Power of the One-on-One
Increasing profitability is more than just dollars and cents. All members of a company affect the bottom line. One-on-one meetings have the power to increase profits across the board, while introducing accountability and coaching into the recipe for success for your organization.
One-on-one meetings are reoccurring weekly meetings between a manager and their
direct reports. This meeting is designed for the direct report to present on their prior
weeks targets and collaborate with their supervisor on their own solutions for both
accomplishments and areas of personal growth, as they relate to their Key Performance
Measures (KPM’s). In these meetings the manager should recognize results that are on
the right track and challenge/coach any area (processes, ideas, employees, etc) that are
not producing the desired results.
The first step in harnessing the power of the one-on-one is identifying three to five
KPM's in every department. These KPM's should be static and compliment the vision of
your company for years to come.
For example, if your vision is to produce growth for your company, KPM's for a Service
Department might be increasing product retention and route sales.
The One-on-One in Action
The one-on-one strategy begins with the Route Rep presenting their weekly KPM results
(including action plans for missed goals and a plan for improved performance) to their
Route Manager. Then, in turn the Route Manager presents congruent objectives to the
Service Manager. This continues with the Service Manager presenting to the General
Manager. The final line of reporting is the General Manager back to the owner
presenting the status of the team’s KPM’s and their impact on the vision.
The success of these meetings depends on the manager providing constructive
feedback to their direct report. Optimally, the one-on-one is used to coach, encourage
and hold accountable all members of a team. Encouraging your direct report to identify
their own solutions for improving their results will not only set the standard at your
company for a higher level of performance but will develop a foundation for employee leadership.
One-on-One Meeting Keys
One-on-ones must become a routine to be fruitful for the organization as a whole and
must happen at the same time every week. Be cautious not to allow demand activities to
infringe on your weekly one-on-one meetings. Planned activities (such as weekly oneon-
one meetings) create a sense of balance and routine in a company. Ultimately, this
will enable managers to work on the business instead of in the business.
A one-on-one is powerful because it is different than a check-in. These are less about
activity and more about coaching and accountability. At these meetings direct reports
should be prepared to talk about performance as it relates to their KPM's.
These meetings should set the standard for performance. One-on-one meetings can
unite an entire organization because they occur at all levels in all departments.
The secret is to provide a venue, which allows managers to proactively manage the
business and avoid spending too much time reacting to non-KPM issues. Owning the
responsibility to deliver weekly on their prior week one-on one commitment will allow our
direct reports to achieve incremental improvements week-over-week by giving
preference to planned activities vs. demand activities.
One-on-One Meetings Equal Success For Your Company
The one-on-one as a key performance component will drive the overall success of your
company while also contributing to self-awareness for employees and a commitment to
delivering on results.
A key benefit of weekly one-on-one meetings is that managers can focus on their direct
reports instead of feeling they have to manage the entire team or department.
Instituting the one-on-one format enhances the level of ownership direct reports have in
the results produced by their department and communicates from the top to the bottom
of the organization the importance of the selected KPM's.
Simply put, continued weekly one-on-one meetings designed to pursue well-defined
KPM's will translate into the achievement of your company's vision.
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