Using the 1-on-1 Tool

A guide to using Ninety's 1-on-1 tool for meetings, quarterly reviews, annual discussions, and more.

Written by Tommy Mains

Updated at May 9th, 2025

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Table of Contents

The 1-on-1 Tool Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings Quarterly and Annual Discussions Quarterly and Annual Discussions Customizing 1-on-1 Discussion Questions Customizing 1-on-1 Discussion Questions Completing a Fit Check Completing a Fit Check

The 1-on-1 Tool

The 1-on-1 tool contains our people management features, including:

  • Weekly 1-on-1 meetings
  • Quarterly Discussions
  • Annual Discussions
  • Fit Check reviews

Each of these features has its own page; learn more below.

 

Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings

Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings

Use the Weekly page to start, join, or schedule a 1-on-1 meeting between a leader and team member. These options are available for any team that contains exactly two people. Learn how to create a team here.

Starting a 1-on-1

To start a 1-on-1 meeting:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Choose a team from the Team dropdown.
  3. Click the Start a Meeting button.
  4. Choose an agenda (Weekly 1-on-1 is our default option).
 
 

Joining a Meeting

To join a 1-on-1 weekly meeting in progress:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Choose a team from the Team dropdown.
  3. Click the Join button.
 
 

Scheduling a 1-on-1

To schedule a 1-on-1 weekly meeting:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Choose a team from the Team dropdown.
  3. Click the Schedule a Meeting button.
  4. Select an agenda from the Agenda dropdown.
  5. Click the calendar icon () to select a meeting date.
  6. Enter the start time for the meeting based on your time zone in Ninety.
  7. (Optional) Choose when to repeat the meeting from the Repeating Meeting Cadence dropdown.
  8. (Optional) Choose a facilitator and scribe from the respective dropdowns.
  9. Click Save.
  10. (Optional) Add the meeting to your work calendar.
 
 

Agenda

The default 1-on-1 weekly meeting agenda is designed for a 30-minute meeting between a leader and team leader who have formed a two-person team in Ninety. Here's a breakdown of the agenda:

  1. Segue, 3 minutes.
  2. Scorecard, 3 minutes.
  3. Rock Review, 5 minutes.
  4. To-Do List, 2 minutes.
  5. Issues, 15 minutes.
  6. Conclude, 2 minutes.

Learn how to customize agendas or create your own here.

 
 

History

To view your 1-on-1 weekly meeting histories:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Choose a team from the Team dropdown.
  3. Click Past.
 
 

 

Quarterly and Annual Discussions

Quarterly and Annual Discussions

The primary use of the 1-on-1 tool is to facilitate quarterly or annual discussions between a leader and a team member.  Watch the video below for an overview.

 

Annual or Quarterly Discussions require the following:

  1. The manager creates the Discussion.
  2. Both parties fill out the forms prior to the scheduled meeting.
  3. The manager starts the meeting in Ninety to see both responses in a side-by-side view.
  4. The Discussion is signed and completed.

 

 All discussions and answers are saved indefinitely within Ninety. They can also be printed out through PDF.

 

 

Role Permissions

  • Owner, Admin, and Coach — Can see all Discussions in their company. Can create Discussions for any team.
  • Manager — Can see all Discussions they're a part of. Can create (or delete) Discussions for their team.
  • Team Member — Can see all Discussions they're a part of. Can create discussions. Cannot view all company discussions, or discussion settings.
  • Observer — Does not see the 1-on-1 tool.

 

Creating a Discussion

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Click either the Quarterly Discussion or Annual Discussion tab.
  3. Click the Create Discussion button or + Quarterly Discussion in the upper right.
  4. Click Settings to change any functionality of the Discussion.
  5. Title the Discussion.
  6. Add a description.
  7. Choose a "Time Period" date range for Rocks, To-Dos, and KPIs included in the Discussion.
  8. Choose a "Due Date" for participants to complete the forms and have a meeting.
  9. Identify the Manager for the meeting.
    • Initially, the Manager spot defaults to the user creating the Discussion.
  10. Click the Person icon to add a Team Member to the meeting.
    • If this user has multiple roles, select only one Seat for this Discussion.
  11. Click Create Discussion. Once the Discussion is scheduled, Ninety sends a notification email to both the Manager and Team Member involved in the meeting.

 

Only the participants listed can complete the form.

