Performance 1:1 Meetings - The New & Improved Annual Review
What are performance 1:1s?
Employee performance 1:1s are regularly scheduled meetings between a manager and employee where feedback is exchanged. Traditional performance reviews happen once or twice annually and assess past performance, however, performance 1:1s facilitate a more proactive leadership approach.
The case for continuous performance management
Research shows that traditional annual reviews are not effective in optimizing employee performance.
For managers, having infrequent meetings makes the annual review time-consuming and stressful as it makes performance conversations increasingly difficult. Without these touch-points, they won’t be effective in driving team goals or business outcomes.
For employees, receiving delayed communication creates an element of surprise and frustration as to why feedback wasn’t mentioned before.
Even if you choose to continue running annual reviews, regular performance 1:1 meetings make these conversations more effective.
Established relationships provide managers insight on how to approach different situations and provide effective feedback.
With continuous performance 1:1s, managers are able to address issues in real-time instead of only evaluating the past.
This gives managers the opportunity to uncover areas for improvement before they impact performance. Small adjustments can make a big difference in the outcome of individual and team goals.
Ingredients to effective performance 1:1 meetings
Communication / Feedback
First and foremost, you should always check in on how someone is doing overall and then ask for updates on work.
Discuss what is and isn’t going well, so that you can develop an action plan.
A plan of action can be providing feedback or identifying obstacles that you can help remove.
Take notes
It’s important to not only offer support but also take notes to follow up on and ensure success.
Documenting your 1:1s reduces bias and incorporates crucial context into your performance appraisals. Meeting more means you’ll create a more helpful archive of previous check-in history.
This information paints a complete picture of employee performance over time and can either replace the traditional annual review or make it much easier.
Notes give employees and managers a clear understanding of your discussion and what they can do next to improve their performance. Goodbye to the days of scouring for information before a big review, and hello to the days of being informed and prepared.
Bottom Line
As your business grows it is important to ensure your employees are receiving continuous support from management to promote their growth.
Managers are a driving force in employee engagement and ensuring they perform at their highest potential.
Performance 1:1s help managers and employees overcome obstacles, improve performance and drive individual and collective success.
Click here to learn how ConnectUs supports managers in facilitating a work environment that is both people-focused and result-driven.