The one-to-one meetings are usually between the manager and the employee. It is a regular check-in between two people in an organization. Sometimes, these meetings are between colleagues, mentors, and coaches.
The employees get feedback and guidance they need to pursue their goals. They come to know where they stand with the help of feedback given by the manager to them. These meetings also bring up space and time to discuss the things that you wouldn’t have discussed because of the busy schedule.
With the help of these meetings, the manager resolves the issues on hand, improves employee retention, and guides the employees in their development. It strengthens the bond between managers and employees.
Importance of one-to-one meetings
The one-to-one meetings are the main element of the successful feedback model. The importance of these meetings are defined as:
Boosts productivity:
The one-to-one meetings keep the employee engaged and boost productivity. The employees regularly get feedback on the work done, which helps them to prioritize tasks and activities correctly. It improves the performance of the employee by giving them check-in on daily basis. The brief one-to-one meetings cut the time spent on holding ad hoc conversations, communicating by email, tracking down crucial information. It provides a high-level overview of current issues and the progress of the organization.
Builds strong relationships:
With the help of one-to-one meetings, the managers and employees get a chance to keep in touch with each other on the daily basis. They get to know the employees personally. The strengths and weaknesses of the employees come into the knowledge of the manager. These communications help to make the employees feel that their insights and concerns are appreciated and taken into consideration.
Builds trust:
The employees start trusting their leaders when they are in touch with them on the one-to-one meetings. Frequent and consistent meaningful interactions develop loyalty amongst the employees. Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, it requires spending more time with the employees by meeting them regularly. The meetings help the employees to get to know each other better and last longer and more trustful relationships. It also develops loyalty between the manager and the employees.
Resolves issues:
Every organization faces issues in the workplace. Employees also face issues in their daily routine. These issues could be personal issues of the employees or team issues. The manager has to make interactions with the employees to identify the issues and resolve them. These meetings make it easier for the manager to figure out the areas of improvement and issues to solve. The employees should discuss the issues with their manager to avoid delay of work and improve the efficiency of work done.
Improves performance:
The performance reviews are important to improve the performance of the employees. These reviews update them timely about the improvements needed in the performance. Bi-annual or annual performance appraisals are often too late or too little. Weekly or bi-weekly performance appraisals via one-to-one meetings allows the managers to ensure team goals will be met. It makes the employees feel more connected to their goals and empowered to perform well.
Meaningful feedbacks:
The one-to-one meetings deliver meaningful personalized feedback to the employees. This feedback helps them to know where they stand and how they can improve their work. It shows the employees what the managers or the top management are expecting out of them and how they can fulfill those expectations. Employees should receive and give feedback to the managers from time to time.
Drives development:
Employees with perfectly developed skills work as an asset to the company. Employees can have their own skills, but they have to keep learning and developing their skills to reach their goals. One-to-one meetings help the manager to know the areas where an employee requires to develop. These meetings provide the perfect time to discuss the personal and professional growth of employees.
Career growth:
Employees are always concerned about their career growth. They want to determine how they can do better, advance faster, and what career opportunities they can expect from the organization. One-to-one meetings help to emphasize these questions of the employees. The manager guides the employees in their career growth by answering these questions. The career growth of employees adds value to organizational growth.
Aligns organizational goals and objectives:
One-to-one meetings help to align the organizational goals and objectives to the employees. Employee goals are linked to business priorities. The approach to employee, team, and business is unique to the organization. These meetings help the manager to keep these goals and objectives into the knowledge of the employees. Employees can now easily link up their goals and the organizational goals.
Drives smarter business decisions:
When the manager and employees take a decision after consulting each other’s point of view, it comes out to be the smarter decision. The business decisions should consider the employee as well as the manager. They both play as a team to make the organization achieve its goals. By communicating meaningful information, decision-making becomes more powerful.