Lost for words? Here’s a collection of Talking Points to get the 1-on-1s going again

We’ve all been there — you’re sitting in a 1-on-1 with your team member all ready to get that good feedback session going, but what to discuss? Your team member stares at you — you stare right back and while you’re sitting there, staring, you can’t remember why you even got started on these frequent 1-on-1s and in a state of awkward silence wish you never brought it into the company.

To that there is only one thing to say: “No! Bad manager!” Don’t blame the frequent 1-on-1s. You decided to have them for a reason. And that was the right decision. According to Gallup, only “21% of employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.”

This number is yet another tell tale sign showing us how crucial it is that we hold on to the goal of reinventing performance management. It’s no longer enough to conduct annual or semiannual reviews. Employees of today want much more meaningful feedback at a much higher frequency.

But where does that leave you? You’re still sitting there — staring. Don’t worry! We’ve got you.

At Duuoo, we work with 1-on-1s every day. Our smart solution that supports 1-on-1s helps boost engagement and performance in teams, simply by making people talk. Our research-based Talking Points make sure you cover those challenging areas of employee engagement that moves the 1-on-1 from just “another meeting with the boss”, to a constructive feedback session centered around the employee’s development and observations.

Talking Points to get the 1-on-1 going

Keep reading and you’ll find newly hatched Talking Points from our experts here at Duuoo. The Talking Points cover the base themes of: Work Structure, Alignment & Performance and Work-life Balance & Well-being which you’ll find at the bottom of the Duuoo Conversation Engine.

These Talking Points spark conversation about some of the concerns and opinions that all employees have, but may find hard to open up about by themselves.

Go ahead! Try them out for yourself and go from staring to caring! (Yes, I just did that!)

Work Structure, Alignment & Performance

• Could you give me an example of an episode with your manager which was really good?
• Is there anything we could change to do things smarter here?
• What do you think a good manager is? What are his/her qualities?
• When have you been frustrated since the last 1-on-1? Is there anything I can do to help make things less frustrating for you?
• When have you felt most in sync or in control of what you are doing during the past week or so? What can we do to give you more space and time to feel that way?
• Do you know what is expected of you at work and do you have the materials and equipment to do your work well?
• How does your ideal week look? How do you prefer to distribute your hours? Please give an example of an ideal working day at the office.

Work-life Balance & Well being

• When have you felt stressed or overworked in the past year? What can I do to create a better work environment going forward so you don’t feel that way?
• Do you ever feel stressed? Even small moments or signs. In what way do you feel that?
• Is there anything here that we could do to improve work-life balance for the team? Or for you?
• Do you feel that you are often interrupted when you work? If yes, how does that affect you?
• Do you prefer work in the evenings or in the weekends? How often? How do you typically distribute your workload through out a week?
• What are the advantages and drawbacks of flexible work?
• Is there a clear line between work and freetime?

Looking for more info around 1-on-1s? Download our free handbook How To Become a Better Leader with 1-on-1s here.

Originally published at www.duuoo.io.