Team Health Check
Popularised by Spotify, the Team Health Check is a regular ritual where teams self-assess across key dimensions of healthy team functioning (e.g. 'Suitable Process', 'Teamwork', 'Delivering Value', 'Morale', 'Learning'). Each dimension is rated as healthy (green), some concerns (yellow), or unhealthy (red). Trends over time surface systemic issues before they become crises.
How to run it
- 1
Prepare 8–12 health dimension cards. Spotify uses: Awesome Codebase, Delivering Value, Fun, Easy to Release, Health of Codebase, Learning, Mission, Pawns or Players, Speed, Suitable Process, Support, Teamwork.
- 2
For each dimension, read the 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' descriptions.
- 3
Each team member simultaneously holds up green, yellow, or red (cards or fingers).
- 4
Note the result and any key discussion points for each dimension.
- 5
After all dimensions, identify the top 1–2 areas needing attention.
- 6
Track results over time to see trends.
Tips
The power is in the trend, not the snapshot — run it every 4–8 weeks and track changes.
Don't use results to evaluate teams externally.
The goal is team self-improvement, not management reporting.
Variations
Adapt the dimensions to your context — the generic Spotify dimensions may not fit every team. Add a 'comments' round after voting for each dimension to surface the 'why' behind the colours.
Where it fits
Frequently asked questions
When should I use Team Health Check?â–¾
Use Team Health Check when you want to: Regular team health monitoring; Agile team retrospectives; Engineering team management; Cross-team benchmarking.
How long does Team Health Check take?â–¾
Team Health Check typically takes 30–60 minutes.
How many participants does Team Health Check work for?â–¾
Team Health Check works best for groups of 3–15 participants.
What materials do I need for Team Health Check?â–¾
To run Team Health Check you will need: Health Check cards or printed template, voting cards (green/yellow/red per person).
How difficult is Team Health Check to facilitate?â–¾
Team Health Check is rated beginner — straightforward to facilitate even without prior experience.
Plan your next workshop with AI
Workshop Weaver helps you combine methods like Team Health Check into a complete, timed agenda in minutes.
Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices.