Introduction to One-on-One Meetings

One-on-one meetings are about a genuine exchange of information and ideas during which both parties feel engaged, respected, valued, and present in the interaction and are open to hearing different ideas and perspectives.

When leaders and employees communicate frequently and continuously share feedback (both ways), they are more likely to be engaged in the workplace. These meetings can foster a culture of trust, collaboration and transparency. When employees are informed, engaged and feel that their voices are being heard, morale increases, as well as a sense of ownership and accountability.

These meetings serve many purposes:

• Remove obstacles that may be preventing employees from moving projects/key activities forward.
• Support employee’s growth and development.
• Enhance connections and build trust.

They provide an opportunity for employees to bring forward concerns, frustrations and ideas. This is important to enhance engagement and build trust. Because engagement and trust are at the heart of many issues in the workplace, these meetings are a valuable tool to address workplace challenges and prevent situations from escalating.

For these meetings to be effective, the purpose should be beyond providing updates.

Strong relationships between leaders and employees are built on effective communication. These types of conversations can:

• Be a source of support, encouragement, and inspiration.
• Be an opportunity to grow and learn.
• Ensure that facts replace assumptions and speculation.
• Ensure that employees receive regular feedback to be successful in the performance of their job duties.
• Promote creativity, enhance effectiveness, and support change.
• Foster wellbeing at work.

One-on-one meetings contribute to fostering a psychologically safe workplace culture. The bulleted lists below outline the opportunities that these conversations bring for both leaders and employees.

Leaders

• Identify and understand the needs of their employees.
• Work together to explore solutions that are meaningful.
• Understand issues/challenges experienced by individuals and their team.
• Build supportive relationships through respectful dialogue.
• Foster a more positive and respectful work environment.
• Monitor progress towards individual and departmental goals and provide timely feedback and coaching.
• Check-in on the wellbeing of employees.
• Increase motivation and morale.

Employees

• Build a relationship with their leader.
• Voice concerns or feedback in a constructive and private way.
• Ask for help with tasks or escalate problems when required.
• Focus on career growth and development.
• Build trust with their leader, reducing anxiety, stress and enhancing engagement.

 

One-on-one meetings are also an opportunity to ensure employees receive timely feedback, guidance and recognition for their contributions. They help to clarify priorities, troubleshoot problems and proactively identify and address issues before they escalate.

Leading and facilitating these one-on-one conversations requires an investment of time and effort, however in the long run having these conversations with employees on a regular basis saves time as they can help to prevent or address conflict in a more effective way and encourage information exchange.

If you are not currently holding 1:1 meetings, the initial communication to introduce these is critical.

This communication should:

• Explain the goal(s) of one-on-one meetings. For example: understanding and eliminating roadblocks, pulse check, understanding how projects are coming along, or discussing career growth.
• Clearly explain how you plan to run them.
• Outline what employees can expect and how they will be engaged in setting the agenda.
• Encourage those who have questions about these meetings to connect with you.
• Depending on the culture within the department, you may want to clarify that these meetings are not disciplinary in nature.

Access a sample email communication here.