2020 has turned our work lives upside down. Long gone are the times when working from home and one-on-one meetings were the golden eggs! 

Today, even the most ardent home lover is dying to take a sip from the good old’ office coffee. We’ve definitely come a long way, in the past few months.

With the virus playing grand theft auto with lives at our doorsteps, we are all shut in for at least the foreseeable future. They say it’s going to be a new normal, but fortunately, we can remain to push the cog forwards with the magical thing known as teleworking.

However, things have not gone exactly as planned.

We sure started with the idea of taking teleconferencing to new heights, but it didn’t take long for reality to come crashing down.

In the world of work, keeping morales high irrespective of discrepancies of teleworking and the minor annoyances it brings in is our biggest challenge. And if you are someone from management, things are even more complicated.

The trick to getting your employee or coworkers to feel engaged and be productive in the current scenario lies in having more consistent conversations.

And that’s where one-on-one meetings come into the picture.

In this post, we are going to talk about ways you can put teleworking blues out of everyone’s way by having one-on-one meetings, more often!

Optimize your calendar

Make it a point to find time in your calendar for a proper one on one meeting. Ensure to keep such meetings short, concise, and recurring events.

Here at Telebu, we encourage all management reps and team managers to schedule one-on-ones using grptalk and TelebuJoin, where they can share personal invites to individuals and mark their calendars for the same.

We keep this process pretty straightforward, and it works wonders for us, every time.

And here’s why we do what we do (and so should you):

“Employees who get one-on-ones with their manager more often are 67% less likely to feel disengaged.”

Always plan – Keep improvisation to minimal

Yes, you might love your improv skills, but don’t make it the bread and butter of your one-on-one meetings.

Chances are most people will grasp that you are just conducting a fluke meeting. This may as well churn out the exact opposite result.

Write down a few steps as to what you will be discussing in your short meeting. 

Do NOT become a stand-up comedian or bossy boss in the conversation.

Maintain a casual yet professional pattern. Talk about their career goals, desire for growth, or plan for the future. Show interest in their personal as well as professional development – show that you care.

Remember,

“The behavior of the management and leadership accounts for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement.”

Make everyone a part of the process

The best way to ensure engagement, enthusiasm, and excellence in a workplace is to ensure equality of opportunity. The same thing applies to your one-on-one meetings.

As a leader or manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that every individual is given equal opportunities to hear and be heard.

Favoring a few or neglecting many is not the right kind of leadership.

Even research from Salary.com shows that:

“23% of employees switch jobs every day because they have a poor manager or poor relationship with manager”

Don’t mistake one-on-one with a rebuke call

Understandably, not all of your team will be delivering results up to their full potential. There are numerous factors to consider on that part, Now, one-on-one meetings are not to blast past failings. They are for the future!

Sure, you can share suggestions on how an individual can elevate his/her productivity. You can even suggest online courses and certifications that will help them develop their knowledge and skills. But you have to be constructive.

Don’t make it all about criticism. Focus on improvement.

According to Interact Studio and Harris Poll survey:

“69% of managers are just as afraid of communication as their team members. In most cases, they are afraid to give feedback.”

Having more one-on-ones helps to build relations and remove the fear of communication.

At first, these practices might seem hard. But once you make one-on-one meetings a part of your company culture, everything will be simplified.

In the end, you have to understand that sometimes humans DO NOT need to be professional stuck ups all the time.

Make a few (good) jokes at the end of the conversation, have a friendly chat, and always say thank you before you end the meeting.

Let your employees know that you are always approachable for advice or conversations about the things which matter to them!

While people work from their beds and brush up their cooking skills, take hold of an opportunity to push forward your business into the future of remote working!

Go by the “engage, communicate, and befriend” mantra.

Now, what are you waiting for? Get cracking with your one-on-ones. Your team probably has a lot to tell you.