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Learn key tips and best practices for having effective one-on-one meetings for software engineers.
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One-on-one meetings are the cornerstone of your career development and a critical way for you to get feedback and guidance from your manager. But when t becomes too frequent, it can be intimidating.
What if you come unprepared or get nervous and forget everything you wanted to talk about? What if you can't think of what to talk about?
This article will explore one-on-one meeting best practices from a software engineer’s perspective. And with this cheat sheet and one-on-one hacks, you’ll be running one-on-one meetings like a pro in no time.
Let’s begin.
The purpose of one-on-one meetings is to create a safe space to exchange positive and constructive feedback. Taking ownership of one-on-one meetings with your manager ensures that you’re proactive about tackling issues and employee performance.
As a software engineer, working hard to deliver projects in due time can be very stressful for software developers. Your manager can assign tasks, track your personal and professional progress, and receive updates on your milestones and personal vision for each project.
Scheduling regular 1:1 meetings will help you build discussion points with your manager. They can include creating opportunities for receiving the help and support you need to nail your KPIs and achieve your goals.
One-on-one sessions for software engineers are also a great time to discuss these pressures and find ways to reduce/prevent burnout and boost programming productivity. Withconstructive one-on-one meeting questions, your manager can also gain insight into your personality and professional goals.
Other reasons to have one-on-ones with your manager include:
As important as one-on-one meetings are, they can often get awkward. To avoid this, and have high-performing meetings with your manager, read - How To Prepare For A One-on-One Meeting With Your Manager
During a 1:1 meeting, you can discuss anything from ongoing projects to your accomplishments, career developments, team developments, work concerns, and even hobbies.
Knowing what to discuss in a one-on-one starts with having dedicated time and a kickass agenda. Agenda templates help you create a detailed checklist for an effective one-on-one meeting. And what you choose to discuss typically depends on your current needs.
Of course, there are certain things you should not discuss during a one-on-one. And while there are particular needs for different meetings, the structure of 1:1 meetings should follow the same pattern:
Once you decide what you’d like to discuss during your 1:1, it’s essential to know the right questions to ask and when.
These questions will help you gain insight into your team, your manager’s personality and your career goals. You’ll also ensure that both parties get the most out of the meeting. Note that your manager will also have questions for you.
Assembly | How to set up and answer a One on One workflow
Need more good one on one questions to ask your manager? Check these out.
The best time to schedule one-on-one meetings is every two weeks. Although some companies prefer weekly meetings, this frequency usually creates a balance between effective time management and regularity.
How so?
Well, cadence and regularity are important for one-on-ones, but you also need to consider relevance. Weekly one-on-one meetings are popular, but they can become too frequent for the level of autonomy you have at work.
Tech teams typically use collaboration tools for communication. This means that many issues are addressed in real time, and having another 1:1 every week can become boring with little to nothing to talk about.
In cases where there’s so much going on that needs to be addressed immediately; you can request to schedule a one-on-one within a week of the previous meeting. The key here is flexibility and not a mindless routine.
Yes, you can. You may have weekly one-on-ones fall during a short week, like when there’s a holiday during the week, or you or your manager are out sick, you can skip the meeting for the next week. Whatever the case, remember that flexibility and reasonableness play a part in the cadence of your 1:1 meetings.
One-on-one meetings are typically focused on improving manager-employee relationships. Hence, they can be held before, during, and at the end of a project. One-on-one meetings are not the time for giving project reports.
They are used to manage your challenges, career aspirations, team bonding, and areas for improvement. Other meetings like sprints, daily standups, and performance reviews are better opportunities for discussing project goals, challenges, and outcomes.
To ensure that your one-on-one is effective and beneficial for both parties, you should:
Let’s talk more about these tips.
If your plan is to ‘just wing it’ during your one-on-one, you’ll end up wasting your time and probably pissing off your boss. Plan and structure your meeting to follow a professional but friendly flow.
Create an agenda and write out your talking points. Since one-on-ones are collaborative, you also need to share the agenda with your manager so they know what to expect and can also prepare ahead of time.
One-on-one meetings with your manager are more beneficial when they are short, sweet, and effective. This way, both parties stay engaged all through and can get back to doing actual work. A 30-minute meeting is usually enough to discuss pending issues. Stick to asking relevant work-related questions and avoid inappropriate topics and/or jokes.
Ditch your laptop. If possible, try to take handwritten notes. This reduces your chances of distraction and shows that you’re paying attention to details. You can also easily review your notes during the next meeting.
Remember to ask for and give positive and constructive feedback during your one-on-one. Because they are more personal, one-on-one meetings are an excellent opportunity to talk freely and share your thoughts and concerns without fear of backlash or wondering how other team members may react.
A one-on-one meeting with your manager that does not end with detailed action points is a waste of time. Outlining next steps helps both parties know what is required of them. It also helps measure the meeting outcome and is a great ay to track progress during the next meet
Initiating and facilitating one-on-one meetings with your manager can seem like a lot of work. But, in the long run, it benefits you and your entire team and can be the secret weapon your manager needs to lead efficiently. You’ll be able to make better decisions and get the support you need to deliver quality, timely work every time. You’ll also be able to address situations before they become serious issues.
Ready to get started? Use this detailed one-on-one with a manager template. Ensure structure, efficiency, and transparency with Assembly’s workflow tools. Schedule a call today now to learn more.
Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.
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Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.
There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.
Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.
The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.
We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.
Yes. We offer a completely free plan for up to 50 team members. This plan is intended for teams or organizations that are looking to get started with an employee engagement tool. Keep in mind, this plan is limited in features.
All customers can open an Assembly account for free and get started without a credit card. Then you can change plans as necessary.
At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.
The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.
We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.
Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!
While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.
Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.
Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.
That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.
They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.
No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.
Please schedule time with an expert and we will help you to get all your questions answered
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