October 10, 2026 · 5 min read
1:1 meetings with your team: notes template and follow-up
One-on-one (1:1) meetings between a person and their manager are among the most useful of the week, and among the easiest to lose: what's said isn't written down and commitments fade. A simple structure and shared notes make a big difference.
What a 1:1 is for
A 1:1 isn't a project status meeting: that fits in a message. It's the person's time to talk about blockers, priorities, workload, career development and feedback in both directions.
It works best when the person sets most of the agenda, when it happens regularly (weekly or every two weeks) and when each meeting starts by reviewing what was agreed in the last one.
Notes template
Date: [date] · [person] and [manager].
How it's going (in their words): [what they say].
Blockers: [what's in the way and what help they need].
Priorities until the next 1:1: [list].
Development: [goals, training, interests].
Feedback (both directions): [what was discussed].
Commitments: [who] · [what] · [by when].
For next time: [open topics].
Shared notes and visible commitments
Notes only help if both people see the same thing. Share them right after the meeting and turn commitments into action items with an owner and a date, to review at the start of the next 1:1.
In SwiftBOL, the team space lets you share the session with the other person, with its action items and comments, even on the Free plan (up to 3 people).
Recording a 1:1? Only if the other person wants to
A 1:1 is a conversation built on trust, and many people feel less free to talk when it's recorded. Record it only if the other person agrees, never secretly; in the EU, the GDPR also requires telling people who processes their data and why.
An alternative that works very well: when it ends, dictate a two-minute summary yourself in the browser and SwiftBOL turns it into notes and action items. If you do record the meeting, you can have the audio deleted as soon as the summary is ready, so only the text is kept.
And use the tool to remember what was said, not to judge anyone: SwiftBOL doesn't score people. Decisions about someone's work should be made by people; in fact, the EU AI Act treats AI systems that evaluate workers' performance or behaviour as high-risk.
Try it with your own audio
SwiftBOL transcribes, summarizes, and structures your meetings and classes in minutes. The Free plan includes 120 minutes of audio a month, no credit card required.