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1-on-1 Conversations

An overview of our 1-on-1 conversations tool

Jared Ellis avatar
Written by Jared Ellis
Updated over a week ago

What can I learn from this page?

An overview of our 1-on-1 conversation tool

Who is this guide for?

Managers, Account Admins

Overview

1-on-1 conversations are a feature in Culture Amp to help managers and employees have more meaningful, continuous conversations. Now managers and employees can easily prepare for and conduct 1-on-1s directly in Culture Amp.

1-on-1 conversations may also be referred to as 1:1s, 1-1s, 1-to-1s, or one-on-ones depending on your organisation.

Designed by our organizational psychology experts and our team of people scientists, 1-on-1 conversations are built to drive performance, productivity, and engagement by helping managers and employees talk honestly about things that impact their work. Embedded in the tool is a predefined template that includes:

  • A shared agenda, created prior to the meeting to encourage co-creation and employee self-reflection

  • A predefined check-in to promote deeper discussion on items that impact the employee’s experience at work

  • Targeted questions to help focus the meeting on productivity blockers, not status updates

  • Shared notes for clear next steps and items to discuss in the future

Note: To ensure the 1-1 module functions as expected, it is important to set up a valid hierarchy. See: Add your Hierarchy

Once you have done that, please reach out to support@cultureamp.com and confirm that your 1-1 demographics (Manager Email, Department and Job Title) have been mapped correctly. This is a one time process completed by our support team and ensures that your manager and direct report data populates properly in the 1-on-1 view.

How it works

Create a 1-on-1

  1. The manager sets up a 1-on-1 in the platform.

  2. Next, the employee receives an email reminder 2 days before the 1-on-1 to prepare. They reflect on how they are doing by completing a short check-in and adding any desired agenda items.

  3. The manager can review the employee's check-in responses to help guide where to focus 1-on-1 conversation. The manager can also add any agenda items.

  4. The manager receives an email reminder to prepare 1 day before the 1-on-1.

  5. On the day of the 1-on-1, the two meet, adding any shared notes in the platform during the meeting.

💡 Tip: In Culture Amp Training we have courses to help managers facilitate better 1-on-1s and a short 2-page quick guide.

Create or edit a recurring 1-on-1

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  1. Locate your direct report from the 1-on-1 homepage and select Set up 1-on-1s

  2. Select or adjust the date, time, and cadence for your 1-on-1s

  3. Click Confirm to finalize and return to the 1-on-1 space with that direct report

Pause or resume a recurring 1-on-1

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  1. Select Edit Schedule

  2. Choose to pause or resume schedule in the popup

  3. Click Update to finalize and apply the change

Delete a 1-on-1

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  1. Locate the the 1-on-1 you want to delete

  2. Click Delete

  3. Click Confirm to apply the changes

Note: 1-on-1s can only be deleted within the first 7 calendar days of the 1-on-1 being created.

Capture feedback within 1-on-1

If you've got Performance on your account and the anytime feedback option, during a 1-on-1 conversation between a manager and a direct report, either employee can use the Give Feedback button on the 1-on-1 page to capture any feedback given. It's easy for both the manager and the direct report to exchange feedback using this button.

Once the Give Feedback button is clicked, a new tab will open up for the feedback to be captured.

Once Send Feedback is clicked, the feedback will appear in the recipient's employee profile. This is especially useful when performance review time comes around. Both the direct report and manager will have access to the feedback collected throughout the year to provide examples and evidence to base their self reflection and manager reviews on.

Examples

A manager can see and schedule an upcoming 1-on-1

Scheduled 1-on-1s will appear at the top of the list and direct reports with no schedule in place will appear under Nothing Scheduled.

If reporting lines change, an employee goes on long term leave or leaves the company, historical 1-on-1 conversations will be archived on this page.

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An employee receives an email reminder to prepare for an upcoming 1-on-1

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An employee reflects on how they are doing with a short check-in

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The employee and manager can update shared agenda items before the 1-on-1

Both the manager and employee can add agenda items and edit them.

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A default-agenda item is created on behalf of the manager in every 1-on-1: "Discuss check-in responses". The manager and the employee can delete this agenda item like every other agenda item.

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The employee and manager can update share notes during the 1-on-1

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What's included

What can the manager do?

