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How often should you have 1 on 1s with employees?

Weekly, for 30 minutes, is the best default for a new manager, and the right rhythm for new hires, struggling employees and anyone on a fast-changing project. Every two weeks works for experienced people who are doing well, if you talk in between. Monthly is too far apart for most direct reports: a lot can go wrong in four weeks. More important than the number is that the meeting doesn't get cancelled.

The question sounds simple, but the answer changes with the person, the size of your team and how much else you talk. Below: what the research and well-known managers say, a table by situation, the time maths for teams from three to twelve, a sample week, how long each one should be, when to change the rhythm, what to do when you have to cancel, and how to ask the person what they want.

What the research and experienced managers say

There isn't a study that proves one exact frequency is best. What there is points the same way: regular, frequent, and not skipped.

• Gallup, in its State of the American Manager report, found employees whose managers hold regular meetings with them are almost three times as likely to be engaged as employees whose managers don't. Gallup's wider advice is that managers should have a meaningful conversation with each person at least once a week.
• Andy Grove, who ran Intel, argued in High Output Management that how often you meet should depend on how experienced the person is at the specific task: frequent meetings for someone new to the work, less often for someone who has done it many times.
• Employees' own answers vary. Workleap analysed more than 30,000 employee feedback messages from its Officevibe tool (2017–2020) that mentioned how often they wanted to meet their manager: monthly or every two weeks was the most common (25% of messages), weekly or more came next (22%), and daily 8%. That's a vendor's own data, but it shows that "what employees want" isn't one answer.

The practical reading: start weekly, adjust by person, and ask them.

How often, by situation

Monthly 1:1s are a fallback, not a default: for people you work beside every day on a very small team, or when your team is so large that weekly is impossible (see below). Even then, a quick 15-minute check-in in between helps.

The time maths: teams of 3 to 12

New managers often worry that weekly 1:1s will eat their week. Here's what they actually cost:

For a team of five, weekly 1:1s are about 2.5 hours out of a 40-hour week. That's usually the best-spent time a manager has, because it replaces a lot of interrupted, unplanned conversations later. Above about ten reports, weekly 30-minute meetings get hard to protect. Options then: every two weeks for the most experienced, 20-minute meetings for some, or a mix.

A sample week for a manager of six

Clustering 1:1s helps you keep them. One way to lay out six weekly meetings:

A few rules that help: set them as recurring calendar invites so they exist by default, keep the same day and time each week, and keep a five-minute gap after each one to write two lines of notes.

Want words like these ready every morning? Take the 2-minute quiz and get a 10-minute lesson and one script a day, for the meetings you lead.

How long should a 1 on 1 be?

• Weekly: 30 minutes. Long enough for their topics, yours, and one bigger question; short enough to keep every week.
• Every two weeks: 30 to 45 minutes, because more has happened.
• Monthly: 45 to 60 minutes, and add short check-ins in between.
• The first one with each person: 45 minutes. Our guide to the first one on one meeting with an employee has an agenda for it.

Grove recommended at least an hour per meeting, which suits senior people with complex work. Most new managers find 30 minutes weekly easier to keep, and a meeting you keep beats a longer one you cancel. If you finish early, end early. For what to do with the 30 minutes, see how to have an effective 1 on 1 and our one on one meeting templates.

When to change the rhythm

Meet more often when:

• someone is new, or new to a task;
• work has started to slip, or you've raised a performance concern;
• there's a big change: a reorganisation, a new project, a new tool;
• they're going through something personal and want the contact;
• the meetings keep running out of time.

Meet less often when:

• the person is experienced, doing well and asks for it;
• the meetings keep ending in ten minutes with nothing to say, even after you've tried better questions;
• you work side by side all day and talk constantly (but keep a regular private slot: some things don't get said at the next desk).

Say why you're changing it, so it doesn't read as a judgement either way: "You've got this project well in hand. Want to move to every two weeks and keep chat open in between?" Or: "With the launch coming, let's go weekly for the next month."

Ask them what they want

The person on the other side of the table has a view, and asking for it is a good first-month question:

Most people say weekly is fine. Some will ask for less. If someone asks for less and you have a reason for weekly (they're new, there's a concern, there's a big project), say so: "Let's keep weekly until the launch, then look again."

When you have to cancel

Cancelling 1:1s is the most common way they fail. Every cancellation tells the person something else is more important than them. When you have to:

1. Move, don't cancel. Offer another time the same week: "Can we move to Thursday at 11?"
2. Shorten rather than skip. Fifteen minutes beats nothing.
3. Do it yourself, with a reason. "I've been pulled into the client call; sorry. Can we do Thursday?" Not a silent calendar change.
4. Never cancel twice in a row with the same person.
5. Let them cancel. If they have nothing this week and they're doing well, that's fine. If they cancel often, ask why.

Holiday weeks and busy launch weeks are when 1:1s matter most and get cancelled most. Book them anyway.

Other kinds of 1:1s and how often

• Your 1:1 with your own boss: weekly or every two weeks. Ask for it if it doesn't exist. Bring your own agenda.
• Skip-level 1:1s (you with your reports' reports, or your boss's boss with you): every one to three months is common. See our skip level meeting questions.
• Career conversations: a separate, longer 1:1 once a quarter, so growth doesn't get squeezed out by this week's problems.
• Performance check-ins on a plan: weekly, with a short written note each time.

Mistakes with 1:1 frequency

• Starting monthly to "save time." It costs more later in problems you hear about too late.
• Different frequencies with no reason. If one person gets weekly and another monthly, they'll compare. Say why.
• Making weekly a status update. If 1:1s are just reporting, people will want fewer. Status can go in a shared doc; the 1:1 is for what can't.
• Only meeting when there's a problem. Then every invite feels like bad news.
• Never reviewing the rhythm. Look at it every quarter, per person.

Curious what your own management style is? The free leadership style quiz takes about two minutes and names it, with the conversations it tends to skip.

Questions about 1 on 1 frequency

How often should a manager have 1 on 1s?

Weekly, 30 minutes, is the best default. Every two weeks works for experienced people doing well. Monthly is too far apart for most.

Are weekly 1 on 1s too much?

Not usually. For five reports, they take about 2.5 hours a week. If a weekly meeting keeps running short with nothing to say, try different questions first, then move to every two weeks.

Are monthly 1 on 1s enough?

For most direct reports, no: problems can grow for weeks before you hear about them. If monthly is all you can manage, add short check-ins in between.

How long should a 1 on 1 meeting be?

30 minutes weekly, 30 to 45 minutes every two weeks, 45 to 60 monthly. The first one with each person, 45 minutes.

Should I have 1 on 1s with every employee?

Yes, with every direct report, at a rhythm that suits each one. Part-time or shift staff can have shorter, less frequent ones inside their paid hours.

Is it OK to cancel a 1 on 1?

Move it rather than cancel it, and never twice in a row. If the person wants to skip one because they're doing well, that's fine.

Next: read how to have an effective 1 on 1, take the free leadership style quiz, or browse all our guides for new managers.

Sources

• Gallup, State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders, 2015: https://www.gallup.com/services/182138/state-american-manager.aspx
• Andrew S. Grove, High Output Management, Random House, 1983 (Vintage edition 1995).
• Workleap, "How often should you have one-on-one meetings with employees?": https://workleap.com/blog/one-on-one-meetings-frequency
• Fellow, "One-on-one meeting frequency": https://fellow.app/blog/2019/one-on-one-meeting-frequency
• PerformYard, "The HR guide to one-on-one meetings": https://www.performyard.com/articles/one-on-one-meetings