Are 1-1 meetings important with your team? To meet “one on one” has been proven to be critical to discuss the employee’s goals for the year and details that can help them improve on the job. Over the last year, many managers stopped doing 1-1 meetings due to more pressing situations in the workplace. Here are the reasons it’s important and how you should address them.
The Purpose of 1-1
Beyond performance reviews or status updates, a 1-1 meeting is meant to open a dialogue between managers and employees. It’s a safe place for employees to ask questions and express concerns. And it’s also a way for managers to provide coaching or mentoring with the express purpose of professional development that can enhance the employee’s performance and productivity.
Make Time on Your Calendar
The critical part here is that the 1-1 is not just an open-door policy. It’s about making time for each employee by prioritizing the meetings and scheduling them on the calendar. It helps facilitate more open conversation when employees feel like they have dedicated time to be heard and that they’re not an interruption.
Plan Ahead
There isn’t one right way to conduct a 1-1, but you should have a plan. You can create an agenda to help you decide the priorities of the discussion ahead of the meeting. Throughout the times between 1-1 sessions, make notes about what to discuss and their importance. Start each meeting with open-ended questions to facilitate discussion, such as “How are you feeling about your job right now?”
Make it Employee Focused
It’s human nature to listen only long enough to formulate a response. However, shifting the focus from the employee to you won’t build the kind of trust you need. Make the majority of the meeting about the employee, their concerns, and how your perspective could help them see things differently. Don’t be afraid to tell them about times you’ve failed to let them know that failure isn’t the end of the world.
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