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What exactly are the benefits of regular one-on-one meetings? Both managers and employees might wonder if repeatedly meeting every week or two is really a productive use of time. Though the true value of one-on-ones might not be immediately obvious, rest assured that there are proven business advantages associated with them.

The benefits of one-on-one meetings have been quantified in terms of engagement. A Gallup study cited by the Harvard Business Review shows that employees who had a higher than average number of one-on-ones with their manager were 67% less likely to be disengaged. The average time spent on one-on-one meetings was only 30 minutes every three weeks. Therefore, if you can manage to have one-on-ones weekly or every other week, you are already ahead of the curve!

Engagement at work and productivity have strong links which have been widely recognized. As worker engagement increases so does productivity, and when employees are disengaged productivity falls. Poor management practices leading to employee disengagement cost U.S. businesses alone an estimated $398 billion each year.

Most direct benefits that managers and work teams gain from participating in one-on-one meetings can be divided into two areas.

Developing relationships
Driving momentum

Read on to find out how one-on-ones help improve team engagement and in what ways you can maximize the value gained from face-to-face interactions.

Developing relationships

Strengthening connections with your team members is crucial to the success of an organization. One of the strongest motivators at work is a positive relationship with coworkers and supervisors, which spurs employees to aim for high performance. As with any human relationship, putting in the time pays off.

Personal connection

Establishing a friendly camaraderie with direct reports is a great way to boost their morale and desire to perform well. Of course, it is important to remain professional and ensure that employees respect your authority. But overall, people are much more likely to follow your lead if they like you as a person.

Give praise

Give credit when it is due to build up confidence and encourage employees to continue striving for great results. One-on-ones are a great time to revisit the achievements of your report and show that you appreciate their hard work. They will remember the recognition you give, even if you also add in constructive criticism and areas for improvement.

Mentoring

One-on-one meetings provide a dedicated time and space to discuss the long-term goals and aspirations of employees. By offering useful insights into their professional development, a manager shows that they are dedicated to the employee and invested in their growth.

Team dynamics

Meeting with each person in your team helps you to pick up on the general mood within a group and better understand what is working well and what is not. You may even be able to anticipate conflicts within the team and resolve them before they become a larger issue.

Driving momentum

Besides creating a strong foundation for your work relationships, one-on-one meetings serve the purpose of propelling things forward at a constant rate. Think of Newton’s law, “an object in motion will stay in motion,” but remember that things will slow down over time unless you continue to push.

The big picture

Obtaining an overview of the current situation can help align managers and employees so that they remain on the same page.

Feedback

The perfect time to give and receive feedback is when you are face-to-face with an individual and better able to communicate the thoughts behind your comments. One-on-one meetings give you a chance to talk about performance issues while they are most relevant. Expand upon what seems to be working well, what could improve, and what to try in the future.

Course correct

It is best to catch problems while they are still small, before they grow into something serious that has an increasingly negative effect on work outcomes. If anything is moving in the wrong direction, address it during a one-on-one meeting so that you can work together with direct reports to fix the issue.

Setting goals

The one-on-one is an opportunity to drive productivity even further by setting goals and action items to pursue in the immediate future. Managers can guide employees by giving a clear direction and setting the tone for the expected pace and deliverables. Employees then have something to work off of and can utilize their time effectively