One on one conversations: a must have

Regular one on one conversations between manager and employee are crucial. These conversations align both employee and manager helping to ensure that project goals are achieved and everyone knows where to focus their efforts.

Not only are regular one on one conversations important for the success of the business, they are crucial for ensuring job satisfaction. Regular one on one conversations eliminate that ‘lost’ feeling and make sure an employees efforts are focused and appreciated. Think of them as mini coaching sessions to help an employee understand their weaknesses, concerns, and focus their efforts.

Andy Houghton‘s BusinessWeek article, Performance Reviews: It’s about ‘How’, Not ‘Why’, offers some excellent tips for managers on how to conduct productive conversations and increase an employees performance.

Through such conversations, the manager gets an understanding of what lies behind the employee’s performance, what energizes the employee, and how the employee can be best used

Do you meet with your manager regularly to discuss performance? What techniques do you use to ensure your employees are focused and motivated?