Having regular and effective one-on-ones shows employees that they’re cared about, valued and supported. The biggest mistake most managers make is treating one-on-ones like a chore. As such, they feel more transactional which prevents the manager and employee from connecting and building a relationship. There are a wealth of benefits to having consistent and effective one-on-ones such as:

• They provide an outlet and safe space for the employee to share challenges and mistakes
• Helps employees grow in their role and reach professional milestones
• Improves the way a manager shows up and leads their team
• Creates a space for the manager to celebrate employee efforts and successes
• Strengthens the relationship between the manager and employee that increases loyalty, performance and happiness
• Enhances collaboration to resolve issues
• Allows both parties to seek and provide feedback and support that will set them up for success

George Santos, director of talent delivery and head of marketing at 180 Engineering, explained, “a one-on-one is ultimately about supporting the employee, which means it’s crucial that you work in terms of their needs rather than your own.” He went on, “for instance, you should generally let the employee use their one-on-one time in the way they see fit, rather than try to use it as an opportunity for you to provide feedback or criticism.”

Here are four ways managers can create better one-on-ones with their employees.

Dig Deeper Through Open Communication

Employees want to be seen as more than their employee number and job title. They want their manager to care and advocate for their goals and aspirations. Furthermore, employees want to feel supported in achieving those goals. However, most managers neglect to care about what keeps employees motivated. Many assume employees are motivated by their salary or the fact that they’re still employed during a pandemic. The reality is, each employee has different motivations. While some employees want to move upward within their career, others want to explore different interests, skillsets and career paths.

Additionally, employees want to feel cared about. For this reason, managers should invest time in getting to know their employee as well as recognizing and celebrating milestones such as personal and professional anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and more. If an employee shares what they’re doing for the weekend, managers can utilize that information to follow up to see how those plans went. Doing so creates a connection and builds trust between the manager and employee.

Managers who dig deeper through open communication are able to better understand when an employee is having a tough day or week due to personal issues. For example, if an employee opens up about something personal going on in their life, the manager can be more understanding of why their performance is suddenly suffering. Thus, they can lighten their workload, recommend resources such as an Employee Assistance Program and provide additional support.

Lead With The Wins

Successful one-on-ones are based on two-communication that is respectful and open. More often than not, managers use one-on-ones to confront mistakes without providing any coaching or sharing any positives such as wins. As such, the employee immediately goes into defensive mode and shuts down. Rather than assume the worse, managers should first approach mistakes by asking the employee to explain how they think they did on a project or task. This lets the employee explain their side and any problems they faced. From there, managers can ask more targeted questions and provide coaching to prevent the mistake from happening against.

Have A Plan And Walk Away With Action Items

Setting expectations prior to one-on-one meetings allows the employee to be prepared. If managers expect employees to bring updates, challenges, issues and successes to the meeting, they need to let the employee know ahead of time. Ultimately, it’s the manager who sets the tone for one-on-ones.

Rather than wait for an employee to approach you, managers should proactively schedule reoccurring meetings to happen on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. These meetings can range from 30-60 minutes in length. Lastly, managers should have a shared document where both them and the employee can access agreed upon items.

These items can be accessed at any time and reference during the next one-on-on to track progress and identify barriers. Ideally, managers will want to check-in with the employee between one-on-ones to see how they’re doing, what challenges they’re facing and how they can be supported.

During the meeting, managers should introduce goals and lay out expectations for the team member on the milestones they need to hit in order to achieve those goals. Mary Alice Pizana, human resources manager at Herrman and Herrman PLLC, explained, “setting short-term and long-term goals can engage and excite team members about their future at the company.”

Matt Erhard, managing partner at Summit Search Group, added, “when the most successful one-on-ones are over, the employee leaves with a clear sense of what needs to be improved and how they’ll work on doing so. Even the best employees can improve in some way so this isn’t just for under-performers.” He went on, “by including the employee in the goal setting, they have more agency and will feel more invested in seeing it through. This also helps ensure the goals are achievable and useful since the employee can tell you if the benchmark you set is above (or below) their capabilities.”

Be Present And Show That You Genuinely Care

In order for one-on-ones to be effective, managers should remove all distractions and direct their focus to the needs of their employee. Not only does this show the employee that they’re cared about, but it also allows the manager to pick up on non-verbal cues. Managers who choose to respond to emails, texts or Slack messages while an employee is talking are actively showing their employee that they don’t care.

Being present means being able to see when an employee is nearing burn out, stressed, struggling or not fully understanding what’s expected of them without admitting it. Additionally, it means being observant and mindful of an employee’s workload. Many employees struggle with knowing when to say no which leads them to take on more work than they can handle. As a result, they’re afraid to ask for help for fear they’ll be seen as incapable of carrying out what’s being asked of them.