What Are 1-on-1 Conversations?
1-on-1 conversations are a powerful tool designed to foster meaningful interactions between managers and employees. These structured conversations facilitate regular check-ins, goal tracking, feedback, and professional development.
As an Admin, understanding how 1-on-1s work, the available features, and how to track their usage will help you guide your organization in leveraging this tool effectively to enhance employee engagement and development.
Automatic Access For All Subscriptions
As of January 15th, 2025, 1-on-1 conversations are automatically enabled for all subscriptions, including any new customers with Engagement-only plans. This means every employee and manager in your organization will have access to 1-on-1s by default.
What does this mean for you?
If you're already using 1-on-1s: No immediate changes! You can continue using 1-on-1s as usual.
For new customers with Engagement-only plans: Starting January 15th, 1-on-1s will automatically be available for all new customers that have Engagement as a product.
If you were an Engagement-only customer prior to this update and 1-on-1s are not enabled: Start a support conversation and let us know you would like 1-on-1's enabled to get a task raised to our team.
How 1-on-1s Work
Hierarchy Setup
If your organization has a validated hierarchy, these conversations will automatically appear in the 1-on-1s conversations view.
Manual Relationship Mapping
If a hierarchy isn't validated, the tool will use a fallback demographic (like "Manager Email") to identify manager/direct report relationships. This fallback must be manually mapped by our support team and only upon your request.
To check if this has been set up already or to request the mapping, simply reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
Starting a New Conversation
If no hierarchy is set up, employees can still manually create 1-on-1 conversations with their manager.
Additionally, the "Meet with Anyone" feature allows employees to start a conversation with anyone they choose — whether that's a peer, manager, or someone outside their direct reporting structure.
Track and Optimize 1-on-1 Usage
As an Admin, you have access to the 1-on-1s usage report, providing valuable insights into how managers are using the tool with their direct reports. Tracking these insights helps you assess the tool's adoption rates, pinpoint areas for additional support, and optimize usage across teams.
Key features of the report:
Hero stats: Get a quick overview of tool usage across the entire organization.
Department breakdown: See how specific teams or managers are engaging with 1-on-1s.
Usage insights: Track engagement over time, including 7-day or 30-day periods, to identify trends and make data-driven decisions.
Guide Conversations with Assigned Topics
As an Admin, you can guide and support meaningful manager-employee conversations using Assigned Topics.
Assigned Topics allow you to assign discussion prompts to manager-employee 1-on-1s based on demographics, helping ensure alignment with company goals, encourage adoption of 1-on-1s, and spark thoughtful conversations across teams.
How it works:
Go to 1-on-1s > Assigned Topics
Click Assign a topic
Select who should receive the topic by using demographic matching (e.g., Country = Germany)
Add your topic title and note (discussion prompt)
Choose to send immediately or schedule for later
Once assigned, the topic appears directly in all matching manager-employee 1-on-1 conversations. Managers will see who assigned the topic and any additional context you include (like an annotation from HR).
Tip: Start with a small group or your own team to test how the topic appears and feels in conversation.
Want to learn more or see a full walkthrough? Check out our Assigned Topics setup guide
Key Resources
FAQs
How can I set up a custom 1-on-1 template for the organization to use?
Currently, it’s not possible to create or upload a custom 1-on-1 template for your organization. However, each individual can customize their own agenda items, such as adding their own topics and notes, during their 1-on-1.
Are 1-on-1s available in languages in addition to English?
Yes, 1-on-1s are available in our Tier 1 and Tier 2 languages.
Do Managers need to schedule a date and time for their 1-on-1s with Direct Reports?
No, Managers don’t need to manually schedule 1-on-1s. These conversations will automatically appear under Active Conversations. Just click View Conversation to open, update, or add agenda items, and the other party will be notified.
How are the 1-on-1s set up to auto-populate managers and employees?
The auto-population of managers and employees in 1-on-1s depends on the following:
Manager Emails: Ensuring that your employees have a manager email assigned.
Hierarchy Setup: Ensuring that a valid hierarchy has been set up.
Do Account Admins get access to view the content of 1-on-1 conversations for other employees?
No, 1-on-1 data is private and accessible only to the two individuals involved in the conversation.
Do managers have access to their direct reports' 1-on-1s from their previous manager?
No, if a direct report changes managers, the new manager won’t have access to the 1-on-1s from the previous manager.
Are preferred names used in 1-on-1s?
Yes, preferred names are shown only in the conversation view. In all other views, the full legal name is used. If no preferred name is set, the full name will be displayed in all views.
Can direct reports set up 1-on-1s with their manager?
Yes, employees can initiate conversations with managers, direct reports, or colleagues, regardless of hierarchy.
💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.