How to conduct employee 1-1s

Your employees are the backbone of your business, so it pays to know what’s going on in their day to day. A good way to do this is to frequently conduct 1-1 meetings. These meetings are a key opportunity to check in with an employee personally and professionally, and can be used to discuss a manner of issues including their personal development, career progression, any progress on projects and any roadblocks preventing milestones being met. 

From an employee perspective, engagement from management and support in their career development, helps create a good rapport and also helps with job satisfaction, aiding with staff retention, particularly amongst SMEs.

Contact our expert HR advisory team to help implement effective and compliant workplace policy to ensure employee engagement and retention. Call today on 0808 501 6651.

What are employee 1-1s?

1-1s sometimes referred to as one-on-ones are a chance for management to talk to staff on a personable level. They are planned check-ins with individual employees that should be carried out regularly to get the maximum benefits for both management and employees. 1-1s should be an opportunity for an employer to see how an individual is getting on, their general wellbeing, if there are any issues that could affect performance and deadlines, and give a chance for the employee to offer any feedback from their perspective.

How should employers schedule 1-1s?

Management should schedule time for employee 1-1s. Some popular schedules can include weekly, bi-weekly and monthly, although how frequently you schedule 1-1s will inevitably depend on your staff levels and resources available. Ideally you should conduct a 1-1 at the very least, once a month to ensure employees remain engaged and you should dedicate the time to the employee, this will ensure the employee knows that the meeting is their manager's priority and result in productive conversations. 

Topics for discussion in an employee’s 1-1

You should set an agenda and plan employee 1-1s to ensure you cover all the bases you want to, this should include ample time for the employee to bring up anything they want to discuss in the meeting as well. Whilst there will be an inevitable ebb and flow to the meeting, there are several areas of discussion that you will want to go over.

Employee performance

A brief performance review is a good segue into the meeting, it also offers you the chance to check in with the employee personally and see how they are doing generally, this can help an employee relax and feel comfortable. This can be an opportunity for the employee to relay any constructive feedback or concerns they’re having both personally and professionally that might have an effect on deliverables. 

As well as this you can ask about how they feel they are progressing in their role as well as milestones achieved. This can help steer the conversation on how they are progressing with their workload.

Priorities and workload

Discuss with the employee if they feel that their current workload is manageable, or whether they need support in certain areas. This can also help determine what projects to prioritise, and what is potentially coming down the track.

This is also key to understanding if the current team needs extra resources such as additional hires.

Provide feedback

Offer constructive feedback to the employee, this can include areas of strength and areas that could be improved. 

Set out an action plan

In order to keep track of progress create an action plan or alternatively use employee 1-1 meeting templates to keep track of all the actionables from your 1-1 meeting. This will help the employee action items, prioritise the areas for progress as well as help you keep track of their development.

You can use SMART goals to help you do this. SMART is an acronym for:

• Specific - what will be done and who will do it. 
• Measurable - how the action will be measured. 
• Achievable - realistic given available resources and time. 
• Relevant - makes sense and fits purpose. 
• Time-bound - timescale for expected result

Follow on steps from a 1-1 meeting

The actions following your meeting can be equally important to help develop your staff and ensure productivity. You should share notes from the meeting and request feedback from employees regarding how their 1-1’s are conducted. This can be useful in planning the next 1-1 meeting, ensuring that the format operates as effectively as possible.

Contact Croner for advice on employee engagement today

Our expert HR professionals can help your business with staff engagement and retention. Call Croner today on 0808 501 6651.