One-on-one meeting agenda: questions managers can use

One-on-one meeting agenda basics: a good one fits on half a page and has four parts, the employee's topics, progress, problems, and next steps. Use it every week, keep it to 30 minutes, and let the employee speak first. This guide gives you the plan and the questions to use.

Why a fixed agenda helps

Without a plan, a one-on-one turns into a status update or gets skipped when the week is busy. A fixed agenda fixes both problems. The employee knows what to expect, and you know the meeting has a purpose.

The case for regular meetings is strong. Gallup reported in 2015 that employees whose managers hold regular meetings with them are almost three times as likely to be engaged as employees whose managers do not.

Treat the meeting as the employee's time, not yours. A short shared document that both of you can edit makes this easy. Ask the employee to add topics before the meeting. You add yours too, but you go second.

Sources: Gallup, "Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers" (April 8, 2015), gallup.com/workplace.

The 30 minute plan

Here is a plan you can copy. Adjust the minutes to fit your team.

Minutes 0 to 5, check-in. Ask how things are going outside of tasks. Listen more than you talk.
Minutes 5 to 15, their agenda. Go through the topics the employee added. Do not rush them.
Minutes 15 to 22, progress and blockers. Review goals, deadlines and anything in the way. Ask what you can remove.
Minutes 22 to 27, your agenda. Share feedback, news from the wider team, or a request.
Minutes 27 to 30, next steps. Say out loud who will do what before the next meeting. Write it down.

Keep the same time slot each week. If you must move it, move it. Do not cancel it. A cancelled meeting tells the employee that other work matters more than they do.

Sample questions to use

Open questions work better than yes or no questions. Pick two or three each week rather than reading a long list.

What is the most important thing on your plate this week?
Where do you feel stuck, and what would help?
What is going well that I may not see?
What decision are you waiting on from me or from someone else?
Is there any part of your work you would like to do more of, or less of?
What feedback do you have for me?

The last question matters most. Many employees will not offer feedback unless you ask for it. Thank them for any answer, even a hard one, and say what you will try.

Build in coaching and growth

Once a month, spend part of the meeting on the employee's longer goals. Ask where they want to be in a year and what skills they need. This is also a good place to use a coaching framework such as GROW, which walks through a goal, the current reality, the options, and the way forward.

When the employee brings a problem, try asking "What have you thought of so far?" before you give your answer. You will learn how they think, and they will own the solution. Save direct instructions for cases where time is short or the stakes are high.

Habits that keep the meeting useful

Take short notes. Record decisions and promises, not every word. Review last week's notes before you start.
Follow through. Nothing damages trust faster than a promise that is forgotten. Do what you said you would do.
Keep it private. What is said in the room stays there unless you agree otherwise.
Be present. Close your laptop and silence your phone. For remote teams, use video when you can.
Adjust over time. New hires may need weekly meetings. Experienced staff may do well with every two weeks. Ask what they prefer.

Cultures differ in how directly people share bad news or disagree. If your employee is reluctant to speak up, try written questions before the meeting, or ask about "the team" before you ask about them. Be patient. Trust builds over many meetings.

Start this week

Copy the plan above into a shared document. Send the employee the link, ask for their topics, and hold the first meeting. After a month, ask what to keep and what to change. A simple, steady one-on-one meeting agenda will do more for your team than a complicated one you cannot keep up.

Sources: Gallup, "Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers" (2015), gallup.com/workplace. Meeting plan, questions and habits are the editors' practical suggestions, not research findings.