One-to-One Meeting: Free Template

One-to-one meetings are much more than just a tickbox exercise to keep HR happy; they are an important way to strengthen relationships between you and your employees. One-to-ones provide employees with the chance to communicate their needs and aspirations as well as any concerns they may be having. Employers can then use this information to provide their employees with additional opportunities, further support and tailored guidance, helping them to feel appreciated and listened to. Regular one-to-ones help to build trust, create a safe working environment and encourage clear communication. In this article we will outline what a one-to-one meeting is and what it entails. We will also provide you with a free template that you can use in your setting with your employees. 

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What is a One-to-One Meeting?

A one-to-one meeting is a regular check in between two people, typically an employee and their manager. One-to-one meetings provide the opportunity to check in, raise concerns and give feedback. They enable employees to voice their concerns in an open and safe environment. They also enable managers to offer tailored support to their employees as they have a better understanding of individual concerns, goals and needs. 

One-to-one meetings are a key part of building a productive working relationship and so they are more effective when conducted regularly. The regularity with which you hold one-to-ones will depend on your setting and availability, however it’s important that they are conducted regularly so that employees feel continuously supported and so that issues aren’t left to fester for months on end. 

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One-to-One Meeting Agenda and Questions

Whilst one-to-ones can be formal or informal, they are most effective when they are well structured and organised. This ensures that decisions are made, goals set and any necessary action taken. One-to-one meetings don’t necessarily need an agenda in the same way a regular meeting would, as you do not want to appear too rigid with what an employee can and can’t discuss during their time with you. However, having an idea of what you want to discuss and what questions may facilitate honest and open communication from your employees is vital to making sure one-to-ones are effective. 

Below you will find an outline of how you can structure a one-to-one meeting and examples of questions that you can ask to support this structure. It’s important to remember that the agenda below is a general guide and should therefore be tailored to your individual setting and employees. There are some core areas that should be covered in one-to-ones such as workload, goals, challenges and feedback. However, you may have additional areas of discussion depending on the needs of your business and the employee’s role. 

It’s also important to remember that whilst an agenda can help to ensure that you stay on track, if you are too stringent or regimented with it you may inadvertently hinder your employees from communicating openly and honestly. Exercise active listening and don’t be afraid to ‘go off script’ if you think there may be a more beneficial line of questioning to explore with an employee. 

1. Check In

These questions may not solely relate to work but they are a good way to gauge how an employee is feeling overall. An employee’s welfare is not just rooted in work and asking general questions about their wellbeing shows that you are aware that they have a life outside of work. Work related questions should pertain to how the employee has been feeling since the last meeting and address any challenges or blockers that may have been brought up in previous meetings.  

Questions to ask at this stage include:

• How is everything going?
• How have you been doing since our last catch up? 
• What’s been on your mind in the past week/month?

2. Workload and Goals

These questions should seek to find out how an employee is dealing with their current workload and what their goals are for the future. Whilst it’s important to foster an environment where people feel comfortable approaching you with an issue at any time, some would rather wait till a one-to-one to share how they feel. Therefore you shouldn’t make any assumptions about how an employee is handling their workload solely because they haven’t said anything prior to the meeting. Moreover, when asking about goals, try to keep the questions open ended. It’s important that employees come to one-to-ones prepared, however they may not have thought about how they want their career to progress or in fact whether it can progress in your environment. Asking slightly more open-ended questions to begin, provides space for an employee to consider what they want. You can then ask more tailored questions based on their response. 

Questions to ask at this stage include:

• Is your current workload manageable?
• Have you encountered any obstacles that have negatively impacted your workload? How can we address these obstacles together?
• What skill(s) would you like to learn or develop to help with your role? 
• What are your career goals for the next [insert time frame]? (The duration that you discuss may vary depending on the regularity of your meetings, the employee’s role and the progression opportunities available to them.)
• How can I support you to reach your goals? 

3. Challenges

These questions should seek to discover any difficulties that an employee may be facing and how you can support them to overcome them. If any challenges were mentioned in a previous one-to-one meeting, then this is also the perfect opportunity to see if it continues to be an issue and if further support is needed. 

Questions to ask at this stage include:

• Have you encountered any challenges over the past [insert time frame]? (The period of time that you discuss will vary depending on the employee, their role and the regularity of your meetings.) 
• How can I support you to overcome these challenges?
• In our last meeting you discussed finding X challenging. How have you been getting on with that?
• Have there been any recent challenges that you feel a sense of accomplishment for having overcome?

4. Feedback 

You may find that this part of the meeting is less question driven as it is more of an opportunity for you to present valuable feedback. However, you can begin by asking your employee to reflect on the past month and how they feel it went. This can help to facilitate feedback by encouraging an introspection which may align with the feedback that you were going to offer. Try to ensure that your feedback is specific and constructive and if possible, relative to goals that you know an employee is trying to achieve. You may also use this as an opportunity to discover how an employee likes to receive feedback or if there is a specific project/task that they would like feedback on which may have been overlooked. This is also a chance for you to discover if there is anything you could be doing differently to support your employee. 

Questions to ask at this stage include:

• How do you feel the last [insert time period] has gone? Are there any areas where you think you could improve?
• How do you like to receive feedback and how can I improve in the way in which I provide it?
• Is there anything you would change about our one-to-one meetings/the format of the meetings to make them more beneficial to you?

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One-to-One Meeting Template

Below you will find a one-to-one meeting template that you can use to ensure that your one-to-one meetings go smoothly and are as effective as possible. As mentioned above, any agenda or template that you use should be used as a guide and not a stringent tick box exercise. Whilst a structure can ensure that your meetings stay on track, if you are too rigid with how you conduct your meetings, you may inadvertently hinder an employee’s opportunity to speak freely. As such, the template itself has intentionally been left quite open so that you can personalise it to your setting and so that you have the scope to ask ad hoc questions. The questions provided are examples of what you can ask to evoke productive responses in each area but should be tailored as you see fit. 

The template can be used for your meetings irrespective of whether they are held in-person or online. After your meeting it’s important to provide your employee with a copy of your notes or completed template. This gives them the opportunity to make any amends if necessary and confirm set goals and expectations.

One-to-One Meeting Template

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One-to-one meetings are a valuable way to build trust between employees and employers, strengthening working relationships and creating an open and communicative environment. One-to-ones should not be seen as an inconvenient HR requirement, but as an invaluable opportunity to check your employees welfare, workload and future goals. 

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Further Resources:

• A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template
• Employee Voice in the Workplace
• Business Essentials Courses