Effective 1:1 Meetings

Why regular 1:1’s with your direct reports are so important:

Regular 1:1s are one of the most powerful tools a leader has for shaping performance, culture, and trust. They create a protected space where employees feel seen, supported, and able to speak openly about progress, challenges, wellbeing, and ambitions and when applied consistently, they strengthen relationships, surface issues early, and build a culture where communication is honest and problems are addressed quickly before they escalate or affect wider teams.

What the process involves: 

Setting a regular cadence for meetings (weekly or bi-weekly), preparing meaningful agendas that focus on reviewing current work, progress against objectives and outcomes, providing constructive feedback to support employee growth and engagement and addressing any poor behaviour and performance concerns privately.

How to structure the 1:1 meeting: 

Start by checking in on wellbeing and workload to understand how they’re feeling and what they are currently working on. Move into progress and priorities, such as what’s going well, what needs progressing, and where they need support or decisions from you. Then explore development: skills that they want to build, opportunities coming up, and any feedback that will help them grow. Close by agreeing clear actions, areas for  improvement (if applicable) owners of actions, and timelines, so that both sides leave aligned. 

Keeping this structure each time builds trust, reduces surprises, and ensures that your 1:1s stay focused, supportive, and productive. Always keep a record of the 1:1 meeting which you should share with your direct report to ensure accountability and to avoid any misunderstandings. 

How Amicus People can help: 

We provide easy to understand guidance and manager training, 1:1 meeting frameworks and easy to follow documentation to ensure that 1:1s drive performance and engagement and importantly, keep a record of conversations held and actions agreed upon.  

Our practical tools help managers build strong, productive relationships with their teams but also build a paper trail for when things haven’t necessarily gone to plan so that managers can confidently deal with poor performance in a fair and consistent manner.

Remember - if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen!

Get in touch for more support in this area today!