About this template
Use this meeting agenda to fast-forward through the “get to know you phase” so that you can get right down to having a productive working relationship.
Start on the right foot with a new team member using this agenda to kickoff your first one-on-one.
Use this template for free4.7/5 on Capterra
Use this meeting agenda to fast-forward through the “get to know you phase” so that you can get right down to having a productive working relationship.
Drive accountability across your entire team with a built in next steps tracker. Next steps are documented during the meeting, sent out after, and followed up on automatically. Finally, meeting follow-up you don't have to chase.
Conversational analytics that provide knowledge and resources to have more impactful, meaningful meetings. Run your meeting like a pro!
SoapBox will serve up battle-tested and recommended questions/icebreakers to help prompt productive conversations with your team. Quick-add questions to your next meeting agenda and start your next meeting off right.
Whether or not you use the full hour, you're going to want to make sure you have enough time to get to know each other better and understand how you can work best with one another. At this point in time, your direct report has likely gone through the hoops of orientation for their first week, learning about the company, how each team operates, etc. So this time should be focused more on your relationship with one another.
Maybe you touched on this a bit during the hiring process, but if not, this is a great get to know you question. Maybe you have common interests, and maybe their interests can prove to be valuable for the company. Either way, breaking the ice by talking about yourselves and spending time getting to know one another is super important for building rapport from day one.
Learning about one another's preference is a great way to make sure that nothing falls through the crack. Keep in mind that this isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. Where and how you communicate can be easily broken down by what's being communicated:
Remember that this is a get-to-know-you meeting so you should both be answering this question.
Are they a morning person? Is the time of day less relevant, whereas the location is more important? Understanding when and where your direct report is most productive will help you avoid interrupting that time, whether it's through meetings or from popping by their desk.
Start off the relationship by letting your direct report know that you care about what motivates them. If it's possible to have them focus on the work that excites them the most, they'll be more engaged at work.
Your direct report doesn't need a very specific answer to this. However, getting a better understanding of their bigger goals will give you a compass for areas you can coach them in, projects you can include them on, and generally give them opportunities to work towards their career goals.
At the end of the day, you should be rooting for your direct report to achieve those goals, whether or not it's at your company or not. This mindset will help you build a truly awesome relationship between you and your direct report.
A great book that many professionals look to when starting a new role is The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins. It's a book that helps you plan out your first 30-60-90 days at a new company.
When you're able to break up your onboarding into these three milestones, it sets you up for success. So, planning and understanding what success looks like for your direct report's first 30 days on the job is a great way to collaboratively plan 1-3 tasks that will help them reach their 30-day goal.
When you're able to help a new employee build confidence and build it fast, they'll feel more comfortable and excited to come to work every day!
End off your first one-on-one by deciding how frequently you'd like to meet and for how long. Remind your direct report that this isn't set in stone; If you need to increase or decrease the frequency or length, you can do that over time. But, it's important that you decide on when your one-on-ones will be. Try deciding on the following:
Ending off your first one-on-one with deciding on when you'll meet next is a great way to give you and your direct report something to look forward to post-meeting.
Have an amazing first one-on-one meeting with a new employee in SoapBox: a central place for all your team meetings and one-on-ones.
Our meeting management tools make it easy to prep for your first one-on-one meeting with a new employee quickly and easily. Keep your one-on-one as efficient as possible with our shared agendas and integrated meeting minutes.
Never lose track of a follow-up item again: our summary feature and action item tracker makes it easy to track decisions and next steps, right in your first one-on-one meeting with a new employee agenda.
Meaningful conversations happen when everyone in your one-on-one is prepared. Use our suggested items and agenda templates to get the conversation flowing in your first one-on-one meeting with a new employee.