Small signals often come before big problems. Pulse checks give you a quick, regular read on how your team is doing — so you can spot patterns early and have better conversations. Here's how to set them up and use them.
How Managers Collect Pulse Checks from Their Team
1. Set the Cadence for Your Team
Location: Go to Team hub > Pulse results and click the Get started button to choose your team's cadence: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. If your company requires monthly, you can still increase to a faster cadence. The app will confirm when the new period starts.
2. Understanding Reminders
Reminders are sent to prompt pulse check completion. If someone has already submitted a pulse check in that period, they will not be re-reminded.
Cadence | Reminder Day & Time | Channels |
Weekly | Wednesdays at 11:00 AM in each person’s local time. | Slack and/or Microsoft Teams (if connected), and also by email. |
Bi-weekly | Second Monday of the 2-week period at 11:00 AM local. | Slack and/or Microsoft Teams (if connected), and also by email. |
Monthly | Third Monday of the month at 11:00 AM local. | Slack and/or Microsoft Teams (if connected), and also by email. |
3. Ways to Submit a Pulse Check
Team members (and you) can submit Pulse checks through several convenient channels:
The in-app Check-in button on the Bonusly home/bonus feed.
The Check-in request delivered in Slack or Microsoft Teams and email
Inside a 1:1 meeting page, where both participants can add their pulse check for that period.
Who Can See Pulse Check Results
Visibility into Pulse Check responses depends on your role. Here’s how access works:
Everyone
You can only see your own Pulse Check responses.
You can see pulse check responses between you and a team member.
These responses are only visible between these two team members.
Your score and comments aren't visible to peers or other teams.
Direct Managers
See full details (score and comment) for their direct reports' individual pulse checks.
Cannot see Pulse Checks for people who don't report to them.
Can't see pulse checks shared between two other people, even if they both report to you.
Managers of Managers
See roll-up views for their extended teams, including their direct reports who are managers and those managers’ teams.
Data is shown as aggregated statistics and trends—they do not see individual scores or comments unless that person reports to them directly.
Company Admins / Finance Admins
Can view company-wide and group-level summaries (by team, department, or location).
Analytics are shown as aggregated metrics and trends—individual comments are never visible.
If an admin also manages a team, they’ll still see individual details for their own direct reports within the manager view.
How Managers Use the Results
During 1:1 Meetings
1:1 Meet Page: On the 1:1 “Meet” page, you'll see both your score and your report's score side-by-side. Use this to start the conversation, add a quick note to your own score, or prompt your report for context on theirs.
Historical Trends: Click the history icon to open a side panel showing that report’s Pulse checks over time, including a trend chart and their recent scores and comments.
Day-to-Day in the Team Hub
The Team hub provides several views for monitoring team well-being:
Your Team Summary: A quick view of the current month, plus the last six months, and an overview table showing each report’s most recent pulse check score and date.
Pulse Results (Team hub > Pulse results): See a monthly "mood" chart and a table of your direct reports' pulse checks. You can filter by month, sort the table, and page through results.
Team Report: A manager view with a Direct reports tab and (for managers of managers) an Extended team tab to roll up pulse checks across sub-teams.
Starting, Changing, or Stopping Pulse Checks
Changing Cadence: You can change your team’s cadence anytime from the Manage settings banner on Pulse results; the app shows when the new cadence will start.
Stopping Pulse Checks: If monthly pulse checks are not mandated by your company, you will also see an option to stop pulse checks for your team. Past data remains in your dashboards even if you stop.
Tips That Work Well for Managers
Warm-up Question: Use the pulse check as a warm-up question to kick off your 1:1s.
Follow Up: Follow up on low or dropping scores; ask for context on the rating in the comments or during your 1:1.
Recognize Wins: Recognize wins when you see consistently high scores and positive comments, reinforcing positive engagement.