
Prep your team update using our Week Ahead and Weekly Wrap templates.
Record or write your update.
Share it with your team.
What you will need
Video messaging tool or written communication tool.
How to share your weekly team update
Switch to weekly asynchronous updates to celebrate progress, share information, and boost performance—without another meeting!
What is an asynchronous weekly team update?
Asynchronous updates, also known as async meetings, allow participants to communicate and collaborate without the need for real-time interaction (sync time) or immediate response.
Why use asynchronous weekly updates
The Teamwork Lab, a group of behavioral scientists dedicated to designing and validating the best ways to work for modern teams, tested the effectiveness of replacing in-person meetings with asynchronous Loom video updates within Atlassian. Weekly status updates were a perfect candidate for this experiment. Here are some key findings:
Over 1,000 Atlassians freed up 5,000 hours for focus work in just two weeks
Compared to written Slack updates, direct reports who received Loom video updates showed greater increases in their feelings of manager connection (38% vs. 9%)
When and how to share a weekly team update
Weekly Team Updates should be shared each week. There are two mediums you can use to share your asynchronous weekly team update:
Written message (e.g. Slack)
Video message (e.g. Loom)
Atlassian’s Teamwork Lab found that video messages were more effective than Slack messages at building connected teams that are clear on goals and feel more recognized.
The benefits of sharing weekly updates
Clarity: Providing regular updates helps your team stay on the same page with your progress and how you’re tracking against goals.
Impact: Making time each week to pause and reflect on your progress gives you the opportunity to examine which tasks drive the biggest business impact so you can work smarter, not harder.
Proactiveness: Catch problems and roadblocks before they happen.
Connection: Build connection with your team even when you’re across timezones by sharing your work and recognizing others. When people are recognized for their work, their motivation and job satisfaction spike.
Efficiency: By sharing updates asynchronously, you can use your valuable meeting time on the parts of your job that require sync time.
Career development: Sharing weekly updates gives you the opportunity to share and celebrate your accomplishments. That creates momentum and engagement with your work.
Still have questions?
Start a conversation with other Atlassian Team Playbook users, get support, or provide feedback.
Plays you may like
Stay up to date
Get the latest Plays and work life advice when you sign up for our newsletter.
Stay up to date
Get the latest Plays and work life advice when you sign up for our newsletter.