15 questions to ask in every 1-on-1 meeting (2023)

Because your people are the foundation of your business, building strong employee relationships is key to running a successful business. And the best way to build those relationships is to commit to regular 1-on-1 meetings with every employee.

Regarding a survey,48% of executiveshave regular weekly meetings. These meetings are used to build relationships with employees while providing them with direct support.

It might be difficult to start - and even more difficult to make a habit of. However, tools like TINYpulse Coach help automate scheduling and send 1-to-1 surveys ahead of time so managers can prepare for all meetings ahead of time. Using such tools not only makes scheduling and running meetings easier, but also keeps them consistent.

The importance of one-on-one meetings

1-on-1 meetings may sound daunting from the start, for both the employee and the manager. But in reality it is exactly the opposite. That's because 1-to-1 meetings allow both parties to express themselves without having to worry about anyone else. In fact, according to Gallup, it's employees who have regular 1-on-1 meetings3 timesmore engaged than those who are not.

Some people fear that speaking up to their bosses, even in 1-on-1 meetings, can lead to negative repercussions. However, it has proven time and time again that the best time to raise concerns is at these meetings.

In fact, this sharing of both professional and personal information leads to better employee-manager relationships. It helps employees trust their managers more and helps managers to understand and empathize with their employees.

In addition, 1-on-1 meetings also build a two-way feedback channel where both parties can praise, criticize, and provide feedback on various factors. This helps both the employee and manager to learn, adapt and develop new skills.

Ultimately, increased employee engagement leads to better employee retention as well as happier and more motivated employees.

15 questions to ask in every 1-on-1 meeting

It may feel like it's difficult to get started and keep 1-to-1 meetings consistent. However, if you treat them like any other meeting with an agenda, you won't have any problems.

You can use the following list in the exact order as a template for your meetings. Once you get the hang of it, you can customize the questions to suit your needs, your business, and your employees.

Check-in questions about the life of the employee

1. How are you feeling these days?

It's important to start with something simple, familiar, and something personal so you can gauge how an employee is feeling about the meeting. For example, a clear answer indicates that they are looking forward to this meeting - while a vague answer indicates that they are nervous and have something on their mind.

2. Since we last met, what are you most proud of and why?

Ask about their greatest accomplishments at work or outside of work. From there, give credit or connect with them on a personal level.

3. What support do you need from me this week? What's your top priority for next week?

Then you enter the working life of the employee. Communicate openly about obstacles and obstacles, and let employees know you're here to help them improve their jobs and advance their careers. Then inquire about her work-related plans for the next week. Align key deliverables and ensure people are tackling the right tasks at the right time.

Questions about career goals and aspirations

4. What achievement in your career are you looking forward to this year?

It's best to understand your employees' career progression and where they want their careers to take them. This can help you provide them with the means or help them achieve what they want.

5. What part of your job and role gives you the most energy and motivation?

This question is about understanding what an employee can specialize in to get ahead. It can help you offer them future projects they like and support their professional development.

6. Do you feel that your current responsibilities and job align with your future goals?

The answer to this question will tell you if this employee is the right person for the job. It can help you give the employee relevant responsibilities or offer them a position that fits their goals.

Questions to discuss obstacles in the employee's life

7. What do you think is holding you back from getting closer to your goals?

This is where you start checking if the employee has any issues or problems, both professionally and personally. This is an opportunity to help your employees achieve their goals. The answer to that can also be a precursor to question three in upcoming 1-on-1 meetings.

8. Do you feel that something or someone in the company is interfering with your work in any way?

This question helps weed out cross-company issues due to other employees, devices, or even a company process. This is also an opportunity to fix or improve business processes.

9. Are there any outside matters that make it difficult for you to concentrate on your work?

This helps paint a complete picture of what an employee might be going through. Knowledge of both personal and professional issues can help fully understand the issues an employee may be facing and gives you the opportunity to help resolve those issues.

Questions to measure how happy and satisfied the employee is

10. On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your current job, responsibilities and position?

It is important to understand how your employees feel about their work and responsibilities. You can dive deeper by asking each employee to highlight their reviews. This can also be an indicator of whether it's a good time to promote someone.

11. Do you feel that your work makes a positive contribution to the company/industry/the world?

Ask this question based on your company's size, goals, and values. It helps you understand how motivated the employee is when it comes to their work.

12. Do you think you have a good work-life balance? If not, why do you think this is and what can we do to improve it?

This question provides insight into your day-to-day organizational practices and shows whether employees are under- or over-worked or whether they are doing well. It also provides insights into an employee's psychological profile, so you can use this information to achieve a better work-life balance (as the employee sees it).

Self Improvement Discussion Questions

13. Do you think you receive appropriate feedback? How often do you think feedback sessions should be held?

The answers to this question are used to check how employees feel about feedback and whether they consider it necessary. If the employee wants to increase the frequency of feedback, it shows that these meetings and feedback sessions are working. If the opposite is true, this is an indication that some part of the meeting or feedback session is not up to standards.

14. What feedback and suggestions do you have for me and the company?

Since the idea is to develop a two-way feedback channel, you should ask the employee for feedback and suggestions. You might get some good, insightful information while giving your employees a chance to feel empowered. If you respond to any of their suggestions, they will surely remember it positively.

15. Is there anything I can help you with after this meeting? Is there anything we missed that you would like to discuss?

Ending the meeting open-ended is important because it leaves the door open for further discussion, which can even take place after the meeting itself. It's also a good way to set the agenda for the following meeting. On the other hand, it gives the employee the opportunity to express his thoughts freely.

Bonus: Questions to Ask in Your First 1-on-1 Meeting

If this is your first time running 1-on-1 meetings, you can still ask the above questions (with minor adjustments). However, it is more important that the first meeting is relaxed and smooth.

You need to set the time and agenda, and agree on certain guidelines. It's also important to ask employees what they expect from these meetings and how they think these meetings can help them.

Here are some questions to include in your first 1-on-1 meeting.

1. Are you comfortable with 1-on-1 meetings? How well do you accept constructive feedback?

This question is only used to see if the employee is nervous about the meeting. The second part can show you how deep you can take the meeting. It's best to offer some form of constructive criticism after the employee has answered this question to gauge their responses.

2. Do you think these meetings should be every week/month/quarter?

This way you can find out whether the interview had a positive effect on the employee. It also tells you how many 1-on-1 meetings you can have with this employee without getting in the way of their work or angering them.

3. What are your expectations of these meetings? Do you think they will help you and the company?

This is the most important question of your first meeting, but it's best to ask it at the end. It shows you how positively the employee responded to the meeting and how excited they are about future meetings. It also gives you the ability to streamline your future meetings to be more helpful to each individual employee.

Build better relationships with personalized meetings

The whole idea of ​​1-on-1s is to hold personalized meetings so that relationships between managers and employees can be nurtured. A safe space to talk allows both the employee and manager to be more open and direct with each other.

Privacy is a major concern for most employees when it comes to speaking out about issues. This is why 1-to-1 meetings are successful; They ensure privacy and allow any controversial information to remain between the manager and the employee.

At the same time, it gives the manager the opportunity to fix problems without setbacks.

All in all, 1-to-1 meetings always result in better employee engagement, higher employee retention, and higher employee satisfaction and motivation. What's not to like?