One-on-One Meeting Template

One-on-one meeting templates are what helps scrum masters and team leaders to conduct a one on one meeting with their team members while having an already made format / structure.

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During one on one meetings both parties can discuss growth and development, build trust and most important - give and receive feedback.

Since one on one meetings are a very individual kind of meeting, it’s common to personalized it, to make it fit the team member's needs and character. Yet, for any leader who wish to run a one on one meeting easily and smoothly - this article will explain what is a one on one meeting, why it’s important and the top one on one templates we highly recommend any scrum team to embrace.

What are 1 on 1 meetings? 

A one-on-one meeting template requires you to allocate time on your calendars to conducting a private conversation with your team member. In this meeting, you need to give the worker an opportunity to reflect on what has happened since the last time you  sat together and talked. 

Having a template for this one-on-one meeting allows you to direct this reflection towards a better and more inspired team member. Another thing that a template helps with is the future, keeps you consistent with your end goal, and ensures that the meeting does not deviate from what you want to achieve. 

Ultimately, a one-on-one meeting does not simply have to be an open-ended conversation with a team member. Instead, it can be semi-structured and also include a set of questions that are important to your company. 

One-on-ones are not restricted to specific times. Instead, like accountability checks, you can schedule them for  every month, or every week. Topics such as professional development and improvement are ones that keep frequent nourishment and motivation. 

What are they good for?

Conducting one-on-one meetings is very important and meaningful. Most managers will think of these as their annual face-to-face meeting with the team members. However, this is a mistake, as a one-on-one meeting is unlike any day-to-day conversations about daily operations. 

Overall, these meetings are like direct team member reports complete with a discussion that scopes beyond the office operations. One or two hours invested in these types of direct reports can even result in two weeks of high-output from a particular individual. Thus, these reports can have a major influence on the team members.  It is one of the most powerful tools that can help team members align with their executive leadership. 

Preparing for one-on-one meetings 

A one-on-one preparation that is tangible comes from shared notes. If you are working with direct reports, remember that incorporating boards, writer notes and other things can help track improvements. Noting down takeaways and highlights of a meeting helps make it more impactful and also helps the team members prepare for the next scheduled meeting.  

All the prep you need is really just asking yourself what you want to accomplish. You need to think of these meetings as opportunities for your team members to come with their own agenda. Thinking of it on multiple levels can help you get the most out of the meeting. 

First thing that you need to figure out your one on one questions, and the tactical things that you will talk about.  After the meeting is over, it is also best to save a little time for feedback. Managers not only have to provide team members with feedback, but also receive feedback from their team members. 

Putting in the time and effort when preparing for a one-on-one meeting should not be the responsibility of a single party. It is very important to keep a balance. This makes sure that each individual can hold the other accountable to conduct the meeting. 

Types of one-on-ones

one on one meeting with a manager
A one-on-one meeting with a manager is a meeting between a manager and their team member held to make sure that their goals are aligned and expectations are being met. They can also be used to discover development opportunities for a team member, boost performance, cover current issues, and more. For a manager, it is an incredible opportunity to discuss things with a team member. 

According to a study, 50% of the people who quit a job will usually do it because they can no longer tolerate their manager. Effective one-on-ones will increase communication between you and your team members, and also help each side to better understand the other. Effective one-on-ones are done frequently.

A weekly one on one meeting

Ideally, it is better to follow a weekly one-on-one meeting template. This  can get difficult for people who manage many team members, but time is a manageable resource; weekly one-on-ones help keep team members satisfied and on their toes, which leads to an increase in productivity. The next best option is to conduct reports twice a month. 

A monthly 1 on 1 meeting
if you are a leader of a large team you’ll probably use the monthly one on one, instead of the daily or weekly. Since a lot can happen in a period of 30 days the monthly meeting is usually longer and the ongoing communication and sync is done via other channels like slack and email.

The 1 on 1 monthly meeting will discuss insights regarding the tasks that were completed during this month, what wasn’t done and why, how all sides feel about this month's achievements and how things can be done differently.

Conducting your first one-on-one meeting 

When you are conducting your first one-on-one meeting with a team member, it is beneficial to set aside discussions pertaining to daily tasks. You need to instead understand them on a personal level. If you do not know them at that level, and are unsure of who they are as people or how they like to work, then you will not be able to make a good assessment. 

A one-on-one report needs to be personalized in a way that the team member feels prioritized. It does not have to only be work-related, and you have the liberty to be flexible. If project updates and status updates are the only thing you are using one-on-ones for, then you are missing out on some great opportunities. 

Final Thoughts 

A one-on-one meeting template can not only be used for status updates, but also for some great coaching opportunities. Maybe your team member desires feedback, while others are in need of recognition for their contributions. You may even need to float an idea to the team member to spark their interest. As you can see, these meetings can serve a great range of purposes.