 

 

 

Preparing the Forms

After creating the Discussion, you can click Start Form or Edit Form on the right of the screen to see the status of all forms for the Discussion. For more information on how to edit the questions and options within the form, read “Configuring Lead, Agree, Coach (LAC) Commitments and Annual Questions.”

The Team Member assesses their performance and then their Manager's. The Manager reviews their performance and then the Team Member's.

  1. Click Start Form. 
    The first section assesses the Team Member on the company's Core Values, their Competency, Commitment, Capacity for the Seat, and their performance data on Rocks, To-Dos, and KPIs from each of their teams.
  2. Next, the Manager is assessed. Ninety uses the Lead, Agree, Coach assessment for Managers.
  3. Click Finish on the bottom left of the screen to submit your form, or click Save for Later to return to the form at a later date.

 

Once you hit finish, you can no longer edit a Discussion form.

 

 

 

 

Editing the Forms

Overview Tab

After you've created a Discussion, you have the ability to edit various fields related to the forms and meeting. For example, if you schedule the Due Date as March 10th, but one of the participants has a conflict, you can change that Due Date without having to delete the current Discussion and create a new one.
Editable Fields: Name, description, and due date (only the Manager can edit the due date).
Edits can only happen before the Discussion as a whole is complete. A complete Discussion can mean a meeting was held, or forms are complete (if a meeting isn't going to be held). The discussion becomes locked at that point.

 
 

Settings Tab

Accessible and viewable by both users, but only the Manager on the discussion can edit the settings.

  • Before someone starts the form, all the settings can be edited.
  • Once the discussion is started, these cannot be edited. You see the message "Discussion in progress, these cannot be changed."
 
 

 

Completing the Forms

  • Click Save for Later to save your progress at any time.
  • After completing the forms, click Finish.
  • The other Discussion member sees that the form is complete.
  • Even after completing, clicking the Pencil icon allows you to edit your responses.
  • After completing the form, click the PDF icon to export and print responses.
  • Clicking on the Discussion opens the details panel on the right showing both parties' responses after the submission.

 

Holding the Meeting

After both parties have submitted their form responses, the option to Start Meeting displays. When started, the meeting shows a side-by-side comparison of the form responses.

Tip: Run the Discussion from only one person's computer. All entries are editable within the Discussion by either party.

At the end of the meeting, each party electronically signs and dates the form — this step concludes the session. Users then mark the Discussion complete and archived.

 

Printing the Responses

After you complete the meeting, the responses are saved in Ninety. 

You can also print the responses for your records:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. On the filters bar, toggle on Show Completed.
  3. Navigate to the Discussion you wish to print.
  4. Click the PDF icon next to the View Form link.
  5. Download the PDF and print it as needed.

 

Viewing Past Responses

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Choose either the Quarterly Discussions or Annual Discussions tab.
  3. Toggle Show Completed to on. This provides a list of all previously completed discussions, along with the following details and options.
    • Manager name
    • Team Member name
    • Date it was completed
    • PDF form — you can either view it here or you can print it out for your records

 

You cannot view past responses for deleted teams.

 

 

Customizing 1-on-1 Discussion Questions

Customizing 1-on-1 Discussion Questions

Commitments are the qualities, actions, and practices your organization's leaders agree to hold with their direct reports. We've categorized these into Leadership Commitments and Coaching Commitments as described in our leadership philosophy: Lead, Agree, Coach.

Admins, Owners, and Coaches can use the 1-on-1 tool to customize commitments and questions used in Discussions.

Any changes to commitments or Discussion questions are made for the whole organization.

 

 

Customizing the questions and commitments used in a quarterly discussion or annual review is a great way to keep these important conversations tailored to the participants. Users with Manager or higher permissions can customize Discussion settings through the 1-on-1 tool.

Review questions are always open-ended written responses in Ninety, while a simple Yes or No dropdown assesses commitments.

To edit a question or commitment on an annual review:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Click the Quarterly Discussions or Annual Reviews tab.
  3. Click the gear icon on the far right of the Filters bar to open the Discussion Settings page.
  4. Click on an existing commitment or question to edit directly.
  5. (Optional) Click the plus sign on the commitments tab to create a new commitment.
  6. (Optional) Click “Add Question” on one of the questions pages to create a new question.
  7. Click the Save button when finished.

 

Creating and Editing Commitments

Access Discussion Settings by clicking 1-on-1 from the left navigation and then clicking the settings gear icon on the top right of the page to create new or edit existing commitments. Read through the tabs below to see what you can do from there.

