One-to-Ones

Why one-to-ones matter

One-to-ones are the most important management tool you have. Not meetings about operations. Not performance reviews. Regular, private, one-to-one conversations with each person you manage.

Trust — Trust is built through consistency. When someone knows they'll have your attention every two weeks, they're more likely to raise concerns early rather than letting them fester.

Early problem detection — The new starter who's struggling with a piece of equipment. The team member who's clashing with a colleague. The experienced employee who's thinking about leaving. You won't hear about these things during a busy shift. You'll hear about them in a one-to-one — if you have them.

Development — People who feel invested in stay longer and perform better. One-to-ones are where you discuss what they want to learn, what skills they're building, and how you can support their growth.

Retention — People don't leave jobs. They leave managers. Regular one-to-ones that make people feel heard and valued are one of the strongest retention tools available — and they're free.

How often and how long

Every two weeks minimum — Monthly isn't enough. Things move too fast. Fortnightly one-to-ones keep conversations current and prevent issues from building up.

Same time each period — Consistency builds habit. Don't let them drift. If it's always Tuesday at 2pm, both of you protect that time.

Protected time — Not "when we get a minute." Actually scheduled and defended. If you cancel repeatedly, you're telling the person they're not a priority.

20-30 minutes — Long enough to have a real conversation. Short enough to fit into a busy schedule. If you need longer, that's fine — but don't let brevity become an excuse to skip them.

What to cover

Their agenda first — Ask what they want to talk about. Let them lead. If they've got something on their mind, deal with that before moving to your topics.

How they're feeling — Not just about work. Wellbeing matters. People bring their whole selves to work, and understanding what's happening outside helps you manage effectively.

Progress on goals — What's going well? Where are they stuck? What support do they need from you?

Feedback both ways — Give them specific feedback on their performance. Then ask for feedback on your management. This builds trust and models the behaviour you want to see.

Development — What do they want to learn? What skills are they building? How can you support that? Even small development conversations keep people engaged.

What not to do

Don't make it a status update — You can get task updates other ways. This is about the person, not the work.

Don't cancel repeatedly — It sends the message that they're not a priority. If you absolutely must reschedule, do it the same day.

Don't save up feedback — If something needs addressing, don't wait for the one-to-one. Deal with urgent feedback immediately. One-to-ones are for ongoing development, not stockpiled complaints.

Don't do all the talking — This is their time. If you're talking more than half the time, you're using it wrong. Listen.

Using Pilla for one-to-ones

Create one-to-one templates as recurring work items in Pilla. Each template provides role-specific conversation prompts that guide the discussion without scripting it. When completed, Pilla creates a timestamped record of what was discussed, what was agreed, and what actions were set — building a history that feeds directly into performance reviews and helps you spot patterns over time.

Kitchen

Kitchen one-to-ones need to address the physical demands, high-pressure environment, and development ambitions specific to each role in the brigade.

Front of House

Front-of-house one-to-ones balance service performance with the emotional demands of constant guest interaction. Templates address both.

Bar

Bar one-to-ones cover drink knowledge development, service speed, and the specific operational challenges of bar environments.

Management

Management one-to-ones focus on leadership effectiveness, commercial performance, and the support needs that managers rarely voice unless asked directly.

Hotel

Hotel one-to-ones address the specific service standards, guest interaction patterns, and career development pathways within hotel environments.

Events & Catering

Events and catering one-to-ones address the varied working patterns, changing environments, and coordination challenges unique to these roles.

Common mistakes

Only doing them when there's a problem — If one-to-ones only happen when something's wrong, people dread them. Regular scheduling means they're normal conversations, not crisis meetings.

No record — If you don't note what was discussed and agreed, you'll forget. And when performance review time comes, you'll have no evidence of the conversations you had. Keep brief notes every time.

Manager talks too much — If you're doing most of the talking, you're not learning anything. Ask questions. Listen. Pause. Let them fill the silence.

No follow-up on actions — If you agree to do something and don't follow through, you destroy trust. If they agree to do something and you never check, they stop bothering. Track actions and follow up.

Skipping wellbeing — Many roles are physically and emotionally demanding. If you only talk about performance and never ask how someone is coping, you'll miss the signs that someone is burning out or struggling.

Using them as status updates — "Where are we with the schedule?" is not a one-to-one conversation. Operational updates belong elsewhere. This time is for the person.

Connecting to performance reviews

One-to-one notes are the foundation of fair performance reviews. When you've been having regular conversations, documenting progress, and giving feedback throughout the period, the performance review becomes a structured summary of what you've already discussed — not a surprise. The evidence you need is already in your one-to-one records.