Tips for 1:1 Meetings

If strong leadership is based on open and frequent communication, one-on-one meetings can be one of the most powerful tools managers have. Unfortunately, many leaders don’t correctly utilize one-on-one meetings, often known as 1:1s, wasting valuable potential to connect individually with direct reports. Frequent cancellations, lack of structure, and a focus solely on status updates are common mistakes that managers make during 1:1 meetings. If you’re not getting value and action from your 1:1 meetings (you’ll know if you aren’t), the difference is usually in your fundamentals.

One-on-one meetings do require a bit of preparation, but once you and your employees understand the structure and the expectations, just a few minutes of prep is all you’ll need to make these meetings valuable. In this article, we will:

• Define the purpose of 1:1 meetings
• Share the benefits
• Provide simple best practices
• Include additional resources to streamline your changes

(This tutorial is part of our IT Leadership & Best Practices Guide. Use the right-hand menu to navigate.)

The basics of a one-on-one meeting

A one-on-one meeting is a private conversation between an employee and their manager or team lead. The meeting should take place regularly, typically weekly or biweekly—schedule them in advance and on a recurring basis. In a traditional office setting, 1:1 meetings should occur face-to-face, in an office or small conference room that affords privacy. In more open office settings, you can meet on a set of couches, but make sure it’s far enough away from your team or other employees that eavesdropping isn’t easy. If your employees are remote, set up phone calls or video chats.

So, what’s the purpose of a 1:1 meeting? One-on-ones are crucial in all companies as they are designed to check-in with employees about day-to-day basics, responsibilities, questions, long-term goals, and general job satisfaction. (That might sound like a lot, but we’ll help make it easy.) The 1:1 is the best way for managers and those who report to them to develop a strong relationship, connect on pressing issues, and ensure that employees feel like they’re working toward their goals.

These are not the same as evaluations, which are more structured and provide a formal performance assessment.

Benefits of 1:1 meetings

Managers and employees alike may dread 1:1 meetings. Employees may be annoyed that the manager is ill-prepared or cancelled the meeting several times, or they may fear the manager will be overly critical. Managers may feel awkward, unsure of what to talk about or how to “check in” without micromanaging. But the positives of one-on-one meetings far outweigh these feelings. Once you establish a routine and structure for your 1:1s, both parties can feel satisfied and valued.

Common benefits of 1:1 meetings include:

• Better employee engagement. The manager shows that each employee is worth some of the manager’s time; in return, employees will come to meetings better prepared.
• Increased productivity. Talking about challenges, upcoming projects, or long-term goals can help refocus each employee.
• Reduced turnover. When employees know they have a safe space to ask questions and seek feedback, they can be more satisfied with their job, reducing their likelihood of leaving the company.
• Proactive problem management. Direct reports will feel more comfortable asking questions or sharing their challenges, and the manager can offer regular feedback on projects. This helps catch small issues, whether work or personnel related, before they snowball into large problems.
• Real-time, two-way feedback. One-on-one meetings should be more conversational, less dictatorial. Managers can give quick feedback and celebrate employee wins, and the employee should feel comfortable to do the same.
• Improved performance. This is a culmination of all the other benefits: both employees and managers will work more productively and successfully—which results in improved performance evaluations for both of you.