One of the best ways to communicate with your employee in any work setting is to have an eye-to-eye conversation. This type of communication helps both you and your employee to build trust and get information about the things happening around the office that you, as a manager, might not be aware of. However, do not expect to have a good and thorough conversation if you do not prepare for it correctly, because this is a process that takes time, attention to detail and knowledge. Here are the some of the most common problems and ways to solve them, when organizing a private, eye-to-eye, meeting session with your employees.

Finding the time

Let’s say that you manage a team of 2-3 people, then, maybe, finding time to talk to all of them might not be that big of a difficulty, but what if there are 15 employees that you need to talk to? Well, one thing for sure, is that you should know that these conversations are quite long, so you will need to plan on spending at least an hour, if not more, with each employee. This might be a difficult task for both you and your employee, since your work hours and schedules might differ. So, a possible solution for this kind of problem is to find a day or two when you can put some of your work to the side and focus entirely on having eye-to-eye meetings with your employees. It is important that the conversations are thorough, sincere and under no pressure. Finding time for this kind of meetings will show that you have an honest, caring and professional approach towards your company and its employees.

Not overdoing it

Once you find the time for all of the meetings, next thing of focus is consistency. Of course, eye-to-eye, private meetings should be held at least a few times a year, because it will help you to keep up with everything that is going around the office. Whether it is some sort of a problem, a solution, an offer or advice, or anything else that is work related. Just be sure not to overdo it. Inviting your employees to your office on a daily-basis might be a little too much, because they might not be as honest and open with you after a while, and also, they might lose motivation to attend any further meetings. Try to plan everything accordingly, make sure the meetings vary, try not to cover the same topics again and again. No one likes boring meetings, so make sure to be creative, specific and precise with whatever is that you want to talk about.

Knowing when to do it

Try not to organize private meetings when, at the same time, there are lots of other problems floating around the office. Sometimes there might be more serious problems that you, as a manager, need to solve, rather than just sitting and talking to your employees. Just keep in mind that the moments, when the tensions are high, are exactly the moments when a true leader needs to step in. People might feel frustrated or unproductive, but it is your duty to motivate and encourage them to keep going. Knowing when to organize meetings might be crucial for both you and your employees, and even though a personal meeting is a lot easier to cancel, then let’s say a department or a floor meeting, but in some cases individual is much more important than a group.