Discussion points to raise during employee one-on-ones and coaching sessions
The modern business sector is recognized for being dynamic, fast-paced, and busy. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, no two days are the identical. Priorities and challenges inside the organization have undergone a radical shift since then. Nonetheless, businesses all throughout the world are still debating the benefits of the customary yearly performance review conference.
In this context, holding one-time employee performance reviews only once a year doesn't seem to be effective or appropriate. Because of this, an increasing number of businesses—whether they operate remotely or in-person—are transitioning to continuous performance management.
Organisations are increasingly prioritizing ongoing communication between managers and employees while doing away with stack-ranking systems and numerical performance ratings. Regular performance and development discussions, sometimes known as "check-ins," appear to be a trend in performance management that is here to stay.
When used correctly, they are a remarkably effective tool for managing employee performance that may boost employee motivation, engagement, and productivity while strengthening the bond between the supervisor and the employee. Additionally, they maintain employee retention, which is essential to any business' success.
Regular performance reviews and coaching sessions are wonderful in theory, but implementing them into reality is quite another. Organizations often inform us that their managers are not skilled in leading meaningful performance conversations. We can help bridging that gap.
The following list of key discussion themes should be covered at these meetings in order to guarantee an organized, fruitful, and worthwhile exchange.
1. Objectives and SMART Goals
Managers must be informed about their employees' advancement toward their objectives and SMART goals. The more frequently the supervisor and employee discuss performance, the more relaxed, transparent, and truthful the employee will be about goal advancement and potential roadblocks. This is due to the fact that greater communication fosters familiarity and the idea that the manager is there to genuinely assist rather than to assess and judge.
It is possible that the person has encountered a roadblock and will not be able to complete their goals in a timely manner. In such a scenario, the manager ought to assist the employee in exploring alternatives for overcoming these challenges. Take the opportunity to consider if objectives are still relevant and productive at every meeting. As priorities change, objectives may also need to be adjusted.
2. Personal Development and Career Growth
It is important for managers and employees to have a conversation on professional and personal development. Which abilities, know-how, or strengths could be developed to enable the individual, or the team perform more effectively, to advance towards a professional goal, or to successfully achieve objectives?
In terms of employee engagement, personal development is quite important. It is well established that emphasizing training and development can reduce employee turnover while increasing productivity and morale. Every employee wants to feel that their employer genuinely cares about their professional development and is supporting it. Organizations that neglect employee development will experience a high employee turnover rate since 40% of workers who receive subpar training will leave the company within the first year.
3. Give Employee Feedback
It needs to be mentioned that feedback should be given promptly. This emphasises how important it is to make sure performance reviews and discussions happen frequently. Receiving feedback on something that went wrong some months ago is something nobody likes to hear! An employee's negative behaviours grow more ingrained and it becomes more difficult to change things around the longer a manager ignores constructive feedback.
The beneficial effects of regular feedback are statistically well-documented. Approximately 60% of respondents said in a survey that they would prefer feedback every week. The percentage rose to 72% among those under 30. Only 30% of employees say they receive feedback, despite the fact that 75% of them think it's valuable. Furthermore, almost 70% of workers claim they would put in more effort if their efforts were valued more highly at work, and businesses that regularly solicit employee feedback report a 14.9% drop in attrition.
Feedback should, of course, be given both ways. This is an excellent chance for managers to provide feedback, but employees may also provide their supervisors with feedback on current workplace procedures and how they could be improved. This is the most effective approach for a business to grow, develop, and prosper.
4. Employee Issues and Concerns
The employee has the ideal opportunity to address any problems or concerns at this time. They know they have someone working with them to find a solution, and they have their manager's undivided attention and discretion. In addition, this private setting is the ideal setting to discuss any issues the manager want to bring up. Determine the precise steps that must be taken, then establish a deadline for following up and implementing them.
5. Are Employee Skills and Strengths Being Utilised?
Every employee has particular abilities and qualities to contribute. Employees who can play to their strengths perform better, are less likely to leave the company, and are generally more engaged, according to a Gallup poll. Talk about whether or not the employee's unique abilities and capabilities are used on a daily basis. If not, consider how their position description or goals could be changed to better suit their strengths.
6. Personal, Team and Organisational Priorities
Seize the chance to talk about the team's or the organization's priorities for the next few weeks, as well as how this will affect the employee's personal priorities and objectives. The employee's objectives could need to be rearranged in order of importance or new objectives might need to be added if the focus or direction has changed.
7. Managerial Help and Support
The discussion about managerial support is important because employees need to know that management is available to assist and support them in any manner possible, whether at the office or remotely. In the upcoming weeks, is there anything the employee needs from their manager? This could involve anything from resolving an internal conflict in the workplace to setting up maternity leave. Make the most of this chance to devise a strategy for the manager's assistance. Additionally, managers ought to arrange follow-up conversations to make sure the employee's demands are being satisfied.
How Can You Ensure These Items Are Regularly Discussed?
To guarantee that all of these discussion issues are covered in detail, managers and employees must be given a defined structure for performance and development discussions. We at OneAdvanced have developed our performance management software to do this in a really effective manner. Its goal is to guarantee that regular performance discussions occur, are meaningful, and that action items are recorded and followed up on.
Use Our One-to-One Meeting Template
We’ve created a check-in meeting template that you can use to help your employees and managers structure their regular one-to-one discussions.