THE IMPORTANCE OF 1-1 MEETINGS + 3 THINGS TO AVOID

Employee success is one of the key components of a thriving business. Regardless of your business model, future plans, or current cash flow, without employees putting in the work, things just won’t get done. 

And despite it being an employee’s core responsibility to work, it’s your responsibility as the employer to ensure they’re supported and motivated to work.

This is where 1-1 meetings come in. 

Support and motivation start by sacrificing time to intentionally support your employees… one on one.

1-1 meetings are a form of feedback, something that is part of the bigger picture – performance management: a system that’s goal is to ensure employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity.

So if those things are important to you, 1-1 meetings should be too.

1-1 MEETINGS MAKE EMPLOYEES FEEL VALUED

80% of employees would work harder if they felt appreciated (Zippia). By simply taking time out of your day to catch up, you'll make any employee feel appreciated and valued.

In good 1-1s, employees take the lead.

This is their chance to speak their mind, talk about their goals, and share their concerns with a boss that will listen, show empathy, and support them in their next step.

You never want your employees to feel like faceless workers; you want your employees to feel like people. People who are remembered, valued and invested in by their employers. Valued employees put more effort in, show more loyalty, and are more inclined to collaborate because they’ve been assured by their boss that they’re making a difference. 

1-1 MEETINGS DRIVE DEVELOPMENT

This is where you get to ask the right questions, in the right environment. Ask about how they feel about their progress, anything they’re struggling with, how they want to improve, along with what their short and long-term goals are. 

It’s then your job to see how you can support them with that. Because any ambitious person is going to achieve their goals, regardless of if their current employer is helping them get there. But if you’re wanting to retain your employers, keep them satisfied and driven to keep succeeding, you have to know their vision.

Once you do, these meetings can be a time to discuss the next steps, put in progression plans, and offer advice for how they can keep developing. Employees should be leaving feeling determined to work hard with an instilled desire to go above and beyond.

1-1 MEETINGS BUILD TRUST

Trust can’t be built without a relationship – and 1-1 meetings are the best way of building that. 

You could see your employee every day, ask them about their weekend, collaborate with them on projects, or even sit with them in group meetings… but do you know them?

Similar to the point about knowing their goals, building that bridge between employee and employer will create trust. You need your employees to trust you. Why? So when you make big changes, they trust your judgement. So when you give constructive criticism, they know you have their best interest at heart. So when they have innovative ideas, they don’t feel afraid to share them with you. 

1-1 MEETINGS IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF FEEDBACK

1-1’s should be informal catchups that allow for relationship building and honesty. There’s a time and a place for formal and structured meetings to discuss progress, but they should never take precedence over relaxed chats because that’s where you build trust.

And because you’ve built that trust, employees are more likely to trust your judgement when you give constructive criticism. But it shouldn’t stop there. You want don’t just want the feedback to be respected, you want it to be actioned. And feedback is far more likely to be actioned because you’re able to talk through it, come up with a plan and check in again with the progress.

3 THINGS TO AVOID IN 1-1 MEETINGS

Now you’re doing 1-1 meetings, you have to learn to do it right. Here are 3 things you need to avoid if you want them to be successful and increase employee retention, productivity, and happiness:

SKIPPING MEETINGS: The point of these meetings is to keep them consistent. You won’t see long-lasting results after one meeting, and you definitely won’t see any by doing them sporadically a couple of times a year. Each meeting should help build upon trust, accountability, and development. They’re not there to tick something off of a list, they’re there to make an impact. 

Plus, the minute you start skipping meetings with no real explanation, you immediately imply you don’t value time with your employees. So, whether you arrange them for once a week or once a month, stick with it.

RUSHING THROUGH IT: Even if the meetings are only 20 minutes long, they should be purposeful, thought out, and beneficial. You don’t want your employees to feel like you’re desperate to get out of the meeting room before you even enter it. Take time to listen, take time to respond, and ensure each meeting ends with a plan of action.

NOT LISTENING ENOUGH: This is not the chance to ramble on, interrupt, and showcase your totalitarianism. Yes, speak – but not more than your employee. Because without listening, you won’t ever know how they feel, what’s important to them, how they’re developing, or things they need support on. 1-1 meetings need to be unique to each person, carbon copied. So listen and learn about each person.

- Written by Oliver Howson

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