Use the 1-on-1 agenda

In 15Five, the 1-on-1 agenda allows you to enhance and streamline your one-on-one meetings and record the most important learnings all in one place. It is a place for two people, usually a manager and direct report, but can also be two teammates. The agenda allows both people to add and track talking points, action items, and notes—following in line with 15Five's focus on continuous feedback. In this article, we break down each component of the 1-on-1 agenda and the functionality within. 

Video 🎥: How to use 1-on-1s

Talking points

Meeting participants can add talking points directly to the 1-on-1 agenda at any time before the meeting. Talking points added will appear on the other person's agenda in real time. Collaboration FTW! Notice: Talking points can be added by either person included in the 1-on-1. 

Mark talking points as complete or leave them incomplete

Unchecked talking points will carry over to your next 1-on-1 agenda without any intervention! These unchecked items will appear in the 'Talking points' section again.

Checked off/discussed talking points will not appear on the following 1-on-1 agenda, as they have been talked about and checked off the list. 

Repeating talking points

Any talking point on any 1-on-1 agenda can be marked as "repeating"! To mark a talking point as repeating: hover over or click into the talking point field, and then click the repeating icon.

• If the repeating talking point is not checked off, it will act like any other unchecked talking point and roll over to the next 1-on-1 agenda.
  • All comments and attachments will roll over with the talking point, just as they would for any talking point that is not checked off.
• If the repeating talking point is checked off, it’s like a brand new one was automatically added to the next 1-on-1 agenda. 
  • If a repeating talking point has comments and/or attachments associated with it and is checked off, the repeating talking point on the next 1-on-1 agenda will be a “fresh copy” and will not have any of the comments and/or attachments in it. It acts like a brand new talking point was added.

Talking points—answers added from Check-ins

Important insights or answers can be pulled directly from a Check-in into a 1-on-1 meeting agenda for further focus and discussion. Upon adding an item to your 1-on-1 agenda, rename the talking point with a title that's easy to remember, since that title will appear on your 1-on-1. Below is a screenshot of a Check-in whose answer is being pulled into a 1-on-1 agenda.

Add comments to a talking point

Talking points are just the beginning of the conversation. Often times, there is a larger discussion that takes place around the talking point. Though you can add general notes in the private/shared notes fields, adding comments in line with the talking point make remembering what was discussed much easier. You can make note of what was talked about for future reference by using the comment on talking point option. It is a chat bubble icon with a + sign in the middle. If you click it, a comment box will appear, allowing you to add deeper context to a specific talking point. 

• Comments can be added by either person and are visible to both people in the 1-on-1.
• After a comment is added, the other person in 1-on-1 will be notified via in-app notification feed and email (if enabled).
• Comments are not included in the '1-on-1 has been ended email'.

Action items 

List out any action items that need to be accomplished between this meeting and the next, and assign them to an owner to denote responsibility. In order to assign an action item to the other person, click on the avatar to the left of the text field and select the other person.

Once you assign to the other person, you will no longer be able to edit the action item. If you need to edit, you can always reassign back to yourself, edit, and then assign to the other person again.

Previous and new action items 

Action items can be added any time before the 1-on-1 is ended. Action items added will appear on the other person's agenda in real time. Collaboration station!

These existing action items will take one of two paths after your 1-on-1 is ended.

• Unchecked action items from the current agenda will appear under the 'Previous action items' section on the following 1-on-1.
• Completed/checked action items will not appear on the following 1-on-1.

We also have a section called 'New action items', which is for adding action items for the current 1-on-1.

A list of previous and new action items, along with owners, will be emailed to the participants once the 1-on-1 has ended. 

Add comments to an action item

Action items might not be as simple as, "Did you do the thing or not?". Though you can add general notes in the private/shared notes fields, adding updates and/or comments in line with the action item make it easier for both people to know the latest status. Use the chat bubble icon with a + sign in the middle to the right of the action item to add comments. If you click it, a box will appear, allowing you to add deeper context the action item.

• Comments can be added by either person and are visible to both people in the 1-on-1.
• After a comment is added, the other person in 1-on-1 will be notified via in-app notification feed and email (if enabled).
• Comments are not included in the '1-on-1 has been ended email'.

Notes

Leave shared and/or private notes about this meeting. Private notes are only be visible to the person who added them, and will not be included in the summary email. Shared notes are updated in real-time, will be included in the summary email, and can be edited anytime—even after the 1-on-1 has been ended.

Summary

An email will be sent to both 1-on-1 parties following this meeting with a summary of all talking points, action items, and any shared notes. Private notes will not be included in any emails. 

1-on-1s between a manager and direct report will be automatically created as soon as the previous 1-on-1 has ended. If the 1-on-1 is not between a manager and direct report, a new 1-on-1 will need to be created manually.

Blog Post 🗒: How To Make Your One On One Meetings More Effective

One Pager 🗒: 1-on-1s

Video 🎥: 1-on-1s: Proven Effective Since the Stone Age Webinar

Tips to up-level your 1-on-1s

There are ways to enhance your 1-on-1 agenda, allowing for deeper conversation and less tactical run around.

1️⃣ The Copy link to 1-on-1 option can be found on your 'My 1-on-1s' page (see the screenshot below) or on any 1-on-1 agenda. What does it do? It copies a static link that will always take you and the other person to your current 1-on-1 agenda. This is especially helpful when the link is pasted into an existing calendar invite, as it will always direct both people to their current 1-on-1. Even better, do this for everyone that you have a standing 1-on-1 with so that you can easily get to your most current 1-on-1 agenda as soon as the meeting begins. 

2️⃣ Set your 1-on-1 to be recurring, just like your 1-on-1 calendar invite. Options are endless—weekly, every two weeks, monthly, or every other month. With recurring 1-on-1s, 15Five to auto creates, schedules, and ends 1-on-1s to help keep your agendas fresh and accurate. 

3️⃣ The below enhancements exist across talking points, action items, and shared notes and are helpful to keep your 1-on-1s content organized. 

• Make any talking point or action item private using the lock icon. 
• Use the text formatting options to bold or italicize text.
• Add a hyperlink to your text by highlighting the word(s) and using the link icon.
• Create a bulleted or numbered list.
• Add an attachment to your agenda using the paperclip icon.

And one final reminder—talking points, action items, and shared notes are updated for both people in real time. You and the other person in the 1-on-1 will always be on the same page, with the most up-to-date information before, during, and after your 1-on-1.