How to Set Up and Use Manager 1-on-1 Meetings

Last Updated: May 15, 2026

In this article: 

• Overview
• Configuring 1-on-1 Access
• Accessing the 1-on-1 Feature
• Setting Up Your Schedule
• Managing Your Meeting Agendas
• Taking and Sharing Notes
• Tracking Action Items
• FAQs

Overview

Manager 1-on-1 meetings is a paid add-on feature for Assembly. Before you can use 1-on-1s, your workspace admin must enable the feature for your organization. Once enabled, your admin will designate which users have access.

Key requirements:

• Your user profile must have a direct manager and/or at least one direct report listed in Assembly. If either is missing, you won't have access to the feature.
• Only direct managers and their direct reports can set up 1-on-1 meetings. You cannot currently use 1-on-1s with peers or other team members outside your reporting relationship.
• When 1-on-1s are enabled, both managers and their direct reports will see the feature in their home page navigation menu.

 

Configuring 1-on-1 feature access

Admins can determine who has access to 1-on-1s in Assembly by following these steps:

1. Navigate to Admin, then click Manager 1-on-1s

2. Choose who you want to give 1-on-1 access to

   1. Admins - only Assembly admins and their direct reports will have access to the feature

   2. Everyone - everyone in your organization (all managers and their direct reports) will have access to the feature

   3. Custom - all managers and their direct reports within the custom selection will have access to the feature

3. Enable the toggle to turn the feature on, turn it off to disable it

   1. When disabled, all employees will lose access to the feature; it will no longer appear in the home page navigation menu

 

Accessing the 1-on-1 Feature

Once your admin has enabled 1-on-1s and granted you access:

1. Click 1-on-1s in your left navigation menu.
2. You'll see your team (for managers) or your manager (for direct reports) listed in the 1-on-1 navigation.
3. Click on the person's name to open your meeting overview page.

 

Setting Up Your Schedule

You have two options for scheduling your 1-on-1 meetings: sync with your Google or Outlook calendar, or set up a manual schedule within Assembly.

Sync Your 1-on-1 with Google or Outlook Calendar

Calendar sync keeps your 1-on-1 schedule automatically up to date when you reschedule or cancel in your calendar.

1. From your 1-on-1 overview page, click Set up schedule.
2. Select Google or Outlook.
3. If this is your first time connecting, you'll be taken through an authentication flow. If you've already connected, you'll skip this step.
4. Assembly will show only events in your calendar where you and the other person are the only attendees. If you don't have an existing 1-on-1 event in your calendar, create one first and then refresh the page in Assembly.
5. Select the 1-on-1 event you want to sync.
6. Click Link event.

Manually Schedule Your 1-on-1 in Assembly

If you don't use Google or Outlook calendars, you can set up your 1-on-1 schedule directly in Assembly:

1. From your 1-on-1 overview page, click Set up schedule.
2. Select Manual schedule.
3. Choose your meeting frequency and start date.
4. Click Save.

Your upcoming meetings will now display in the Upcoming meetings section. You can reschedule, skip, or mark meetings as complete directly in Assembly.

 

Switch from Manual to Calendar Sync (or Vice Versa)

To change from manual scheduling to calendar sync:

1. Go to your 1-on-1 overview page.
2. Click Edit schedule.
3. Click Connect your calendar in the banner at the top.
4. Follow the calendar sync steps above to authenticate and select an event.

To change from calendar sync to manual scheduling:

1. Go to your 1-on-1 overview page.
2. Click Edit schedule.
3. Click Unlink to disconnect from your calendar event.
4. Select Manual schedule and set up your preferred frequency.

 

Managing Your Meeting Agendas

Upcoming Meetings

All scheduled meetings appear in your Upcoming meetings section. From here you can:

• View and edit your meeting agenda before or during the meeting.
• Mark a meeting as Skipped if you won't be meeting on that date.
• Reschedule a meeting (manual scheduling only).

To skip or reschedule an upcoming meeting:

1. Click the Scheduled tag on the meeting.
2. Select Skip or Reschedule.
3. You can always switch it back to Scheduled if you change your mind.

Past Meetings

Once a scheduled meeting date has passed, it moves to your Past meetings section. From here you can:

• View and edit the meeting agenda.
• Mark the meeting as Completed or Skipped.

To mark a past meeting as completed or skipped:

1. Click the Incomplete tag on the meeting.
2. Select Completed or Skipped.
3. You can always switch it back to Incomplete if needed.

Meet Now (Ad-Hoc Meetings)

You don't need a scheduled meeting to meet with your 1-on-1 partner. Click Meet now anytime to create a blank meeting agenda on the spot:

1. From your 1-on-1 overview page, click Meet now.
2. A blank agenda will open where you can add items and notes live during your meeting.
3. If you don't mark the meeting as complete before leaving, it will save as a draft. The next time you click Meet now, the draft will reappear so you can continue where you left off.

 

Taking and Sharing Notes

Assembly supports both shared notes (visible to both of you) and private notes (visible only to you).

Add Shared Notes

1. Open a meeting agenda.
2. On the right side, click the Shared notes tab (blue).
3. Type your note into the input field.
4. Click Done to save.

Add Private Notes

1. Open a meeting agenda.
2. Click the Private notes tab (grey) on the right side.
3. Type your note into the input field.
4. Click Done to save.

Edit or Delete Notes

1. Hover over your note.
2. Click the Edit icon to modify it, or the Delete icon to remove it.
3. If editing, click Done to save or Cancel to discard changes.

View All Notes in One Place

To see all shared and private notes from every 1-on-1 meeting (past and future), click the Meeting notes section on your 1-on-1s overview page.

 

Tracking Action Items

Add Action Items

1. Open a meeting agenda or click the Action items section on your 1-on-1s overview page.
2. Click Add action item.
3. Type your action item and press Enter.

Mark Action Items as Complete

1. Find the action item in your meeting agenda or the Action items section.
2. Click the checkbox to mark it complete.
3. Click the checkbox again to mark it incomplete.

Edit or Delete Action Items

1. Click the ... menu next to the action item.
2. Select Edit or Delete.
3. If editing, make your changes and click the checkmark to save or the X to cancel.

View All Action Items

To see all action items from all your 1-on-1 meetings in one place, click the Action items section on your 1-on-1s overview page.

 

FAQ

Do I need a calendar to use 1-on-1 meetings?

No. Calendar sync is optional. You can set up and manage 1-on-1s entirely within Assembly using manual scheduling.

What happens if I cancel a recurring meeting in my calendar?

If you cancel a single meeting event, it will be marked as canceled in Assembly. If you cancel the entire recurring event series, all future meetings will disappear from your 1-on-1s overview page. You or your 1-on-1 partner will need to set up a new schedule if you want to continue.

Can I cancel my 1-on-1 meetings?

Yes. Go to your meeting overview page, click Edit schedule, and select Cancel this meeting series (for manual scheduling) or Unlink (for calendar sync). You can always use Meet now to have ad-hoc meetings even without a scheduled series.

What if my calendar authentication gets disconnected?

Calendar connections can break if your password changes or your IT team updates security settings. If this happens, your 1-on-1 meetings will no longer sync with your calendar. You'll need to set up the calendar connection again. Don't worry—your past meeting data will be preserved.

Can my manager and I co-edit the agenda and notes?

Yes. Both you and your 1-on-1 partner can edit shared notes and agenda items before, during, or after your meeting. You can each add comments to agenda items to keep the discussion documented.