Improving the skills currently needed on the job
Discussing skills development needed for the role in a regular one-on-one (1:1) meeting supports professional and career development. No one who joins a team has done the same tasks using the same tools, processes, and techniques. The people already on a team face constantly changing and evolving tasks and expectations. Each team member needs to learn on the job in addition to personal development plans quarterly or annually.
These skills are about continuous learning, which is necessary to perform the tasks expected in each role. From another perspective, the employee primarily needs the skills to perform their duties. Then the focus can be on learning new skills.
This discussion topic is to support and track the progress of this development. The focus should be on benefiting the employees and building a relationship through constructive feedback and advice.
The skills necessary for the job are one of the areas where management may deviate from coaching. The manager can and should give opinionated advice to support the employee's growth.
Guidelines to the manager
The following agenda is designed to be covered in 25 minutes with a weekly cadence:
- Begin the meeting by clearing the space for discussion. Address any pressing issues or questions before diving into the topic of feedback.
- Discuss the employee's recent experience in their role. Has the employee felt that the expected tasks are unfamiliar or require learning new skills or studying to improve the existing skills? What tasks felt foreign, uncomfortable, unreasonable, or too difficult? You might ask the employee to rate their knowledge of the subject on a scale of 1-5 (with a one representing least knowledgeable and a five representing most familiar). What level of expertise or familiarity would be needed?
- Discuss the need to improve or learn new skills required for the ongoing tasks identified by the manager. The focus here is on the assignments (or tasks, deliverables) that the team needs to accomplish. If the employee already has the required skills, you can focus on how to level up - for greater efficiency or quality.
The manager should avoid long-term development plans or wishful or possible future needs. They belong in the employee Development plan discussions. - Discuss which of the skills identified by the employee, or the manager, the employee should focus on learning or improving. Discuss the relevance of the specific skill in the team and for the person where necessary. There should be an agreement that this skill would be the most valuable one to learn or improve now. If a consensus is not possible, the manager should clearly explain why they feel this is the priority area.
- Discuss how the employee could proceed to learn or improve on the chosen skill. Identify any challenges or obstacles that there might be and brainstorm solutions to make it easier.
- Summarize the key takeaways from the meeting. Establish when the progress will be reviewed, such as in a 1on1 meeting 1-3 months from now. If the employee and manager estimated the current and needed skill level in step 2, agree on measuring the progress at the review meeting.
Sometimes personal reflection on the current progress feels hard, with no clear end in sight. Consider the question, "Does it feel more difficult and painful, or do you feel more comfortable and in control than the last time we discussed this?"
It is essential to state the higher purpose of discussing learning to do the job tasks and ask for permission before quoting the employee. The environment of the one-on-one discussion is one of trust.
Copy and paste the example meeting agenda below to a calendar invitation.
The meeting invitation, calendar reservation
Title/topic/subject: One-on-One Meeting - On improving the skills currently needed on the job
Date: [insert date]
Time: [insert time]
Location: [insert room or a link to a virtual meeting]
Agenda:
- Clear the table, tackle any urgent or immediate issues (5min)
- Discuss the skills or knowledge the employee has identified from recent tasks that need to be learned or improved? (5min)
- Discuss the skills or knowledge needed in the employee's role that the manager has identified as suitable areas for learning (5min)
- Align on improving the area would provide the greatest value to the day-to-day tasks for the team. (5min)
- Identify any challenges or obstacles to learning the skill or knowledge, and brainstorm solutions to make it easier (5min)
- Summarize and agree on follow-up on the topic to a one-on-one meeting in 1-3 months (2min)
You can also send any questions in advance.
Br, [Your Name]
For a follow-up discussion on the learning progress in 1-3 months, you can copy and paste the following invitation, already at the initial meeting.
Copy and paste the example meeting agenda below to a calendar invitation.
The meeting invitation, calendar reservation
Title/topic/subject: One-on-One Meeting - Follow-up on the progress of learning [the skill] needed on the job
Date: [insert date]
Time: [insert time]Location: [insert room or a link to a virtual meeting]
Agenda:
- Clear the table, and tackle any urgent or immediate issues (5 min)
- Discuss the progress of learning [the skill] as agreed in the previous meeting. What steps and actions has the employee taken? Are there any identified needs not yet completed? (10 min)
- How comfortable the employee currently feels on the topic? Is it as painful as before or more relaxed? In what kinds of situations is this evident? (5 min)
- Discuss if there is still anything the manager could do to support the employee on the topic. (5 min)
- Summarize and agree on follow-up on the topic to a one-on-one meeting (2min)
You can also send any questions in advance.
Br, [Your Name]