One-on-one feedback meeting overview

What is a one-on-one feedback meeting? 

A one-on-one feedback meeting is an impactful meeting that occurs between a manager and one of their direct reports. Unlike team meetings or daily scrums, these meetings will occur only between a manager and one other teammate in an attempt for the manager to provide the teammate in question with valuable feedback that can be used to shape the rest of their career. These meetings can be used to provide feedback or updates, resolve issues, or help the teammate in question grow in their role. 

What is the purpose of a one-on-one feedback meeting? 

The purpose of one-on-one feedback meetings is to create a safe space where both parties feel comfortable having an open and honest conversation. When both parties feel comfortable, you’ll be able to give and receive feedback in a safe space. It’s important to remember that everyone has different preferences when it comes to receiving constructive or positive feedback. Providing feedback during one-on-ones means you can share and document your thoughts privately between you and your direct report as opposed to in front of your entire team. 

How long and frequent should one-on-one feedback meetings be? 

Determining the length and frequency of these meetings largely depends on your unique needs and organizational preferences. Depending on how frequently you wish to meet, you may choose to host one-on-one feedback meetings monthly, quarterly, or even semi-annually. What’s most important is that you and your direct reports meet frequently enough to prioritize their career growth. You’ll want to make sure that your direct reports feel supported, heard, and understood. 

In terms of determining how long your one-on-one feedback meetings should last, this will largely depend on the talking points that are detailed in your one-on-one feedback meeting agenda. Luckily, our one-on-one feedback meeting template will ensure you spark impactful conversations that build trust and strengthen working relationships between you and your direct reports. 

How to use a one-on-one feedback meeting agenda template

The key to hosting impactful one-on-one feedback meetings is preparing beforehand. If you don’t take the time to prepare before your meeting, you run the risk of running over time or hosting an ineffective meeting. Even worse, you may not end up touching on talking points that are important to your direct reports. To avoid these hurdles, it’s best to create a collaborative one-on-one feedback meeting agenda to which your direct reports can add points and that they can use as a guide. Providing your direct report with the opportunity to collaborate on the one-on-one feedback meeting agenda will ensure that during your meeting, the two of you are able to talk about points that are important to them as well as yourself. Preparing beforehand will not only ensure you’re prepared as the host but will also ensure the direct report knows exactly what to expect from the meeting. 

Part of preparing for the meeting beforehand involves sourcing a comprehensive one-on-one feedback meeting agenda template that can be customized to accommodate your needs. With Fellow, you can simply select a pre-built template with recommended talking points, customize it to suit your

needs, and bring it to life with your direct reports during your next meetings. Fellow makes it possible for you to drive productivity before, during, and after every meeting. 

What’s inside this One-on-One Feedback Meeting Template:

One-on-one feedback meetings provide an excellent opportunity to dive into the details and help your direct reports grow. Our one-on-one feedback meeting agenda template will provide you with everything you need to host effective meetings that lead to impactful conversations that build the foundation for strengthened working relationships and career growth. This template includes four sections: positive feedback, improvement opportunities, future themes, and action items. 

1🚀 Positive feedback

List and celebrate all the wins and things that have went well.

This section of the meeting agenda is where you’ll celebrate the wins. Has your direct report recently wrapped up a difficult project or hit their goals out of the park? Take this time to let them know just how much you appreciate their hard work. 

2🤔 Improvement opportunities

Share any opportunities for improvement.

Now’s the time to discuss improvement opportunities. You can use this section to provide constructive feedback and offer any additional support that may be necessary for the direct report to move forward with confidence. 

3💬 Discuss themes

Discuss which themes you will focus on moving forward.

This section of the meeting agenda is where you’ll discuss which themes you’ll be focusing on moving forward. You should use this section to converse and plan for the future. 

4✅ Action items

What came out of this meeting? What are your next steps?

This section should be used to get granular and outline any action items that may have come up as a result of your conversation. Is there something you committed to doing for your direct report? Document it here. Have you outlined the next steps for your direct report? Document them here to keep them accountable.