Conducting 1:1s with your direct reports

To make the best use of 1:1s and have everyone notified about the newly created and upcoming 1:1s, it's recommended that you integrate your calendar application with Mesh. Please checkout the calendar integration documentation to know more about it.

Once you’re on the 1:1 module on the Mesh dashboard, the first thing you’ll see is your entire downward hierarchy, outlining the total number of managers and reports (direct/ indirect) you have.

Just adjacent to this, you'll find two icons - the plus icon and the gear icon.

Clicking on the plus icon will open up a new "Add new 1:1" window from where you can setup new 1:1s with any of your colleagues within your organization. This is how it works,

The gear icon will take you to the My Preferences section in 1:1 settings. This is where you will get all the details of your scheduled 1:1s, including each one's timelines as well as the 1:1 template being used.

Scrolling further below, you’ll come across all your team members with whom you have a 1:1 scheduled, arranged in a card format. This includes people reporting to you as well as your manager. Along with the names, the cards also outline the number of completed 1:1s out of the total scheduled and the schedule for the next 1:1. 

Note: Mesh automatically creates your first 1:1 meetings with all your direct reports even before you login for the first time, making it easier for you to get going right away with your meetings without worrying about the operations bit immediately.

Click on Start (or Continue in case a 1:1 is already in progress) to begin the process. 

Now, before starting a 1:1, you can click on the “1:1s completed” and look at all your 1:1s in a single screen.

A very important step here is that you can link your 1:1s with your calendar by simply clicking on the blue timeline button at the top. A dropdown will appear from where you can setup your recurring 1:1 meetings, and once you save it, the same will reflect in your calendar.

‍To engage in a 1:1 discussion, click on your upcoming 1:1 which will open up a screen divided into the following 4 sections, 

1. Sentiment

   ‍The sentiment question is only available to the reportees to showcase how they’re feeling at the given moment and can only be filled by going to their respective manager’s card. This is helpful for the manager to understand the employee’s sentiment to have further coaching conversations with them.
   
   

2. Agenda

   ‍Though not mandatory, you can add agenda items from this section, to be discussed in your 1:1. These agenda items are nothing but discussion pointers to guide the direction of your sessions.
   
   

3. Standard Template

   ‍This section comprises questions as per the template (built by the admins) selected from the My Preferences section under settings. You can add comments to these questions as per the stipulated answer type. 
   A very important part about this section is you can view the entire history of comments exchanged for the particular question by clicking on “show all comments” at the side of every comment box.
   
   

4. Action Items

   ‍Lastly, action items or initiatives are tangible deliverables that reportees can track and deliver on. Just specify the name of the deliverable, collaborators (if any) and deadline (optional) for the initiative, which will then sit on the initiative panel as well.

Along with the 1:1 panel, Mesh makes it easier for managers to check on the overall performance of their reportees via the Initiatives, Goals & Competencies panel on the right hand side.

Finally, once a session is done even though the reportee can mark the session as complete, it wouldn’t still be counted as a completed session until and unless the manager marks it complete.

Further, you can also access your 1:1s from the Mesh List on the dashboard, by going to 1:1 on it. Here you'll find the list of all your 1:1s (upcoming as well as delayed) and by clicking on them, you'll get redirected to the precise instance under the main 1:1 module.