In the day-to-day running of companies, it is essential to use efficient strategies to align and develop employees. And it is precisely in this scenario that we include the one on one meeting.
As an important tool in people management, which aims to establish direct contact between leaders and their subordinates, this type of meeting seeks to solve problems, align expectations and objectives, transmit and collect feedback in order to bring managers closer to their employees.
To understand the relevance of this method, it is first essential to learn more about this corporate practice and find out how to apply it in your business. In this content you will find
- What is a one on one meeting?
- How important is the one-on-one meeting?
- How to organize and what are the best practices for one on one?
- How our tool can help with one-on-one meetings
Let's go? Happy reading!
What is a one on one meeting?
The 1:1 meeting model is a practice that works very well for building a trustworthy organizational cultureby identifying points for improvement that can help achieve goals and develop employees.
In this way, the meetings focus individually, as the name suggests, on aligning expectations, ideas and objectives to be achieved.
That's because it's a very simple concept, that of discussing activities and the workflow, as well as allowing a specific moment for employees to express their opinions and feel at ease to convey perceptions and possible problems and conflicts.
This type of meeting, where only two people take part, usually helps to create a more open more opensincere and solid. And this benefits everyone, not only the company but also the employee who feels valued and included in decision making.
How important is the one-on-one meeting?
When done correctly, 1:1 meetings generate numerous benefits and great opportunities for growth. That's why they need to be implemented in the company's organizational culture, with the focus on the employee, so that the results can appear.
It's normal that in the day-to-day running of companies, management may fail at some point and neglect communication with employees, but it's necessary to be aware of these moments and to know tactics that help bring leaders closer to their subordinates.
One-on-ones allow us to get to know each professional better, dedicating exclusive time to resolving issues that are essential to their professional development.
Regardless of the working format - face-to-face, hybrid or home office - there is a need to establish and maintain a healthy and trusting relationship between the team. And with the digital age, having tools that make this possible is what makes processes easier and more efficient.
In addition to these benefits that 1:1 can bring, we can list others such as:
Greater assertiveness in problem solving
In order to achieve a more assertive understanding between teams and their managers, it is necessary to invest in more open and direct communication. This allows access to a variety of feedbacks, adding greater objectivity to the resolution of problems presented at meetings.
As a result, activities become much better directed and bottlenecks can be easily identified, which helps to significantly reduce potential conflicts.
Increased employee satisfaction
When employees are listened to and their needs are met, they perceive the dedication and effort of management in understanding and valuing them. As a result, their satisfaction in the workplace increases.
This is also because care is taken to align the expectations and responsibilities of the employee with the manager, facilitating the routine and allowing for a more transparent and quality workflow.
Improved working environment
Proposing specific moments for active listening in the corporate environment only increases the quality of working relationships and appreciation, as well as recognizing the potential of each employee. which are very important points in building a healthy, trusting and stimulating work environment for your human capital.
Greater trust and respect between leaders and those they lead
The focus of one-to-one meetings is also to establish a deeper relationship of trust with each employee. In this way, it is possible to stimulate the continuous growth of the professional, which serves as a bridge to generate a more solid foundation between managers and their teams.
Respect and concern for retaining your talents is what helps to build good interpersonal relationships in the corporate environment.
More openness to direct and objective communication
The meeting should NOT focus on just allowing the manager to convey his observations and delegate his objectives. To make communication more horizontal and fluid, both sides must be heard.
For the employee, the advantages are countless, since it is easier and more open for them to gather information pertinent to their tasks, as well as to ask questions.
The time is right for employees to be able to expose their difficulties and carry out a self-assessment of their performance. It is also beneficial for managers to have constant and open communication with their team on an individual basis.
Increased productivity and engagement
Promoting increased employee engagement in the activities proposed by management is not an easy task. What's more, getting professionals to be productive in their routines seems quite challenging.
But with the right strategy, it is clear that this engagement and productivity can be achieved.
Generally speaking, when 1:1 meetings are embedded in the company culture and become constant, so that everyone understands their importance and relevance, the results are likely to be reflected in more efficient and quality deliveries, retaining talent and reducing turnover.
How to organize a one-on-one meeting and what are the best practices?
Now that you've understood what a one-on-one meeting means and know how important it is for increasing results and the flow of key information for the company, it's time to learn how to put this strategy into practice.