  • Schedule single or recurring 1-on-1s in platform with each direct report

  • Get an email reminder to prepare 1 day prior to the scheduled 1-on-1

  • Add shared agenda items and shared notes

  • View each direct report's check-in responses if completed

  • Browse previous 1-on-1s with each direct report

  • Capture feedback for their employee by clicking on the “Give Feedback” button

What can the employee do?

  • Get an email reminder to prepare 2 days prior to the scheduled 1-on-1

  • Add shared agenda items and shared notes

  • Complete Culture Amp's science-backed check-in template

  • Browse own previous 1-on-1s with manager

  • Capture feedback for their manager by clicking on the “Give Feedback” button

What can admins do?

  • Admins can view 1-on-1 participation report showing 1-on-1 stats per department

  • Admins cannot view the content of 1-on-1s or individual information

Tips for rolling it out

Introduce 1-on-1 conversations to your organization using this communication template.

A few options for rolling out 1-on-1s:

  • Pilot it yourself or with your team for a slower rollout approach.
    Pilot with a group of managers - like newer managers or those with new hires - to get feedback on their experience

  • Or just share it out to all managers! Many customers have been successful without a true pilot.


Why our People Scientists love it

Culture Amp’s 1-on-1 conversations were created with four principles in mind:

The importance of shared ownership

We believe it’s critical for a 1-on-1 to be a co-created experience between you and your direct report. Both have a responsibility (and hopefully desire!) to make 1-on-1 conversations the most valuable use of their time. We make this possible by giving each person the opportunity to add items to the shared agenda.

Self-awareness is a critical practice for growth

We’ve baked self-reflections into each 1-on-1 to give your direct reports the opportunity to pause and reflect on how they’re doing so they can bring the most pressing topics to the table. You aren’t a mind reader and self-reflection can demystify what’s going on internally.

The best managers are coaches, and coaching comes down to questions

Google’s now infamous Project Oxygen study found that the most important skill for being a good manager is coaching. We encourage solution-focused questioning, through open-ended questions, so that your direct reports can come to their own insights, which creates new mental maps and the motivation to change.

A great 1-on-1 is a real conversation.

We created our 1-on-1 conversations to go beyond status updates and support real, raw, and difficult conversations. Research has shown that focusing on building a relationship with your direct reports can actually change their brain to be more open to new ideas and innovation. Our self-reflection questions ask about the whole person to make it easy for deeper topics to be brought to the surface.


FAQs

Who can see the content of a 1-on-1?

Only the manager and direct report can access their 1-on-1 content.

How can users access 1-on-1 conversations?

The feature is available on the top navigation bar.

As an Account Admin, can I view and export 1-on-1 data for other users in Culture Amp?

No, even as an Account Admin, you don't have permission to view or export 1-on-1 data for other users. The data shared in 1-on-1s is private between the Manager and the direct report.

What happens once a 1-on-1 is set up by a manager?

Once a manager creates a 1-on-1, both the manager and direct report can access it, update it immediately, and can continuously add or change their input.

Can managers and employees both add and see each others agenda items?

Yes, agenda items and notes are shared for both direct reports and managers.

Who can schedule 1-on-1s?

Managers are able to schedule 1-on-1s with their direct reports. At this time, direct reports cannot schedule 1-on-1s. Managers are able to schedule a 1-1 with an Archived direct report

Can employees and managers see their previous 1-on-1s?

Yes, their 1-on-1 history is available for them to browse from the same page, by scrolling or using the the1-on-1 history dropdown menu.

Can I customize parts of 1-on-1s, like check-in questions or reminder notifications?

Agenda items and notes can be customized by the manager and direct report. Check-in questions and reminder messages cannot be customized.

Can I export the 1-on-1 data?

As of now, direct export functionality for 1-on-1s is not available in Culture Amp. However users can employ a manual workaround by utilizing the command P (Mac) or ctrl P (PC) option (a shortcut for printing) and subsequently saving the content as a PDF.

Is 1-on-1s available in languages in addition to English?

Yes, 1-on-1s are available in our Tier 1 Languages

Why is my 1-1 not moving back into an Archived state?

Archived 1-1's that have their schedule reactivated will be moved out of the Archived section. The 1-1 will not move back to an Archived state but the schedule can be paused again to ensure that the 1-1 no longer appears in the "Upcoming" section

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