Meetings play a crucial role in business. They are held regularly to discuss employee performance and company activities. The ultimate goal is to achieve business objectives, drive professional development, and improve workplace culture.
But nothing is more challenging than conducting one-on-one sessions with employees. Over 10 million meetings happen in the United States daily; However, a third of these are unproductive. And it comes at a cost: about $37 billion gets lost yearly because of unproductive meetings.
How do you ensure your one-on-one meetings are effective? Read on to find the answer to this crucial question.
The questions are: Are one-on-one meetings productive? And how can you make them more effective?
According to Switchboard, 65% of American employees believe both the meeting host and participant are responsible for creating a productive session. Unfortunately, they feel that meetings are unpleasant when they:
Become a waste of time (nearly 33%);
Don’t follow the original agenda, purpose, or goal (almost 29%);
Don’t show progress or have a conclusion (nearly 25%).
So, how do you set productive and effective one-on-one sessions with your employees? Here’s how:
1. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings
It’s best to hold one-on-one sessions with employees on a regular basis. However, more than 42% of these meetings get rescheduled every week. So, always stick to your scheduled sessions while allowing room for flexibility.
What better way to set individual meetings than to ask your employees their preferred schedule? Here’s what to consider:
Date and time: Set a regular day and time for the one-on-one meeting with each worker. For example, ask your employees if they would like the regular session conducted every Monday at 1:00 PM. Create a calendar and allow each to plot their preferred schedule.
Frequency: As cited, the meeting should be held as constantly as possible. Is this going to be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly? For instance, you can have a monthly session with each employee while setting an annual performance review.
Duration: Most of the meetings would range from 30 minutes to one hour. According to the same Switchboard report, they tend to last for 45 minutes on average. But the key here is to make them as meaningful as possible. Otherwise, they defeat the purpose of holding such sessions.
Location: In most cases, the one-on-one meetings can be done face-to-face or through virtual sessions. Of course, it depends on your current work setup. If your employees are working remotely, then an online meeting will work. An in-office meeting is preferred if they are on a hybrid work setup.
Setting: This goes beyond the venue, whether online or offline; It can even involve setting the meeting’s mood. Hear me out: Make sure it’s going to be fun, engaging, inspiring, and motivating. You even have to personalize your engagement strategies to make them work for each employee.
2. Set professional goals and meeting agenda
One-on-one meetings are held to achieve specific goals in business. But of course, they vary from one employee to another. Meanwhile, start your session with a clear agenda. As a manager or supervisor, ask yourself: what do I aim to achieve from these one-on-one sessions with employees?
So, before the actual meeting or session, set the following:
Professional goals: Generally, the goal is to improve your employees’ overall performance. Ensure both parties set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Here are some examples:
To increase work efficiency (decrease AHT to 8 mins)
To boost productivity (increase the # of outputs)
To improve service quality (reach 90% QA score)
To enhance customer satisfaction (hit 100% CSAT score)
Meeting agenda: Each one-on-one meeting must have a specific agenda. For the most part, this session seeks to discuss an individual’s performance last week or month. However, this can be very specific, not just limited to employee performance. Below are some examples:
To discuss frequent absences and find ways to reduce the absenteeism rate
To discuss a serious offense, provide disciplinary action (DA), and seek commitment to address it
To discuss a potential promotion and find ways to secure the post through reskilling and upskilling
Thomas Medlin, Co-Founder at JumpMD, recommends starting one-on-one meetings with clear objectives and a detailed agenda. He argues that “some meetings are counterproductive simply because business leaders don’t set clear goals. Meanwhile, employees are caught off guard, not knowing what the purpose of the meeting is.”
3. Make the meetings as collaborative as possible
A one-on-one meeting isn’t a one-way street; it entails two-way communication and robust collaboration. As a supervisor or manager, you shouldn’t only be the one to speak. In fact, you should listen more to what your employees have to say.
That said, here’s how to make your one-on-one sessions truly engaging and productive:
Offer performance feedback. Start by discussing the employee’s performance right after presenting the agenda for the meeting. Show the performance report and the individual’s status backed up with data. Be as transparent as possible!
