Managing Generations - Having Effective One-To-One Conversations With Gen Y

Good one-to-one sessions encourage open and honest two-way feedback between managers and their team members. Having regular one-to-one meetings is a great way for managers to work with their employees on developing their potential, without any big surprises when it comes to the formal annual performance review. Use this framework to conduct successful one-to-one conversations with your Generation Y (Gen Y) employees.

1. Make them frequent

One-to-one sessions should be held as frequently as possible - weekly or fortnightly. Try to schedule these sessions for a set time each week or each fortnight in your calendar (rather than conducting them on an ad-hoc basis). Do this well in advance and ensure you allow plenty of time so the meeting does not feel rushed. Making this commitment means that both you and your team members will be able to properly prepare for these meetings. It's inevitable that you may need to reschedule from time to time. But be careful that you don't do it often, as it gives the impression that your time is more valuable than your team member's.

2. Find the right location

All one-to-ones should be conducted in a quiet, private place where you won't be disturbed and where others won't overhear your conversation. This could be your office, a meeting room or even a local coffee shop. Remember that for some Gen Y employees, particularly those entering the workforce for the first time, one-to-one meetings are something new, so they may not be sure what to expect. Set your team member at ease at the beginning of the meeting by offering refreshments, making small talk and arranging the seating so that you and your team member are relaxed and comfortable.

Also, eliminate distractions - switch off your mobile phone and ask your team member to do the same. If you're in the office, deactivate any email notifications and set your desk phone to voicemail. This way, you won't be interrupted and can both focus your attention completely on the discussion at hand.

3. Invite self-appraisal

The aim of your one-to-one meeting is to encourage your team member to reflect on their performance since your last catch-up. Ask them open questions about what has gone well, what they've found most satisfying and if there are any challenges or frustrations that they have faced, before offering your own feedback. Some examples of questions you could use include:

• Tell me about what you've been working on this week/fortnight.

• What has gone well for you?

• What have you found the main challenges to be? How have you overcome these?

• What do you wish you could do more/less of?

Allow your team members as much time as they need to voice any concerns they may have, and to ask you for any additional support or advice. Ideally, you should adopt a coaching style of conversation. The main purpose of your one-to-ones is to find out what is going on in your team member's world, so let them do most of the talking - listen, question and learn.

4. Give your feedback

Make sure your feedback is open and honest - whether that's positive reinforcement for a job well done, or constructive criticism for some aspect of performance that needs to be addressed.

Gen Y are often said to be 'trophy kids', always eager for recognition for any effort, whether they are successful or not. In reality, though, they appreciate being challenged. According to Kyle Lagunas, writing in The New Talent Times, Gen Y employees "...appreciate honesty, even if it means getting some tough love. Although we might be surprised when a manager tells us we didn't perform up to par, don't write us off as complete dolts either. Let's talk about it, figure out where we went wrong and come up with a game plan with clear, measurable goals."

As with all feedback, your comments should be specific, as well as timely. Stick to the facts, using examples where you can to illustrate your points and explain the impact of their behaviour or performance so that they can put it into context.

What is important to Gen Y is regular feedback that helps them develop their skills and progress their careers. Given this generation's propensity for moving quickly between jobs, it's important to keep them engaged and motivated in their role, so use your one-to-ones as an opportunity to acknowledge their achievements and to set them on the right course if they need to do something different.

5. Conclude the meeting

When your time is up, bring the meeting to a close by asking your team member if they have anything else they want to discuss. If there's something that needs to be addressed in more detail, agree to meet at a future date. Summarise any actions that need to be taken by either of you, and by when. It's also a good idea to follow this up with an email to restate this. And don't forget to thank your team member for their good work - it shows that you value and appreciate their time and input.

Reference:

Kyle Lagunas, 'Performance Reviews: A Generation Y Perspective', Available at: http://blog.envisialearning.com/performance-reviews-a-generation-y-perspective/

In this study, Gen Y’s top three priorities in the workplace were found to be: challenging/interesting work; a high salary and advancing their career. Sue Honoré and Dr Carina Paine Schofield, ‘Generation Y Inside Out: A Multi-Generational View of Generation Y - Learning and Working’ (Spring 2009). Available at: http://tools.ashridge.org.uk/website/IC.nsf/wFARATT/Generation%20Y:%20Inside%20Out.%20A%20multi-generational%20view%20of%20Generation%20Y%20-%20learning%20and%20working/$file/GenerationYInsideOut.pdf