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One-on-one meetings with direct reports
In today's working world, effective communication between managers and their direct reports is crucial. One on One meetings have become an indispensable tool to foster this communication and increase employee engagement. In this article, we provide a comprehensive guide to take you through the basics of conducting successful one on one meetings. You'll get everything from understanding the topic to implementing effective strategies using customized meeting templates in Word and Doc.
Template for One on One Meetings (Word & Doc)
Understanding one-on-one meetings💡
Because only with the right intention can these conversations develop their full effect.
What is a one-on-one?
The meeting should create time to have discussions about the employee's challenges, goals and professional development. Many companies use a standardized one-on-one template (available in Word and Doc formats) to ensure consistency and effectiveness in these meetings.
Meaning and purpose of one-on-ones
One-to-one meetings serve several purposes. These are
- Building trust and maintaining relationships between managers and employees
- Regular feedback
- Expressing concerns and worries
- Aligning individual goals with corporate goals
- Promoting employee growth and development
- Effective employee retention
A really well-structured template for employee appraisals includes all these points in one template.
Manager-employee relationship
As mentioned in the first point, one-to-one meetings play a crucial role in strengthening the relationship between managers and employees. They create a safe space for open dialog and help to break down hierarchical barriers and promote a culture of transparency.
I would like to emphasize this point again because the manager-employee relationship forms the basis for successful one-on-one meetings. If the relationship between the employee and their manager is shaky, one-to-one meetings can lose their impact.
This is exactly why we at Echometer have spoken to many managers and team leaders and found that there are recurring problems when it comes to employee relations.
One of these problems is that employees do not open up to their superiors in one-to-one meetings. We have identified a total of 6 of these problems. We will address these later in this article so that one-on-one meetings can really take full effect.
Template for One on One Meetings (Word & Doc)
How to structure one-on-one meetings💡
An effective one-on-one meeting usually follows this structure. Any question templates can be easily integrated into this:
- Check-in (icebreaker) to establish a flow of conversation (5 minutes)
- Topics of conversation that the employee brings along (10-20 minutes)
- Feedback and topics of discussion from the supervisor (10-15 minutes)
- Define goals and derive concrete actions (5-10 minutes)
- Summary of the meeting (5 minutes)
Many leaders find it helpful to use a free one-on-one meeting template in Word or Doc format to ensure they cover all the necessary points for an effective one-on-one meeting.
Before we get to that, I would like to draw your attention to our free one-on-one meeting templates in the Echometer tool. These focus on the psychological preconditions for successful teamwork, help to achieve greater measurability in the development process and can be filled out interactively. Feel free to take a look
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Note: This one-on-one staff meeting template asks for agreement to the Health Check items (questionnaire) on a 1-7 scale.
- Appreciation: I receive recognition or praise for good work.
- Psychological safety: If I share that I have made a mistake, I will not be judged for it.
- Strengths: In the last few weeks I have very often been able to Strengths at work.
- Customer centricity: I know the challenges and problems of our customers. Customers.
- Feedback: I receive constructive feedback on both my work and my personal development.
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Template part 1: Open conversation with icebreaker
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, what is the weather like in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
Template part 2: Health check with interactive questions
- Appreciation: I receive recognition or praise for good work.
- Psychological safety: If I share that I have made a mistake, I will not be judged for it.
- Strengths: In the last few weeks I have very often been able to Strengths at work.
- Customer centricity: I know the challenges and problems of our customers. Customers.
- Feedback: I receive constructive feedback on both my work and my personal development.
Note: In this part of the appraisal interview, agreement to more in-depth Health Check items (questionnaire) is asked on a 1-7 scale.
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Hold a conversation with an icebreaker
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, what is the weather like in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
The first one-on-one meeting with an employee
There is always a first time, and this is also the case with one-on-one meetings. It is important to note that the first one-on-one is structured slightly differently to the regular meetings that follow.
Setting the right expectations
Take advantage of the first one-on-one meeting with your employee:
- Clarify roles and responsibilities
- Discuss communication preferences
- Setting the tone for future one-on-one meetings
- Set targets and key performance indicators
The best questions for a first one-on-one meeting
- What are your short and long-term career goals?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback? (A personality test can help here: Is the employee abstract vs. concrete / strategic vs. tactical?)
- What motivates you at work?
- What challenges are you currently facing?
- How can I best support you in your role?
Include these questions in your Word / Doc appraisal interview template for easy reference. Alternatively, you can download our template for free later in this article.
Template for One on One Meetings (Word & Doc)
Regular one-on-one meetings
After you've held an initial one-on-one meeting with a direct report and established a framework, it's now time to schedule regular one-on-ones.
How often should one-on-one meetings take place?
The frequency of one-on-ones can vary. The important thing is that they take place regularly. Surveys of managers have shown that 94% of all managers hold one-on-ones, of which around 49% do so on a weekly basis. Bi-weekly one-on-ones are also a classic rhythm. To find out whether weekly or bi-weekly one-on-ones are ideal for your case, you can ask yourself the following questions:
- How big is your team?
- How complex is the current project?
- What suits the personal needs of your employees?
In principle, the following applies:
Weekly one-on-ones: Ideal for fast-paced environments or when working on centralized projects.
