Good managers already know one-on-one meetings play an important role in employees’ performance and results.

Great managers already hold these check ins at least once every 6 months, maybe even every quarter, giving them the chance to really get to know their staff as well as check the pulse of the team.

If you’re not doing these one-on-one meetings or just aren’t doing it that often (annual performance reviews or weekly performance updates don’t count!), then you’ll want to read through our list of benefits for holding these litmus style check ins with your team.

BUT before you jump in, here are a few tips on how to handle the first (or restart) these meetings.

1. Could be a lunch, coffee, morning tea. Nothing too formal. You want your team member to feel relaxed and comfortable.
2. Casual check in. You can do them all at one time OR schedule more informally every month to rotate a team member around so it does not become so time consuming.
3. Alert people as to what they are ahead of time – so they know they are not in trouble or you are not just focusing on one particular individual ie “we like to do informal check-ins every quarter here so expect that from time-to-time I will grab you for a coffee to check in and get your feedback”
4. Note: If your employees are giving you a weird look or seem anxious about the meeting when you ask, that could be a clue that something isn’t right with your team or you have not introduced them correctly.

1. Strengthen relationships

Taking the time to get to know your employees better and to really listen to them (and watch how they say things) naturally will deepen the connection between both of you. The face-to-face time will make them feel appreciated and heard.

2. Improve productivity

Having a boss that truly cares about what’s going on often leads to employees wanting to work harder for them. You’d be surprised how just talking with a team member might up results, even more if you identify ways to improve it during the meeting.

3. Promotes loyalty

Establishing trust only happens if you show you care about what they have to say. If you just give them a nod in the morning when you see them come in or a quick “How are you doing?,” at a meeting, then you won’t build that connection, which leads to loyalty.

4. Receive honest feedback

When you start having these meetings you might not get much feedback on your leadership, but if you continue to foster the relationship, then you should be able to get a better gauge. After a few check ins, you’ll be able to obtain a more honest answer to whether your leadership style is working for them.

5. Learn about issues early

Asking questions about how your employees feel about the cohesiveness of the team is important in these check ins. It will give you a chance to see how well they work together and perhaps even get a tip on any minor hiccups in the team before they become full-fledged problems.

6. Provides good baseline for team attitude

Use this casual atmosphere to get the best pulse on how your team is doing. Ask questions like:

• What are you most enjoying about the company?
• What are you least enjoying about the company?
• What are you most enjoying about your role?
• What are you least enjoying about your role?
• Rate your enjoyment out of 10 … but you can’t use ‘7’

7. Offers chance for mentoring

These check ins are the perfect place to give tips on improving efficiency, how to best handle a particular situation or ways to see better sales results. Hopefully saying something in a laid-back environment allows you to nip a problem in the bud before it becomes a major performance issue.