How to guard against proximity bias in a hybrid workplace

There are many elements to contend with in the age of hybrid work. From productivity, to budgeting, to your collaboration tech stack, planning a work day is simply not what it was in the pre-pandemic era. A growing concern among employees is whether their managers will give preferential treatment–subconsciously or not–to people who work in a physical office over those who work remotely. While proximity bias is a legitimate concern, the solution is not creating more unproductive meetings to create “face time” and bring two groups together from different locations. 

Instead, it’s making sure that when managers and direct reports do meet, meetings are intentional. Even when building a relationship around the water cooler is not an option, it’s the manager’s responsibility to ensure they have a deep understanding of their direct report’s work, goals and motivations. These five, actionable tips can help managers remove proximity bias, improve one-on-ones, and deepen their connection with direct reports so they feel more fulfilled, motivated, and empowered. 

Create a partnership agreement

The first, and arguably most important, step to improving one-on-ones is to develop a partnership agreement. The goal of this step is to discern what you each want to get out of your one-on-one sessions and create a personalized agreement. Moreover, it’s a chance for the manager to build trust and demonstrate their interest in the direct report’s unique working style so they can produce their best work. According to McKinsey, a positive team climate is the most important driver of psychological safety, and is most likely to occur when leaders demonstrate supportive, consultative behaviors, and then challenge their teams. This agreement should cover basics of the meeting to manage expectations, such as the frequency and duration of meetings, the topics to be covered, and who is responsible for rescheduling. It should also cover preferences on giving and receiving feedback, and even insights into the direct report’s collaboration preferences, or what time of day they get their best thinking done.

Take good notes

One-on-ones can be less formal than other meetings that have many attendees or a singular objective, but that doesn’t mean note-taking is any less important. Without notes and action items, it’s harder to track progress and hold each person accountable. Before managers meet with a direct report, set up a structure to capture agenda items, notes, and next steps with a clear owner. You can restructure the format as necessary, keep the agenda from week to week, or work on a quarterly or monthly basis depending on your project cycles. Remember that while notes are important, it’s more important for the direct report to feel heard and know that the manager isn’t distracted. If a manager struggles to stay present with note-taking, try capturing critical notes after the meeting is over.

Review goals early and often

According to Gartner, when employee goals are aligned to both organizational and employee needs, employee performance increases by up to 22%. To this effect, it’s important to work with employees early on to create goals that are geared toward their long-term development as well as critical work that has an immediate impact on the organization. Clear-set goals make it easier for an employee to communicate with their manager about their needs, understand what’s expected of them, and find opportunities for growth in their role. When goals stay top of mind, a manager can help identify new opportunities for the employee that may arise, even if they’re not in person. This also shows that the manager cares about the full person–not just the work they do now, but how they can grow and thrive beyond their role or even their team.

Track development

With goals in place, it’s easier to track progress–especially as the role may shift. Gartner found that less than half of employees say they update their goals following significant changes in role expectations, which points to a need for closer monitoring. Being clear about desired role trajectory can assist with proximity bias even outside of one-on-ones. Whether you’re in the office or not, if you’ve stayed up to date with your team member’s career goals and needs, it’s easier for a manager to help meet those goals if there’s a documented history of tracked career development conversations and regular feedback.

Share Kudos Freely

Too often, when someone thinks of “feedback” in the workplace, they assume it’s negative, but complimentary feedback is just as critical to employee growth—perhaps more critical for top performers. Share positive feedback in as near real-time as possible with specific information about what they did well. “Good job in that meeting” is not nearly as helpful as, “You did a great job in that meeting because your write-up was easy to follow and had helpful citations.” It helps to reiterate those kudos verbally in your one-on-one later, and also write it down in a designated “kudos” section of your one-one-one doc. Suggest that your direct report keep track of proud moments and all kudos they receive from other coworkers, too. This also serves as a helpful repository when it’s time to conduct a formal review—the accolades are already written down.

One-on-one meetings can easily turn into an unfortunate obligation if not structured properly. While we continue to navigate the world of hybrid work, implementing a framework to improve one-on-one meetings can minimize feelings of proximity bias and maximize employee satisfaction—remote or not. 

Raechel Timme is head of people and culture at Coda, a cloud-based multi-user document editor.