6 Tips to be a pro in One-on-One Meetings

The idea of business conferences around the world has changed. Organizations are now becoming more focused on workers than ever before. As a result, the communication methods between employers and employees have also become more social. And similarly, a one-on-one meeting has now become an industry-wide standard. One-on-one meeting that you have with your team are often one of the most admired yet critical meetings that take place inside your start-up. Simply put, an important measure of your performance (or failure) as a leader would essentially be your ability to regularly run a successful one-on-one meeting with your staff.

Be Well Prepared:

1-1’s can’t be scheduled or performed within short notice. Even this requires efficient and flawless preparation. And that’s why the subjects you may feel are very relevant should always be ready.

Similarly, you can ask the pressing issues of your employees. And then take them up on one meeting during the one.

Try to take a 30-minute break before passing to a one-on-one meeting. Use this time to let go of your pressure stay focused with your employee during the 1-0n-1 conversation.

Be an Active Listener:

“Listen not to answer, but to understand.”

If you meet face-to-face with staff, you should be prepared to listen to them very accurately. Use the moment to grasp their fears, ambitions and expectations from the job.

This will help you accurately gauge the depth of the problem they may be facing. And therefore, build a perfect plan for dealing with these issues as quickly as possible. You will also be able to respond very effectively to your queries.

Don’t Forget to take Notes:

There is always a possibility in every meeting that you may miss one or the other important point. It is, therefore, a very good practice to make notes during meetings. It helps you to revisit at any given time the important things discussed later.

Follow the same thing as you also conduct a one-on-one meeting. This will demonstrate your strong stance and willingness to support your employees.

You can also later use these notes to find common problems that your employees can face. And then take appropriate steps to deal efficiently with each of these problems.

Leave Time For Personal Conversation:

Hopefully, you already have some background of what they do professionally, so try to spend some time creating personal connections. This can happen at the start of the session, or at the end, but remember to share a bit about yourself as well, no matter when it happens but you must initiate.

Build a bond that humanizes you right before your employees and they will feel less stressed in upcoming meetings.

Don’t use One-on-One Meeting for Status Update:

Status updates between managers and members of the team are needed. Plus, they’re a familiar, comfortable subject. They can quickly become the subject of 1-on-1s for these reasons. Don’t allow that to happen!

Managers are always encouraged to provide input on their reviews and chat regularly about career goals instead of saving everything for the annual review. What do you think? 1-on-1s is a perfect time for such discussions.

Project updates must (ideally) happen via some alternative non-meeting: phone, talk, or a good old-fashioned drive-by desk. If there’s something meaty to tackle, such as pivots or important decisions, make it the last subject on your 1-on-1 agenda so it doesn’t dominate the whole meeting unintentionally.

Always Leave On a Positive Note:

No employee should leave demotivated after a one-on-one meeting. One-on-one meetings play an important role in creating a broader picture, i.e. employee engagement. Such meetings are primarily aimed at bridging the gap between workers and their supervisors.

During tough times, conducting an effective one-on-one conversation can become difficult. And here, in the tough times, I mean when the prevailing circumstances of the industry are not in your favour. Nonetheless, after each meeting with them, make it a point to inspire the employees.

Conclusion:

One-on-ones do not need to be tricky. Follow the guidelines above and you are already off to a great start with one-on-one employee meetings. 

We at CO-OFFIZ witness many successful one-one-on meetings in our workspace and how effectively it works for the betterment of a company and its aura as a whole. 

You’re welcome for a cup of coffee if you happen to be in Delhi looking for a coworking space for your work 🙂

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