One-on-one meetings are crucial for any leader to be informed about what’s happening at work. Obtaining continuous feedback directly from the employees can be a goldmine of ideas on how to advance and make work more tailored for each team member.
But even though it’s pretty easy to schedule a meeting every week, making an effort to make the most of the time spent with your employee can be challenging. So, here are the top tips on how to prepare and ask great one on one meeting questions to ensure top-notch productivity.
Why Are One-on-One Meetings Important
These meetings give you the perfect opportunity to evaluate your team’s performance and proactively address problems. As a result, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to improve communication, business relationships, and trust. Effective one-on-ones can also enable you to support and inspire your team while showcasing your dedication. Additionally, they are great for asking for constructive feedback and making the necessary adjustments.
When conducted effectively, one-on-one meetings may enhance morale, increase employee engagement, and produce a highly efficient workforce that exceeds expectations.
How To Prepare For Employee One on One Meetings
You can achieve effective one-on-one meetings with some planning. Here are a few suggestions on how to prepare for your 1-1 meeting:
- Review notes from previous meetings — Reviewing your last one-on-one conversation with the individual you’re about to meet with is a good place to start. Instead of catching up during the session, take a few minutes to go through the topics you’ve already discussed in advance and identify the most important topics to check in on.
- Choose a period and pace that works best for both parties – When you’re scheduling a one on one meeting with a team member for the first time, be sure to choose a time that works well for you and a pace you can rely on.
- Create a one-on-one meeting agenda — Create one document where you’ll outline the ongoing meeting agenda and share it with the team. Then, include a space where you and your staff members can add subjects for the next meeting. By doing so, employees will be able to add ideas immediately instead of waiting and risking forgetting them.
- Ask your employee to contribute — To make it evident to your employee that the meeting is for them to express their desires, don’t simply share the agenda in advance but also specifically ask for comments and valuable insight.
- Plan ongoing meetings — By scheduling a repeating appointment rather than adding a new one every week, you can make your meetings hassle-free. Then both parties will have them permanently marked on the calendars, and you won’t risk forgetting to schedule the following one.
- Set clear expectations for your employees — Tell your team how you expect your one-on-one meetings to flow and describe both of your individual roles. For instance, be clear immediately whether you want them to take charge of the meeting and if you expect feedback at the end of the session.
- Dedicate time for the one on one employee meetings — Avoid walking in on a meeting right after an important team meeting. Instead, set aside five to ten minutes before entering the one on one employee meeting to gather your thoughts.
- Don’t cancel the meeting — The final and possibly most important tip is never to cancel your employee one on one meeting unless you are ill or on vacation. Canceling one-on-ones could imply that your employees don’t sit high on your list of priorities.
Tips On How To Ask Questions During a One-on-One
An excellent leader attends to their employee’s requirements and is aware of their strengths. However, not every employee will feel at ease asking for assistance or disclosing personal information. So, asking the right one on one meeting questions is one of the managers’ best ways to increase and boost trust over time.
Here are some valuable tips for structuring your one on one employee meeting and asking the right questions.
Break the Ice
People may find it off-putting and become defensive if you enter the employee one on one meeting and start asking work-related questions immediately. Such an approach can make it difficult for the employee to be completely honest, which might compromise the meeting’s productivity.
Instead, start by asking about their personal life and how everything is going. Investing a few minutes in chit-chat on a more personal level can help you to create a more informal and open atmosphere for the one on one session and to strengthen your relationship with your team member.
Ask What Went Well
There will be some great talks on your direct report’s abilities and successes if they have dedicated time to highlight what went well during the previous week. These one on one meeting questions can raise self-awareness and reflectiveness in your direct report. Also, it will make it simpler for you to recognize their achievements and keep you updated on their work.
Address the Challenges
Ask your employee about the biggest work-related and personal challenges they encounter. This will assist you in detecting difficulties that affect both your team and your business, such as internal issues that may be hindering the team’s productivity and progress.
You might also inquire about the aspects of the work that have bothered them or made them unhappy during the past week. By learning what parts of their current role they dislike and what they consider the biggest time wasters, you can find ways to improve each employee’s job.
Gauge the Relationships Within the Team
Ask each employee about their relationships with coworkers and the team culture. Do they offer suggestions for the team’s overall operation? Do coworkers provide feedback, or would they want to hear more from the team?
The way your team members engage with one another can help you understand whether they feel comfortable and enjoy coming to work. This information also allows you to resolve issues before they worsen and negatively affect the team or the company as a whole.
Ask About Their Career Growth Aspirations
Everyone has their own professional goals. So, learning what’s important to each person, the course they want to take, and the objectives they have for their careers can help you offer better professional development opportunities and match their career ambitions with the company strategy.
Instead of setting a career development meeting once or twice a year, ensure you have career conversations frequently. You can ask them about the progress they have made on their goals this week and how they are progressing towards their career goals.
Close with Class
Your one-on-ones should be the starting point for developing a company culture of continuous feedback. Use this part to solicit honest feedback on your management style, thank your employee for a well-done job, and offer suggestions on how they may do better.
Try to always do this in a friendly manner so that your employee leaves the meeting in a good mood. This tactic helps with boosting morale and improves productivity.
The Bottom Line
Your employees’ career development, contentment, workload, and problems are just some of the topics you can discuss during regular one-on-one meetings. These meetings should provide a secure environment where employees feel free to share priceless insights which, in turn, can help you improve your leadership style and make a huge difference within the organization.
Hopefully, these tips have helped you learn how to format your meetings and ask the right one on one meeting questions to have productive conversations and successfully resolve problems, achieve objectives, and create a group of motivated individuals who perform well.
