Getting the most out of 121 meetings with staff using coaching techniques

• Ensure privacy and no interruptions, turning off devices.  The member of staff should be given your full attention.
• Set time limits to the meeting.
• Ask what the member of staff would like to achieve from the meeting.
• Ask if there is anything specific, they would like to include or ‘what would you like to start with?’

• The best feedback is from the individual themselves, where they identify what they are good at and the areas for development, which shows that they are self-aware.  Therefore, this needs to be encouraged.
• Ask about their job and how it has been going, what they have been enjoying and what has been difficult.  Do not ask them to judge their own performance.
• Pick up on anything they say and ask them to expand ‘can you tell me more’ or ‘what is your experience of that’ or ‘where are you with that now’

• Expanding on what the member of staff has said, you can ask what they feel they have achieved and what they still need to achieve.
• If you want to address a specific point that they have not raised, you can ask them to tell you about …. and how they feel about it.
• You can ask what they might do differently next time – do not fall into the trap of telling them what to do, but if they are finding it hard to come up with an answer, you can use ‘have you thought about…’

• Some staff will be very aware of where they are not performing well, and they will identify it themselves.  However, not all staff will, and you may need to address specific problems directly.
• Where you have negative feedback ensure that you are factual, do not use ‘I think’, instead use ‘I saw’, ‘I heard you say’, ‘I’ve had a complaint about’ and ask them to talk you through what happened. As above, you could ask them what they learned from the situation or what they would do differently or how they might avoid a similar situation in the future.

Examples of questions that could be used;

• • What is your number 1 problem right now?
  • How are you feeling about it?
  • What would help you overcome this problem?
  • What support do you need?
  • What have you tried so far?
  • What else could you do?
• There should also be reflection on positive feedback, thinking about the reasons for something being successful, how the member of staff could ensure this happened regularly or how they might help other team members to achieve the same standard.

• Pull together the ideas that have been discussed around areas of improvement and ask what the next steps are, are there any barriers to overcome and what is a reasonable timescale for completion.
• What will be the impact of the change on themselves and others?  Imagine the benefits and rewards personally and to the wider team, clients or business.

• Identify what has been agreed i.e. the action plan that has arisen from the 121 meeting.
• This should be written down, so that there is no confusion, and both parties should have a copy.

• Ask open ended questions that encourage the member of staff to talk.  Don’t be tempted to fill in silences by talking.  Instead try saying ‘I’ll give you a minute to think about that question’.
• Using the question ‘why’ should be avoided.  This tends to put people on the defensive.
• Do not ask staff to judge their own performance ‘how do you think you are doing’ or ‘what do you think about your performance’.
• The member of staff should talk more than you.  You should ask questions but spend most of the time listening.
• Do not use ‘I think…’ this makes the conversation personal between you and the member of staff and can cause difficulties when the feedback is negative.  Stick to statements of fact ‘I saw that you….’ or ‘I heard you say…’