Create better one-on-ones

Meetings are part and parcel of every office life. Nobody likes to have back-to-back meetings throughout the day, but a small tweak and little effort in time management can help everyone in being more productive with their meetings. One of the many types of meetings is a One-on-One meeting. It helps people to be more in tune with their work.

In contrast to various other meetings like Team meetings, planning meetings, or quick stand-ups where teams can discuss the most urgent issues of the day, week, or month, one-on-one meetings are quite different. For managers and team leaders, it is a way of leading and guiding their teams, connecting with them professionally and personally.

One-on-one meetings can be most productive when the agenda of such meetings are planned. It helps both the parties to prepare what they have to say and how to articulate better. It also means that there is enough time to prepare for all the obstacles to be discussed.

First one-on-one meeting

The first one-on-one meeting that the managers and team leaders have with their team members is critically important because it sets the foundation for a productive working relationship. Your new team members have already learned about the company in their induction and also through various portals and websites; now is the time to show them the work culture and methodology in real-life scenarios. You can use the following questions to understand your team better:-

• What kind of projects are you most interested in working on?
• How do you communicate better? (phone, email,slack etc)?
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• What does success look like to you in 30 days?

Once the first meeting is done, you and your teammate should be on the same page on how to function effectively to gain the highest productivity.

There are very simple ways by which you can make sure that your one-on-one meetings are on point.

Shared space for Meeting agenda

Most of the managers or reports have a list of items to be discussed in a one-on-one meeting but are unable to comprehend in the time frame, mainly because if there is nobody or nothing to keep a track of the agenda it is easy to deviate from the topic at hand. Thus, there needs to be a consistent, shared space to create and track agenda items. The tool chosen for this should be easily accessible and editable for both parties involved.

Organizing the agenda

Once space has been allocated and a formal structure needs to be put in place to track and organize the agendas of the one-on-one meetings. Now, depending on the priority of the tasks at hand different themes can be created to organize the discussion topics from one meeting to another. There can be several themes that can be put into place for example :

• Weekly discussion
• Roadblocks
• Goals
• Action items

Organizing your one-on-one meeting agenda in this fashion balances the plan of action conversations concerning project work with larger image discussions concerning however that employment ladders up to overall company goals and objectives and, also, individual career goals. As you meet week to week, team members come back with a clearer sense of what they’re operating on — and why it matters to them and the company as a whole.

What to talk about in one-on-ones

The first and foremost thing necessary for the one-on-one to work is to have a comfortable space wherein both the manager and reporter will be ready to share their thoughts, opinions, feedback, and grievances with ease. Always remember that these meetings are not one-sided and hence while you will obviously be giving your remarks to your report; it is also important for you to be open towards receiving feedback. The topics that can be included are

• Feedback on current or past assignments
• Checking in team and company goals
• Recognizing and solving any roadblocks in the path of success
• Celebrating milestones
• Learning opportunities and professional goals

Organize meetings to Take Action

We need to first understand why we are having one-on-one meetings in the first place. If we are not going to take action on the agendas discussed then these meetings turn out to be nothing more than an utter waste of time. Therefore, once you are done with a one-on-one meeting make sure to take some time to review and analyze what was discussed in the meeting and are there any more points that were added to the shared space since the last meeting.

Prioritize the points added and discuss them based on urgency rather than waiting for the next meeting. This is a continuous process and should not stop after the current issues are resolved. Make sure that you are taking points during the meeting as well and determine which out of those are “Action Items” and what needs to be done.

When you assign the “Action Items” make sure that every task is clear to the minute details like who it is assigned to, what needs to be done and by when it needs to be completed and so on. By delegating tasks in an organized manner you are creating a sense of accountability in your team. Also, remember that timely follow-ups are necessary for the whole process to work.

For Remote Teams

With the rising COVID scare worldwide, most of the workforce is working from home; creating issues and scenarios that were never faced before and are hence difficult to comprehend. But, don’t worry, if you keep the following points in mind, it will make your job much easier.

Match your question to the Medium

With people using numerous mediums to conduct their one-on-one meetings be it emails, Slack, Microsoft teams, Google Meet, or even Zoom calls, your question must match the medium in use.

Some questions may sound better or worse depending on the platform used. Before putting forth any question, always ask yourself this, “How am I going to answer it?” the question misses the mark you would know so the best possible option is to rephrase the question altogether.

Compensate for not meeting Physically

Most virtual meetings fail because people forget to compensate for the fact that they are no longer meeting; that means that what could have been a 10-minute chat may now take longer. Be open and flexible, try to understand the circumstance of the person in front of you. Working virtually everyone forgets about the other members and they do not connect or communicate as much as they need to or they used to. This creates a lag in communication. Don’t forget that your team members are Humans after all, and humans need to connect to other people. Obviously, people can connect outside work but there is no harm in creating harmony with your teammates.

Remember, when working remotely, a single call is better than 100 emails or messages, take note of the urgency and choose the appropriate medium for communication.

At the end of the day, we must remember that regular one-on-one meetings are a vital ingredient to keeping employees happy, productive, and engaged. By making a shared house for your agenda and adding a bit of structure, you and your team members are going to avoid a lot of confusion, work towards having crisp, clear, manageable, and actionable conversations.

by Sayoni Ghosh, Head of Human Resources — Plus91 Technologies

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