Bi-weekly one-on-ones: Suitable for more established teams or when more in-depth discussions are required.
What topics should be covered in a one-on-one (examples)?
Progress with targets and projects
- "How is the customer project XY going? Where are you currently compared to the schedule?"
- "What milestones have you achieved since we last spoke?"
Challenges and obstacles
- "Are there any technical problems that are currently preventing you from implementing the new software?"
- "What resources or support do you need to optimally prepare for the upcoming presentation?"
Feedback (in both directions)
- "How did you feel about the feedback on your last project report? Was it helpful and constructive?"
- "Is there anything in my leadership style that I could improve to better support you?"
Career development
- "What skills do you want to develop in the next six months to achieve your career goals?"
- "Are you interested in the upcoming training program? How could it benefit your professional development?"
Work-life balance
- "How satisfied are you with your current work-life balance? Are there any areas that could be improved?"
- "Do you feel supported by the flexible working hours? How does it affect your private life?"
Team dynamics
- "How have you experienced teamwork since the restructuring? Are there any positive or negative changes?"
- "What ideas do you have for improving communication between departments?"
Free one-on-one template for Word and Docs
To help you, we have created a free one-on-one meeting template that is compatible with Word and Docs.
Note: The template for Docs and Word is in English and may need to be translated for your purpose. be translated for your purpose. For example, you can use DeepL..
You can use the Word & Doc template as follows:
- Open the document in Google Docs by clicking on the button (you cannot edit it here).
- Click on "File" -> "Download" -> "Microsoft Word (.docx)" at the top left
- You can now import the downloaded document into Word or Google Docs and edit it as you wish.
Alternatively, you can download the Word (.docx) One-on-One template directly here:
Template for One on One Meetings (Word & Doc)
One-on-Ones: Challenges and solutions💡
As already mentioned, there are six common problems in people management that can be observed especially in one-on-one meetings. It usually takes a few meetings to determine which employee is struggling with which problems.
These six problems include:
- Customer empathy: "My employees have difficulty understanding the perspective of the customer and the company."
- Relationship building: "My employees don't open up to me in 1:1 meetings."
- Personal development: "My employees have no intrinsic development goals."
- Individual performance: "My employees are not optimizing their feedback loops and work processes."
- Soft skills: "My employees have difficulty expressing their doubts respectfully and productively" or "They feel easily attacked when they are criticized."
- Responsibility and participation in the team: "My employees do not take responsibility for our team goal."
Strategies for overcoming the challenges
Dealing with these issues can be a challenge for team leads. The causes can be complex, e.g. if an employee has had negative experiences with openness in the past (perhaps even in their private life or in their childhood).
To address these issues effectively, you may need to change your approach to how you conduct one-on-one meetings with the employee in question. As this is a major challenge and normal templates for these one-on-one meetings may not be sufficient, we at Echometer have developed special templates together with psychologists and agile meeting experts.
Echometer templates and other resources
As we have already created more than 25 templates that address the problems mentioned above, I would like to present two examples here:
Problem Example #1:
"My employees have no intrinsic development goals."
Even though people may not have specific development goals, there are certainly aspects of their work that interest them more than others. If you look at the problem in this way, you can derive development goals from the interests that also motivate the employee. This is also known as "job crafting".
One-on-One Meeting Template: Job Crafting
We all have certain aspects of our work that we like more than others. There is usually some leeway to craft our roles according to our preferences. It's good to be aware of these preferences and communicate them to be prepared when job crafting opportunities arise. Questions for a "job crafting" 1:1 template:
Open Feedback Questions
What aspects of your work do you like the most?
What aspects of your work do you like the least?
If you could delegate one of your tasks to someone else, what would it be?
If you could add one responsibility or decision-making power to your role, what would it be?
Problem Example #2:
"My employees have difficulty expressing their doubts."
or
"They feel easily attacked when they are criticized."
Many other problems often arise from this fundamental problem. One example of this is that these people often find it more difficult to set clear boundaries, which in turn reflects badly on these employees.
For this specific example, we've created a template called "Saying 'No'" that you can use in a one-on-one conversation with your employee:
One-on-One Meeting Template: Saying 'No'
If someone has difficulty saying "no", they may be given more and more tasks until they are at risk of burning out. This format helps individuals think about how to set appropriate expectations and say "no" when they need to.
Open Feedback Questions
Reflect: What are good reasons to say "no" when someone asks you to do something?
Collect examples: When was the last time you said "no" when someone asked you to do something? In which situations would you have liked to say "no" but didn't?
Tools: What phrases or questions can be helpful when someone wants you to do something?
Template for One on One Meetings (Word & Doc)
Conclusion – templates for one-on-one meetings
One-on-ones are a powerful tool for improving communication, increasing employee engagement and boosting performance. By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide and using well-designed one-on-one meeting templates, you can turn these conversations into dynamic, productive meetings that benefit both your employee and the organization.
Remember, the key to success is consistency, preparation and a genuine commitment to employee development. Start implementing these practices today by using our free employee one-on-one meeting template and watch your team's productivity and satisfaction skyrocket.
Here you can download the free One on One Word template or test our specially developed meeting tool:
