Foster Meaningful Communication with Better 1:1 Meetings [3 Templates]

According to a recent Gallup survey, only 33% of people are engaged at work. This growing detachment is due to various factors, such as unclear expectations, being bogged down with additional job responsibilities, and a lack of meaningful feedback.

While there’s no quick fix for human connection, having consistent one-on-one meetings can gradually build trust and improve business outcomes. In fact, Gallup reports that one meaningful conversation per week between a manager and each of their direct reports fosters high-performance relationships more than any other leadership activity.

In this article, we’ll go over what one-on-one meetings are, their many benefits, relevant topics to cover, free templates, and more. These strategies can help you gather actionable employee feedback and track satisfaction scores, making meaningful communication the standard.

One-on-One Meetings: Key Takeaways

• These meetings will vary depending on your employees’ unique personalities, responsibilities, and professional goals.
• During the meeting, remember to be flexible, actively listen, and let your direct report take the lead to build a trusting relationship.
• Create a predictable schedule and take notes, so employees know what to expect and you can both follow up on any outstanding issues.

What Is a One-on-One Meeting?

A one-on-one meeting is a regular appointment between two people, typically a manager and an employee. The cadence of one-on-one meetings varies, but meeting once a week is a common option.

Whether your company calls them check-ins, 1:1s, or syncs, they’re your chance to connect, get feedback, and give feedback—a dedicated time to ensure alignment and foster open communication.

What Is the Purpose of 1:1 Meetings?

One-on-one meetings are a win-win for managers and their direct reports. These meetings are a great time to discuss progress, address challenges, exchange constructive feedback, and share concerns. We’ve gathered some of the biggest benefits for both managers and employees below.

Benefits of 1:1 Meetings for Managers

Connecting with your employees regularly can help you as a manager.

• Practice active listening: Focus on making your employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings. Don’t interrupt—show you’ve heard them by being interested, asking clarifying questions, and taking notes.
• Become a better leader: Consistently providing feedback and guiding your employees in their career development can help you hone your coaching and leadership skills.
• Address issues early: Regular check-ins give you the chance to identify and resolve potential roadblocks before they escalate, helping ensure deadlines and objectives are met.
• Engage employees: One-on-ones build trust and show you’re committed to your employees’ professional growth, which can increase engagement.
• Improve team performance: Regularly engaging individual employees often leads to improved performance across your entire team.

Benefits of 1:1 Meetings for Employees

Regularly meeting with you can help your employees.

• Clarify expectations: Whether new employees are onboarding or more tenured employees are taking on bigger responsibilities, one-on-ones help them understand what success looks like in their role.
• Receive tailored feedback: Your insights can help employees understand what they should start, stop, and continue doing to improve their performance.
• Advocate for themselves: one-on-ones give employees the space to ask for the resources they need as well as provide feedback on your management style.
• Plan their career path: Employees can set career goals with you to advance within your team or transition to another department in the future.
• Build trust and morale: One-on-ones can help you build rapport and trust with your employees, making them feel like a valued part of not just your team but the entire organization.

What Topics Should 1:1 Meetings Cover?

The topic of your one-on-one meeting can be anything you need it to be. Because you’re getting together often, you have the flexibility to mix things up. Maybe your team’s got big projects on the horizon—talk strategy and priorities. Or if you’re sensing a dip in morale, shift gears to connect and focus on work-life balance.

Top Priorities

Priorities can shift at work for many reasons. For example, other employees may be going on extended leave or have left the company, and remaining employees need to cover the gaps. Regular one-on-ones keep everyone on the same page, helping your team maintain productivity even when things change unexpectedly.

Reflections

After wrapping up projects and analyzing performance metrics, debrief with employees to review what went well and what could be improved. For example, if there were communication issues, consider scheduling weekly standups with the wider team next time to track progress and address blockers early.

Feedback

Giving or receiving feedback can feel uncomfortable, but when done right, it’s a gift that helps everyone improve. Be honest, specific, and timely with constructive feedback, while also recognizing what your employees do well. Welcome feedback from them as well to show you value their opinions.

Professional Development

While employees should drive their own development, they should also be able to turn to you for guidance. Ask about their career goals, suggest ways to progress toward them, and keep them in the loop when opportunities open up, such as taking on more responsibilities or participating in job shadowing programs.

