Learn How to Nail Your Team’s One-on-One Meetings

30 of March, 2023

As a manager, your ability to lead your team effectively is closely tied to how well you nurture your one-on-one relationships with each of them. Not only is it important to maintain an open dialog, but also to make sure that these regular meetings are productive and meaningful.

When done right, one-on-ones are an invaluable tool for giving effective feedback, developing trust, and setting your team up for success. Unfortunately, too often these conversations can end up feeling like a chore or a box-ticking exercise rather than something that adds real value.

If you’re looking for ways to make the most out of your team’s one-on-one meetings and get the most out of each conversation, this article will help you do just that.

We’ll cover the why behind having one-on-ones in the first place as well as provide some hands-on tips on how to nail them every time. You will see how this can improve employee engagement and how to track this metric with surveys and such. Let’s start!

Preparing for a One-on-One Meeting

Preparing for your one-on-ones with your team is essential for making sure that the meetings are worthwhile and productive. To help you do this, we’ve outlined a few steps to help you get ready:

• Establish a regular schedule: Establish regular one-on-one meetings with each of your team members. This will give you both the time and structure to focus on specific topics and monitor progress.
• Set goals: Before each meeting, create an agenda of items that the two of you can discuss. Make sure to include goals that align with the bigger objectives of your company, as well as any relevant feedback or guidance.
• Review progress: Bring up any KPIs or results from the previous meeting so that you can track how much progress has been made since then. This will help keep everyone motivated and on track for success.

By following these steps, you’ll ensure that your team’s 1:1 meetings remain both effective and efficient.

Setting the Scene and Establishing the Agenda

Before you jump into the nitty-gritty of the one-on-one meeting, make sure to set the right atmosphere. Having a comfortable environment free of distractions helps ensure that you and your team member will be able to focus and have an open, honest conversation.

The agenda should include recent successes, discuss any challenges faced and offer any solutions that you can think of. Encourage your team members to come prepared with their own ideas, ask questions, and share any insights they may have. This gives everyone a chance to contribute their thoughts in an constructive manner.

It’s also important to give enough time for each topic discussed during the meeting. Let’s say you plan on discussing three topics: one dedicated to goals achieved in the last week, another for challenges faced and lastly about a project idea. Allot 10 minutes for each topic so that you can have more meaningful conversations around them.

By following these steps, you’ll be sure that your one-on-one meetings with your team will be productive and enjoyable experiences for everyone involved!

Fostering Open Communication & Honesty

If you want to get the most out of your team’s one on one meetings, it’s essential to encourage open communication and honesty. At Sesame we understand that this can be a challenge since you might feel uncomfortable with the idea of speaking candidly with your team, but it’s essential for the progress of your team.

The key is to create an environment where team members feel safe voicing their opinions, and you’ve got to trust them enough to make sure people speak up. Here are some tips for encouraging open communication and honesty during 1:1 meetings:

1. Make sure everyone is familiar with the topic beforehand by sharing resources (such as slides or documents) well in advance of the meeting.
2. Set ground rules for everybody to follow at the beginning of each meeting, such as no talking over people or staying on topic.
3. Ask questions that require thoughtful answers rather than just yes or no responses.
4. Avoid jumping to conclusions or passing judgment when your team answers questions. Try validating their ideas and opinions instead!
5. Create a comfortable atmosphere by bringing in snacks/refreshments and keeping conversations casual (but still productive!).
6. Finally, send out summary emails after each meeting so everyone knows what was discussed and which goals were set to move forward!

These tips will help you foster an environment where open communication and honesty can thrive – ultimately leading your team towards more productive and successful one-on-one meetings!

Making Everyone Feel Valued and Heard

One of the keys to keeping your team motivated and productive is to make sure that everyone feels valued and heard. And one way to do this is by having regular one-on-one meetings.

Build Trust & Respect

When you’re listening to your employees with respect, you’re creating an environment of trust and mutual understanding. By allowing your employees to share their feedback, thoughts and ideas, you’re encouraging them to be open and honest with you, which will make them feel valued.

Encourage Participation

In order to create an environment where everyone feels like they can participate freely, it’s important that you follow up on the conversations from the one-on-one meetings. You should ensure that everyone gets a chance to have their say and hears everyone by taking notes during the meetings, so that you can review them later as needed.

Use The Right Tools

Of course, it’s also important that you use the right tools for these meetings. Tools like Sesame that are designed specifically for one-on-ones. With Sesame, you can track employee engagement as well as schedule any one-on-one meetings when they’re needed quickly and easily. We can use everyone’s time efficiently in this way, leaving more time for other tasks.

Following Up and Documenting Goals

You’ve done the work of preparing, now it’s time to make sure it all sticks. Following up and documenting your team’s one-on-one meeting goals is crucial for their success and your own.

Here are a few tips for successful follow-up:

1. You should document every goal, whether in an email or in a system like Sesame that can track employee engagement and schedule meetings when needed.
2. Follow up with your team members within two weeks of the meeting to ask how they’re doing on those goals and if they need help from you or anyone else on the team.
3. Check in regularly and provide feedback throughout their progress — this helps keep them motivated and feeling supported.
4. Celebrate when your team members hit their (or even surpass) their goals — recognition goes a long way!
5. Make sure to document any feedback that you or team members give during follow-up meetings—this can be incredibly valuable insight into how your team is performing, as well as what adjustments might need to be made down the line on individual goals or with the overall structure of one-on-one meetings.

By taking a few extra steps to document goals and follow up, you’ll set yourself (and your team) up for success every step of the way! Of couse, you can use a HR software such as Sesame to keep all your documents safe.