Creating

New commitments are added to the bottom of their respective list. You can drag and drop commitments into your desired order.

  1. Click the plus sign next to either Leadership or Coaching Commitments.
  2. Click the new commitment called “Commitment Name.”
  3. Write a new title.
  4. Click Add Descriptor to add additional context (optional).
  5. Click the Save button.

 

 

Click the toggle to switch from how your team members and managers will read each commitment to increase how they'll be read and understood. You can edit the language of the same commitment in each view.

For example, the second default leadership commitment has different language for each user in a Discussion:

  • Team members will read: “I am provided the necessary resources.”
  • Managers will read: “I provide the necessary resources.”
 
 

Editing

Click any commitment to change its title and add or remove descriptors in the Edit Commitment panel.

 

 
 

Deleting 

Click the trashcan icon on any commitment's or descriptor's row to delete it.

 
 

Organizing

Hover over and then click and hold the six-dots icon on the left of a commitment or descriptor to drag and drop items into your preferred order.

 
 

Resetting

Click Reset at the top right of the page to:

  • Click Cancel Changes to remove any unsaved changes to your Discussion Settings.
  • Click Reset to Default to remove every change you've made to Discussion Settings.

Both options result in permanent changes that cannot be undone.

 
 

 

Creating and Editing Discussion Questions

Access Discussion Settings by clicking 1-on-1 from the left navigation and then clicking the settings gear icon on the top right of the page to create new or edit existing Discussion questions. Then, click on the Quarterly Questions or Annual Questions tab. Read through the tabs below to see what you can do from there.

Questions for Quarterly and Annual Discussions are always open-ended, written responses.

Creating

  1. Click Add Question at the bottom of the current list of questions.
  2. Write the new question's Side Bar Link (this usually describes the category of the question).
  3. Write the new question's text.
  4. Click Save.
 
 

Editing

Click an existing question's Side Bar Link or Question text to access its text field.

 
 

Deleting

Click the trashcan icon on any question's row to delete it.

 
 

Organizing

Hover over and then click and hold the six-dots icon on the left of a question to drag and drop items into your preferred order.

 
 

Resetting

Click Reset at the top right of the page to either:

  • Click Cancel Changes to remove any unsaved changes to your Discussion Settings.
  • Click Reset to Default to remove every change you've made to Discussion Settings.

Both options result in permanent changes that cannot be undone.

 
 

 

Looking for our EOS-specific Help Center? Click here.

 

 

Completing a Fit Check

Completing a Fit Check

Use our 1-on-1 tool to complete Fit Checks.

To access the Fit Check page:

  1. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation.
  2. Click the Fit Check tab.
  3. Click the Person dropdown to choose a team member.
  4. Click the user's row to view their completed Fit Checks.
  5. Click New Review to complete a new Fit Check for the team member selected.

 

User Role Permissions

Read this article to see permissions for each user role. Here's a brief summary of permissions for Fit Checks:

  • Owner: Can view all completed Fit Checks. Can complete a Fit Check for any team member.
  • Admin: Can view all completed Fit Checks. Can complete a Fit Check for any team member.
  • Coach: Can view all completed Fit Checks. Cannot complete any Fit Checks. 
  • Manager: Can view all completed Fit Checks for users on their team(s). Can complete a Fit Check for any team member.
  • Team Member: Can view all of their own completed Fit Checks. Cannot complete Fit Checks.
  • Observer: Cannot view nor complete Fit Checks.
 

 

What Is a Fit Check

The Fit Check is Ninety's version of the People Analyzer. This feature allows you to conduct a one-way review on anyone in your Directory who is assigned an Org Chart seat. Use this to do a quick Core Values and Competency, Commitment, and Capacity (CCC) check. This one-way review is not meant to replace your Quarterly Discussion.

You see a list of all users in your Directory on the Fit Check page. Click New Review on a team member's row to complete a new Fit Check.

 

If a New Review button is gray, they are not assigned to a Seat on the Org Chart.

 

 

Completing the Fit Check

Select +, +/-, or - for each Core Value, which are pulled from your company's Vision page. Then select Yes or No for Competency, Commitment, and Capacity. Finally, click Save.

If the user you're reviewing is assigned to more than one Seat on the Org Chart, you'll need to select one of the Seats from the dropdown at the top of the Fit Check window before conducting the review.

 

Viewing Completed Fit Checks

Click on a user's row or select a user from the Person dropdown, and then click on their row to view all their completed Fit Checks.

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