Remember to choose topics based on the type of meeting. For example, regular check-ins help foster trusting relationships, so relevant topics include wellbeing improving communication. On the other hand, performance reviews should focus on reflection and goal-setting.

One-on-One Meeting Timeline

A little preparation beforehand can help you and your employees have a mutually beneficial one-on-one meeting. Here are some things to keep in mind before, during, and after your check-ins:

Before the 1:1 Meeting

• Give a reason: No employee wants a meeting with no context suddenly dropped on their calendar—it can be nerve-wracking, especially coming from their manager. Touch base through email, Slack, or another communication channel to let them know why you’d like to meet.
• Schedule it: Send a calendar invite at least a few days in advance so they have time to prepare. For regular one-on-ones, schedule a recurring meeting (weekly, monthly, quarterly) with a permanent video conferencing link.
• Make an agenda: Attach a shared document to the calendar invite so both you and your employee can jot down topics to discuss.

During the 1:1 Meeting

• Open up: Although your direct reports should do most of the talking in one-on-ones, they may feel wary due to the power dynamic. Open up first about any challenges you may be facing to signal it’s safe for them to share their thoughts and feelings.
• Ask open-ended questions: To encourage conversation, ask thoughtful, open-ended questions such as: How are you feeling, workload-wise? Which projects have you enjoyed the most so far? Are there any professional development opportunities you’re interested in exploring?
• Exchange feedback: Give constructive feedback and recognize a job well done. Ask them if there’s anything you can do to better support them.
• Assign next steps: Hold each other accountable by outlining respective action items and agreeing on deadlines.
• End on time: Consistently end meetings on time out of respect for their schedule. They may have another meeting right after, or need focus time to work. If you need more time to discuss a certain issue, schedule a follow-up meeting instead of letting the current one run over.

After the 1:1 Meeting

• Share a recap: Update a shared document with a brief summary of what you two discussed to ensure alignment and create a reference for the next meeting.
• Follow up: If you said you’d get back to them about something, make sure you follow up. Aligning actions with your words helps foster a trusting relationship.
• Check in periodically: If you assign action items, check in between meetings to see how they’re progressing and offer support. This shows you’re engaged, but check in sparingly—too many check-ins can cross the line into micromanaging.
• Reflect: Take a moment to review how your meeting went. Were the topics relevant? Did you let your direct report have the floor for most of the meeting? Was there enough time to address top priorities? Use this reflection to improve future meetings.

3 Effective 1:1 Templates to Try

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to structuring one-on-one meetings, we’ve got you covered. Feel free to add or remove elements from the templates below to customize them based on your needs.

Email Template

As mentioned earlier, it’s best to give your employees a heads-up before suddenly dropping a meeting on their calendar. This email template is designed for setting up a check-in with a new hire:

Subject: Setting Up Our Weekly 1:1

Hi [Employee name],

Welcome to the team! We’re all so excited to have you here.

Now that you’ve finished your two-day orientation, I’d like to set up a recurring 1:1 meeting for us to get together at the same time each week.

While we’ll both contribute to these check-ins, I’m mainly here to listen. I want you to feel comfortable sharing whatever’s on your mind, whether that’s:

• Challenges you’re facing
• Big or small wins you’d like to celebrate
• Career aspirations
• Feedback on how I can best support you

The only thing we’ll steer clear of is project status updates (there’ll be other meetings dedicated to that) so we can focus on your high-priority topics.

Our check-ins will be for 30 minutes. Here are some time slots that work for me. Please let me know which one you’d prefer:

• [Insert weekday] at [insert time]
• [Insert weekday] at [insert time]
• [Insert weekday] at [insert time]

Once we’ve agreed on a time, I’ll send a calendar invite with a shared Google Doc to serve as a running agenda for each week.

Looking forward to our 1:1s and working with you!

Best,

[Your name]

Agenda Template for Your First 1:1 with a New Hire

The following agenda template includes both personal and professional topics to help you build rapport with your new employee from the start:

Agenda Template for Weekly 1:1s

This agenda template is designed for regular check-ins with employees who are more settled into their roles: