Research shows one-on-one meetings are important and can have a big impact on employee, team, and organizational success.

A Quantum Workplace study showed that 86% of highly engaged organizations use regular manager-to-employee one on one meetings, compared to only 50% of disengaged companies. Gallup found that employees who have regular 1-on-1 meetings with their managers are 3x as likely to be engaged.

Many companies are realizing the benefits of one-on-one meetings. When Adobe switched from annual performance reviews to frequent 1-on-1s, it saw a 30% reduction in voluntary turnover. GE did the same and saw a 5x increase in productivity.

While one on one meetings can and should be personalized to individual needs, there are a few general best practices managers should keep in mind regarding one-on-one meetings.

1. They're lightweight and specific. There’s always a lot to talk about, but don’t go crazy. Keep your one-on-one meeting topics targeted and don’t ask more than five one-on-one meeting questions. Know exactly what feedback you want to share and be prepared to root your feedback in examples.
2. They're fueled by thoughtful preparation. The best way to ensure managers and employees are equally prepared for a one-on-one meeting is to launch a collaborative agenda beforehand. Let employees drive the conversation and share your talking points ahead of the meeting.
3. They run on a regular cadence. One-on-one meetings are most effective when they happen regularly. Our research shows 55% of highly engaged organizations hold one-on-one meetings at least quarterly. Quarterly is better than nothing—but we recommend monthly meetings at minimum. Check out the latest research on one-on-one meeting frequency.
4. They require dedicated time, space, and energy. We know you’re busy. But your employees deserve your full attention during your one-on-ones. Do what you need to carve out enough mental space to be fully present during each meeting.
5. They must end with clear action steps. Don’t let your precious one-on-one time be all for nothing. Make sure the meeting ends with clear next steps on both sides. You’ll want to be sure to take good notes throughout the one-on-one meeting so you can revisit any thoughts in future conversations.

Your one-on-one meetings will be most effective if you find the right technology to support your efforts. Here are some key components to look for in one-on-one meeting software:

1. Collaborative, easy-to-use tools. Your one-on-one meeting software should enhance meetings and make preparation and follow-up easy. Look for features such as a shared agenda builder, best practice templates, comment threads, and the ability to capture private notes.
2. Connected to employee performance software. It should be easy for managers to pull in data from other performance and engagement tools like recognition, feedback, goals, talent reviews, and past one-on-one conversations.
3. Synced with employee productivity tools and your HRIS. Make sure your one-on-one meeting software connects with your HRIS so it can keep up with shifting teams and people data. Calendar syncing enables automated, recurring one-on-one meetings to always be on team radars.
4. Nudges and notifications. Look for one-on-one meeting software with in-tool, email, and Slack notifications that notify employees and managers when meetings are launched, shared, or archived so they never miss a beat.
5. Intuitive manager and employee dashboards. Simple views and reporting help managers and employees see upcoming and past one-on-one meetings all in one place. This makes it easy to reference notes so you can enter every one-on-one prepared (especially if you have multiple one-on-one cycles).

6. Insightful analytics for leaders. While one-on-one meetings are a manager and employee-driven initiative, it's important for HR and leaders to understand what’s happening at a high level. One-on-one meeting analytics help admins easily see activity and progress in real time across the organization.

Administering regular and engaging manager-employee one-on-one meetings across your entire organization requires a partner you can rely on. For the last 20+ years, our customers have trusted us to deliver reliable expertise, technology, service and results.

We help you uncover meaning.

Understand what's truly driving or hindering employee performance, engagement, and retention. Add context to your people data with quality one-on-one meetings using our validated best practices and conversation templates.

We make action easy for everyone.

One-on-one meetings need to be easy for everyone. Our solutions help reduce headaches for HR, integrate into manager workflows, and encourage employee involvement.

We’re a partner you can rely on.

You’re on a journey – and we’re with you every step of the way. You can rely on our dedicated team to provide strategic guidance, ongoing coaching, timely tech support, and safe and secure practices your programs need to be successful.