The traditional once-a-year performance review is a method of the past and continuous performance conversations are taking its place. And it’s no surprise why.
When done right, one-on-one meetings foster productive, ongoing performance conversations that actually boost performance.
Check out these 10 one-on-one meeting benefits to see how these simple but powerful conversations can promote a high-performance culture.
75% of employees think their boss is the worst part of their job. And when managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement, building strong manager-employee relationships is critical for engaging and retaining your people.
One-on-ones, especially performance conversations between managers and employees, are critical opportunities for productive communication. Our research shows that great conversations lead to higher engagement, but only about half of employees are having them.
Make sure you are making time for regular one-on-one meetings. Schedule them on a shared calendar or using one-on-one meeting software to ensure you don’t miss an appointment. Consistency will help you maintain a relationship with your employees and build trust.
People who feel connected to their goals and empowered to do their work are more motivated and engaged. If employees don’t feel like they have a choice in their performance goals or the direction of their work, they lack accountability.
Ensure managers and employees are equally prepared for a one-on-one meeting by launching a collaborative 1:1 agenda. This gives employees ownership of their own performance and lets them drive the conversation. Building the agenda together can reduce anxiety and increase employee buy-in throughout the process.
Asking impactful, relevant, and performance-driving questions is an important piece of conducting an effective meeting. Waiting for an annual review or an ad hoc survey to get employee feedback or check in on their performance means you’re missing opportunities to connect with your employees in real-time when those questions are most meaningful.
55% of highly engaged organizations said employees are expected to have one-on-ones monthly or quarterly, compared to only 22% of disengaged organizations. Regular one-on-one meetings help you build an ongoing relationship and conversation with your employees so you can tap into what is going well, what areas need to be addressed, and ask the right questions when they matter most.
Quantum Workplace’s one-on-one meeting software makes it easy to ask the right questions at the right time with built-in templates to direct conversations about performance, career growth, and more.
Follow-up is crucial to boosting employee engagement in your one-on-one conversations. After all, if employees share feedback and then never hear about it (or see a change) again, they will be unlikely to trust you with feedback in the future.
Keep track of critical employee feedback and progress during each one-on-one meeting. Take advantage of employee performance software that helps you automate meeting schedules, record feedback, and track conversations so you and your employees can pick up right where you left off.
One-on-one meetings can involve sharing ideas, working through feedback, and discussing employee goals and growth. When managers have the full picture of where an employee stands, they can have smarter, more effective performance conversations.
Boost your one-on-one conversations with up-to-date performance data to provide the context and direction you need for a productive meeting. Quantum’s Performance Snapshot lets managers see cross-platform performance activity for each employee all in one place.
75% of companies use one-on-one meetings as a tool to give and receive employee feedback. One-on-ones are a perfect opportunity to capture qualitative and anecdotal evidence of what is and isn’t working in your culture.
Set aside time during your one-on-one meetings to discuss employee feedback. (Depending on the need, you can also schedule a one-on-one just for going over feedback). One-on-ones are a good time to walk through what can be difficult feedback and help coach your employees to productive outcomes.
91% of companies with effective performance management systems say that employee goals link to business priorities.
Your approach to employee, team, and business success is unique to your organization. One-on-ones should help you get there by discussing performance objectives that align with your organization’s goals.
One-on-ones can help employees and teams succeed by leveraging conversations for goal setting and career growth. While these topics can arise organically, it’s important to build these conversations into your one-on-one meeting agenda. The right one-on-one meeting software can help—look for a solution like Quantum Workplace that enables you to:
One-on-one meetings should be a manager and employee-driven initiative. But to make an impact on team and organization-wide success, it's important for HR and senior leaders to understand what’s happening at a high level.
Get a birds-eye view of the employee experience with one-on-one software that tracks performance data, conversations, feedback, and more.
Look for tech that offers:
Busy schedules are a big obstacle when it comes to planning and conducting one-on-one meetings—especially with an increasing number of employees who are remote. But holding meetings in unique, convenient, and personalized settings can boost engagement by meeting employees where they are.
Talk to your employees about how and when they would like to meet—whether that’s in person or remote—and how often. Work together to build meeting agendas that reflect the needs of your employees so you have the most productive and helpful conversations catered to each individual.
One-on-one meetings bring employees and managers together. Don’t leave engagement and performance up to chance. Working with your employees through productive, consistent one-on-one conversations lets you partner with them to create the kind of culture and workplace you want to see.
The best partnerships are supported by the best tools. As you consider solutions, look for a one-on-one software vendor that uses the tech themselves. Ask your potential vendor how they use the tool to boost performance in their organization.
Want to find out if Quantum Workplace’s one-on-one meeting software is right for you? Download our One-on-One Meeting Software checklist.
Published September 14, 2021 | Written By Natalie Wickham
