One-on-One: Catching Up 1:1

Catching up in a one-on-one sounds casual, and it can be. But that doesn’t mean this kind of meeting isn’t as (or more) critical as any other. 

One-on-ones provide a unique forum in that they enable you to have a much more honest conversation with your colleagues—relative to other kinds of meetings. This makes these meetings very effective for ensuring your direct reports are happy and contributing. 

Drilling down further, holding relatively frequent but short one-on-ones helps you course-correct and focus on improving work going forward. When you hold these meetings too infrequently, there’s a tendency to focus on past work. And while retrospectives have their place, you still want to skew the focus on action items for moving forward.

What Should You Ask in One-On-Ones?

Do you ever feel isolated at work?
How do you like to receive recognition?
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That idea is what forms much of the basis for this meeting agenda template. 

So if you have a choice, err on the side of a greater number of shorter meetings rather than occasional, long catch-ups. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t use this template for longer catch-ups. Though you may want to consider using our One-on-One Meeting Template for Managers instead. That template takes a more high-level approach to a one-on-one, which makes more sense for an occasional check-in.

Finally, it’s important to remember that these meetings are a great way to show that you care about your individual employees. And how you treat the people on your team is as important as any benefits package to their long-term job satisfaction.