Ideally, meetings should become a regular occurrence and everyone should be able to get the most out of each meeting. Therefore, it is essential to know how to organize every detail, and to make this path easier we have separated some good practices that you should adopt:
Plan what will be covered
Writing down and planning what will be covered in one-to-one meetings is essential if the central purpose is not to be missed and the best use is to be made of it.
Therefore, what helps managers and leaders most at this time is being able to access data and information about the employee in one place. Quality planning is what will make the whole process happen efficiently and with significant results on both sides.
Generally speaking, preparing the agenda for each one-on-one meeting, such as goals, objectives, performance evaluations, feedback, among other topics, is what will make the meetings more assertive and productive.
Ask the employee to prepare as well
When an employee is new to the company, a one-on-one meeting is an excellent way to get them better acquainted with their day-to-day tasks and demands.
It is therefore very important to give new employees the chance to ask questions and integrate into the company's environment and routine in a more dynamic way.
However, in cases where the employee is more experienced and already has their own routine, with well-structured activities, it is necessary to take a different route.
Therefore, it's up to the manager to ask that the professional's suggestions be directed towards mentoring moments that will help them grow and develop professionally, for example.
Define the location and frequency of meetings
It's recommended that one-on-one meetings don't have too long an interval so that the topics discussed don't become stale until the next meeting. With this in mind, the frequency of the meetings needs to be defined, as well as the location and the topics to be discussed.
There are different tools and platforms available on the market that allow you to schedule these meetings and notify each of your participants by email. All this ease is what allows nothing to be forgotten or unnoticed during each employee's weekly/monthly planning.
Whether in person or via digital platforms, the one-on-one meeting, like any other corporate activity, needs to be properly planned and scheduled to ensure its success.
Listen actively and be flexible
The best time to connect professionals and help create more respectful, solid and trusting relationships will only be possible if both sides are willing to listen.
It is therefore important for managers to adopt a more flexible stance and really give employees the freedom they need to put forward their ideas, opinions and difficulties.
On the other hand, the professional needs to collaborate and trust the manager in order to be able to admit their possible doubts or even discontent.
In this way, being open and willing to listen to criticism and suggestions will make all the difference in the process.
In addition to these important points for the smooth running of a one-on-one meeting, it is essential that you master the technique and don't forget the basic good practices:
- Welcome the employee in a relaxed way and be willing to listen;
- Encourage employees to take an active part in the meeting, expressing their ideas and opinions;
- Don't make judgments, much less value judgments;
- Reinforce the employee's positive points and praise their efforts and improvements;
- Combine feedback that deals with the employee's performance;
- Don't let the initial purpose of the meeting slip, always keep an eye on the progress of the meeting.
With this step-by-step guide and best practice tips, it will be much easier to structure an efficient 1:1 meeting. And one that can deliver value by connecting and bringing professionals closer together.
How a tool can help with one-on-one meetings
Organizations, understanding the great opportunity created by this methodology, have begun to perfect the method and search the market for tools to facilitate the process.
At this point, it is essential to emphasize the need to transform the way in which performance management takes place in organizations and integrate HR strategies and planning with quality tools available on the market.
So find out now how a specific management tool for this purpose can revolutionize the entire operation and results of the company. Follow along!
Centralize employee information and data
It's common for some companies to still be tied to manual processes for organizing and storing employee data and information. And in these cases, this is precisely what can hinder the performance of activities.
That's why it's essential to have a tool that brings together everything you need to carry out quality 1:1s.
And with the Jano platform this is completely possible! The possibilities are diverse, such as customizable resources for the manager to identify each employee and store their data in a complete and accurate way, which which transforms the manager's work and makes it easier to centralize information.
Document the evaluations
It is possible to export and control the evaluations made with the platform, transforming this information into reports and documenting each one-on-one meeting. This allows you to make better use of them.
Documenting is a great advantage for being able to evaluate each meeting and map out the points that are being worked on and need to be adjusted or not. And having this kind of documentation only makes the process easier and adds value.
Facilitate decision-making
The decision-making process can be carried out by mapping information and analyzing employee performance. This is one of the best strategies for facilitating this moment within organizations.
From this, you can draw up a career plan based on the information gathered, with the context in which each employee is inserted, which makes it possible to seek even better solutions and results for the company's future.
Finally, one-on-one meetings should be one of management's strategies for looking after its human capital, helping to promote and retain talent.
Did you like learning about the one on one methodology and all its importance for company results?
So adopt this strategy now and get the support you need to make it a reality with our Jano platform. Click here to schedule a demo and our team of experts will be in touch!
