Its good practice to hold a 1-2-1 on a monthly basis with member of your team, you may want to meet with new starters more regularly to begin with, and experienced members of staff may not need one as often. These are a great opportunity to discuss priorities, update on operational matters, talk about any support and learning requirements and just a great chance to check in and build a strong relationship and get to know the people in you team better. 1-2-1 are shown to help build staff engagement and retention.
As a manager you should:-
- Keep 1-2-1 meetings fairly informal
- Don’t cancel 1-2-1’s this sends a message that they are not important
- Always give 100% attention. Turn off your phone and emails
- Make sue some of the 1-2-1 covers learning and development and the future, not just day to day priorities
- Schedule the meeting well in advance
- Let your staff member speak first. Treat this as their time with you. You can ask them to prepare a list of topics in advance if that works for you both
- Provide feedback on their performance. Providing recognition where appropriate. You can ask for feedback too, do they need anything more from you?
- Always allow time for any questions
- Ask your team member how often they would like to meet or how the 1-2-1 could be more helpful to them.
- Reflect on the effectiveness of the 1-2-1 meeting. Are your team members visibly engaged and energised after them?
- Don’t forget about wellbeing. Ask how people are, check in on their workloads and be prepared to listen.
Don’t forget this doesn’t have to take place in the office or meeting room, why not go out and grab a coffee or take a walk around the block and get away from everyone and everything.