Highlight strengths and weaknesses. It’s crucial to strike a balance between the two. Showcase their achievements and accomplishments first before discussing their areas of improvement. Here’s the trick: Use the sandwich method whenever possible!
Get employee feedback. Now, it’s time to turn the tables and listen to what your employees say about their performance. The goal is to see where they are coming from, specifically to understand their problems and challenges. The rule of thumb is simple: Listen more than you talk!
Empower employees. To do this, allow your employees to find solutions to their own problems or challenges. For example, ask them: How can you be more punctual or always present? How can you improve your customer service? On the flip side, seek their commitment to maintain or further improve their good performance.
Offer valuable solutions. Now, it’s your turn to provide actionable steps for their improvement areas and overall performance in general. If you do this from a place of good intentions and with their best interest in mind, your employees will feel your sincerity, genuineness, and willingness to help. Look at these examples of effective and professional employee feedback.
Reyansh Mestry, Head of Marketing at TopSource Worldwide, suggests active listening, effective communication, and solid collaboration for one-on-one meetings. He explains, “This means that as a supervisor holding a one-on-one session, listen first, then offer feedback, and finally work together. Ultimately, you’ll be surprised at how these three crucial steps can work wonders.”
4. Monitor, measure, and manage employee performance
The one-on-one meeting happens during the worker’s selected schedule. However, the leader’s obligations go beyond that. As a manager or supervisor, you must track and report the employee’s performance all year round.
Grant Aldrich, Founder of Preppy, cites the value of 3Ms for one-on-one sessions. He believes that “This secret formula will make your meetings more productive, valuable, and purposeful. Monitor, measure, and manage your employee performance.”
Aldrich recommends the following crucial steps:
Monitor. Set key performance indicators (KPIs) revolving around efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction. Then, consistently track your employees’ performance and generate transparent, detailed reports. You can leverage digital tools like software automation to make performance tracking and reporting much easier, faster, and more accurate.
Measure. Assess your employee’s performance against the key metrics set for your department unit. Are these workers meeting their goals and hitting their targets? Specific KPIs to measure include absenteeism rate, average handling time (AHT), QA score, and CSAT score. You must track these KPIs and show your employee performance in as much detail as possible on the report.
Manage. This is the most crucial part of the overall equation. Monitoring and measuring performance is one thing; addressing areas for improvement is another. Work with your employees to improve their performance by employing the best practices mentioned above. Ultimately, performance management can make a difference in their overall performance.
5. Improve your one-on-one sessions over time
Sure, improvements should mean you and your employees end the session feeling well-informed, respected, and valued. However, the true measure of a successful meeting is when your employees find it professionally valuable and personally fulfilling.
Don’t worry, as your one-on-one sessions will improve over time. To ensure this, here are some best practices to consider:
Always set meeting goals and agenda. What are one-on-one sessions in the first place? They exist because you and your employees have professional and operational objectives to achieve. Be very clear on these right at the onset!
Be flexible with the time and venue. Sure, you might have set the meeting date, time, and location. However, it won’t hurt to be a little more flexible so you can accommodate your employees’ needs and circumstances.
Create an employee feedback loop. This doesn’t just happen during the actual one-on-one session. It’s best to collect insights from employees from various channels, whether digitally or casually, in the workplace.
Leverage tools and technology. There’s a plethora of digital tools and advanced technologies available in the market. They can assist you in various aspects of your one-on-one meetings, whether for performance tracking, business reporting, or virtual sessions. Here’s an example below for employee scheduling:
Collaborate for shared goals. Cliche as it may seem, but in a one-on-one meeting, it takes two to tango. The steps are simple: Present performance, listen to employees and offer valuable insights. Ultimately, both parties should work together towards common business and professional goals.
Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings
One-on-one meetings are essential in today’s business landscape. However, they must be as productive and valuable as possible. That said, consider the practical tips recommended above for making these meetings truly effective.
Start by regularly scheduling one-on-one sessions with each and every worker. Set your goals and agenda, as well as monitor and measure your employee performance. More importantly, make these meetings collaborative and improve your sessions over time.
Maximize your one-on-one meetings to promote employee development and achieve business success!
