What is a One on One?
A One on One is a dedicated time for an open-ended conversation. It is a place for mentoring, giving context, exchanging feedback, asking questions and much more.
What are the benefits?
One on One’s in the workplace maintain employee engagement and strengthen relationships throughout the organization. Find below what we believe to be the most beneficial factors in having a One on One.
Develops a trusting relationship.
Keeps employees informed and aligned.
Improve productivity.
Mutual feedback helps employees grow and learn.
A time to address topics frequently so they do not get lost.
Managers are able to strengthen their leadership and coaching skills.
Who can participate in a One on One?
Everyone! A One on One meeting is commonly practiced between a Manager and their Employee. In HelloTeam, you can conveniently set up a One on One with anyone in the organization.
How can HelloTeam help me with our One on One’s?
Not only do we provide the tool of scheduling the One on One in HelloTeam, we have developed an effective way to incorporate an agenda, a way to stay on track with the conversation, we call them talking points. In addition to talking points, you have the ability to take live notes during the meeting and reference important touch points, such as goals, recognition and Performance Review results, as they are visible on the right hand side of the One on One page.
Keep reading to learn more about One on Ones in HelloTeam and our recommended Best Practices!
Recommended Best Practices
Set the 1x1 as recurring
Utilize talking points
Take live notes and assign tasks
Discuss Goals and their completion
Recurring One on One’s
One Time Meeting Vs. Recurring
When deciding on the frequency of the One on One, it is important to consider how essential it is to develop a routine.
For a Manager and Employee relationship, we recommend creating a recurring One on One so there is always that dedicated time on your calendar.
Duration
Before scheduling your One on One, you will want to consider how long you would like the meetings to be. Before deciding, consider what is realistic and what is necessary. Sure you want the meeting to be quick and efficient but is 15 - 20 minutes enough?
We recommend putting at least 45 minutes on your calendar for your One on One. This way, there is enough time allotted in case the conversation needs to continue. It also gives your employee the respect of having a designated time slot to address what they would like or need too.
How often?
Depends! Every organization is different in regard to the nature of their work and the probability for continuous One on One Meetings. From our experience, One on One’s are highly successful if they are scheduled on a weekly or biweekly basis. Whichever frequency you decide, we advise that they be consistent.
For new employees, One on One’s may make sense to schedule daily. One on One’s are more crucial when they are focusing on training and setting expectations.
One on One Templates + Talking Points
How to utilize talking points in HelloTeam:
Workday pressures and constraints are a real thing, we understand that. Having talking points and templates can save you time on creating the same list each time before the meeting. Talking points will help you stay on track and make the most out of your time. They work as a guide, setting some structure to your conversation but also allowing you to make edits so the conversation can be flexible.
Not sure what to include in your talking points?
We recommended keeping them open ended to allow for a better flow of conversation Here are some topics that we find to be extremely beneficial:
Discuss what is going well vs. Challenges
Work habits and Employee performance
Feedback
Concerns
Manager Improvement
Short Term Goals / Long Term Career Goals
Questions and Answers
Document Notes and Action Items
HelloTeam allows you to take live notes during the One on One, as well as assign employee’s specific tasks that are being discussed. Keeping track of these notes and tasks allow for a more timely conversation.
We recommend keeping these notes in HelloTeam so if you are referencing a previous One on One, you are able to remain on the same page and pull up past discussion notes.
With information regarding the One on One and assigned tasks, employee’s are being held accountable for their responsibilities. When creating a task, these will carry over to each recurring meeting until they are marked complete.
It is common for ideas or action items to be forgotten, HelloTeam’s One on One page will allow you to make sure you are documenting and keeping track of these items.
Goals
We believe that Goal setting creates a strong foundation for success within the workplace. Using our Goals module in HelloTeam is a great way to store this information and track progress. The next step is to discuss these goals and their completion.
During a One on One in HelloTeam, goals will be pulled on the right hand side of the page. As you are having the conversation, you are able to reference your employee’s goals and their progress. This leads to a more successful and timely conversation when discussing these specific goals.
Visit the below articles to learn more about adding Goals within HelloTeam.