A Practical Guide to Productive Weekly One-on-One Meetings with Employees

As a manager, it’s essential to have regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports. These meetings allow you to stay connected with your employees, address their concerns, and give them the feedback they need to grow professionally. In this blog post, we’ll share a simple checklist to help you have effective weekly check-ins with your employees.

The Checklist:

• How was last week?
• Is there anything I need to know about that I don’t know about?
• Are you waiting on me for anything?
• What can I do to make your life better?
• Do you have any feedback for me?
• Do you mind if we go over feedback for you?

The Reasoning:

Having a weekly one-on-one with your direct reports may seem time-consuming, but it’s worth it. You get to know what’s going on with your employees, address any feedback you have for them, and show them that you care about their well-being. Besides, the most crucial aspect of any company is the quality of its people, so it’s essential to spend time caring for your employees.

Question One: How was last week?

Start the meeting with a question about how the employee’s week was. This question allows you to put their work into context, empathize with them, and get the conversation going.

Questions Two and Three: Is there anything I need to know about that I don’t know about? Are you waiting on me for anything?

These questions let the employee remind you of anything they think is important and tell you when they think you are missing something. Addressing these issues early can prevent potential problems down the line.

Question Four: What can I do to make your life better?

This question shows that you care about your employee’s well-being and helps you understand what they need to be productive and happy in their role. Pay attention to repeated questions and dig deeper to understand what they want.

Questions Five and Six: Do you have any feedback for me? Do you mind if we go over feedback for you?

Save the feedback for the end of the meeting. This allows you to focus on feedback when the conversation is already warmed up. Let the employee go first, and write down any feedback you have before the conversation. Keep all the notes in a document that both of you have access to, so the employee isn’t surprised, and they can comment on it. Be mindful of giving feedback when someone isn’t ready to accept it. It can be a waste of everyone’s time and lead to bad feelings.

why asking questions is key to remembering what you learn