1. Management: One-On-One Meetings

2. One-to-one meetings play a vital role in how a manager
communicates with and manages employees effectively.

3. Whether you are evaluating performance or setting targets, how
you manage one-to-one meetings can have a big impact on your
team’s projects and goals.

4. Here are some key points to consider ahead of a one-to-one
meeting:

5. Have an Agenda

7. Make sure that you know exactly what
points you want to cover in your
meeting.

8. Make sure that you know exactly what
points you want to cover in your
meeting.
It is a good idea to give your employee
plenty of notice ahead of the meeting,
to ensure that they have an idea of the
points you want to cover.

9. Make sure that you know exactly what
points you want to cover in your
meeting.
It is a good idea to give your employee
plenty of notice ahead of the meeting,
to ensure that they have an idea of the
points you want to cover.
This will also give them an opportunity
to let you know what they want to
discuss in the meeting.

10. After this, you will be able to put
together an agreed agenda for the
meeting.
Though some points will require more
attention than others, you should give
each point on the agreed list the
appropriate amount of attention.
For this reason you should allocate
plenty of time for your meeting.

11. Prepare

12. Once you have an agreed agenda, you should ensure that you consult
it again prior to the meeting.

13. Do your research on your employees’ performance and
achievements to date, and try to familiarise yourself with the work
that they have been doing, looking out for any challenges they may
be facing.

14. You may wish to consult notes from a previous meeting or review
with this employee. This will help you in talking around the points on
your meeting’s agenda.

15. Give Your Full Attention

16. If you have scheduled a one-to-one meeting with an employee, make
sure that your meeting runs on time and that you give undivided
attention – switching your phone off and arriving on time are basics, but
they can be easily overlooked by a manager.

17. It is important to treat a one-to-one meeting with an employee with the
same respect you would any other meeting.

18. Get To The Point

20. If there is a point that needs discussing it is important that
you do so directly. If you think your employee might be
having an issue or facing a challenge that they have not
mentioned, then you should be prepared to ask them about
this.

21. In a one-to-one meeting you should try to talk openly and
directly, putting your employee at ease and letting them
know that they can speak freely in this environment.

22. Look For Positives

23. If your meeting is focusing on something negative, such as a
failed objective, or a particularly challenging project – try to
keep your employee focussed on the positives.

24. These might be found by addressing the conversation with
questions like “What have you learned from this?”, or “How
can we use this going forward?”.

25. A one-to-one meeting should seek positive outcomes, and
aim to create a positive plan for the next steps. A one-to-one
meeting should seek positive outcomes, and aim to create a
positive plan for the next steps.

26. Maintain A Dialogue

28. A one-to-one meeting should be a two-way
conversation, but it is inevitable that the manager will
run the meeting to an extent, leading from one point to
the next.

29. After each area for the meeting is discussed, and
throughout the meeting, you should ensure that your
employee has plenty of opportunity to ask questions
and to offer opinions.

30. Ask them if they have any questions on a subject, or if
everything discussed is completely clear throughout the
meeting.

31. Follow Up In Writing

32. Whether the purpose of your meeting is
to evaluate performance or to establish
goals, it is a good idea to ensure that any
outcomes are agreed upon in writing.

33. This can be done with a follow up email to
confirm all the points that your meeting
covered.

34. This way you can ensure that none of the
points covered will slip through the cracks
after the meeting has ended.

35. Connect
For more tips on professional development and to see all of our latest opportunities,
connect with the InterQuest Group
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The Group is divided into specialist businesses, with each one aligned to one of the
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As specialists in contract, permanent IT and analytics recruitment, the InterQuest
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