How to Use Ninety's 1-on-1 Tool

Strong leader-and-team-member relationships are built through regular, honest conversations. Ninety's 1-on-1 tool gives those conversations structure: both parties prepare their thoughts in forms, meet to compare responses, and keep a permanent record of every discussion.

What is the 1-on-1 tool?

The 1-on-1 tool contains Ninety's people management features. Each feature has its own page within the tool:

Quarterly Reviews: A structured conversation between a Manager and Team Member held every 90 days to discuss what's working and what's not.
Annual Reviews: A formal, documented version of the same conversation, typically held once a year, with additional question sections and electronic signatures.
Fit Check: A quick, one-way review of how well a team member aligns with your Core Values and whether they have the Competency, Commitment, and Capacity for their Seat.

All Reviews and answers are saved indefinitely within Ninety and can be exported as a PDF.

Why hold 1-on-1s?

Completing regular 1-on-1 conversations between a leader and team member creates an environment of trust and support throughout your organization by empowering honest discussion. Relying solely on annual performance reviews has several inherent issues:

Waiting an entire year to let a team member know how things are going invites recency bias, the tendency to focus on recent events rather than overall fit and performance.
Annual reviews tend to be one-way conversations rather than constructive dialogue.
Leaders miss out on opportunities for coaching, course-correcting, and staying genuinely connected with their team members throughout the year.

Learn more in our Quarterly Discussions brief.

How the 1-on-1 tool connects to other tools

Org Chart. Reviews and Fit Checks are tied to Seats. To create a Quarterly or Annual Discussion, users need to have a Seat reporting to them in the Org Chart, and a team member must be assigned to a Seat before a Fit Check can be run on them.

Rocks, To-Dos, and Data. When you create a Review, the Time Period you select pulls the managee's Rocks, To-Dos, and KPIs into the forms, so the conversation is grounded in real performance data from the quarter or year.

Vision. The Core Values assessed in Reviews and Fit Checks are pulled directly from your company's Vision page.

Meetings. For recurring 1:1 syncs between a leader and a direct report, create a team containing just the two of you and run those meetings from the Meetings tool, at whatever cadence works for you.

Who can do what

Owners, Admins, and Coaches can see all Reviews in the company, create Reviews for any team, and customize Review questions and commitments. Coaches can view completed Fit Checks but cannot complete them or participate in Reviews.
Managers can see all Reviews they're a part of, create or delete Reviews for their team, and complete Fit Checks.
Team Members can see all Reviews they're a part of and create Reviews. They cannot view all company Reviews, Review settings, or complete Fit Checks.
Observers cannot view the 1-on-1 tool.

For a full breakdown of what each role can do across all tools, see User Roles and Permissions.

What's in the 1-on-1 tool

Quarterly and Annual Reviews — The full reference for Reviews: the four-step process, role permissions, creating, editing, viewing history, and deleting.

Preparing and Running a Quarterly Review — The complete quarterly workflow: create the Review, fill out the forms, and hold the side-by-side meeting.

Preparing and Running an Annual Review — The formal annual workflow, including the additional question sections and electronic signatures.

Using the Fit Check Tool — Complete a quick Core Values and CCC check on anyone assigned a Seat on your Org Chart.

Customizing 1-on-1 Review Questions — Tailor the commitments and questions used in your organization's Review forms.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a Quarterly Review and an Annual Review?

Both follow the same workflow: create the Review, both parties fill out forms, then meet to compare responses side by side. The Annual Review is the more formal, documented version: it adds extra question sections to the Team Member's form (Strengths and Accomplishments, Improvement Areas, and Plan to Get on Track by default) and concludes with both parties electronically signing the completed Review.

Can I run a weekly 1-on-1 meeting in Ninety?

Yes, through the Meetings tool rather than the 1-on-1 tool. Create a team containing just you and your direct report or leader, then start, join, or schedule meetings for that two-person team at whatever cadence works for you. See Creating New Teams and Introduction to the Meetings Tool.

Who can create a Review?

Anyone can create a Quarterly or Annual Review between two people. This means assistants, HR professionals, meeting facilitators, and others can quickly set up a review between any Ninety users in the company. Only the participants listed in a review can complete its forms.

Why is the New Review button grayed out on the Fit Check page?

A gray New Review button means that person is not assigned to a Seat on the Org Chart. Assign them to a Seat first, then return to the Fit Check page.

Can I edit my form after clicking Finish?

After submitting, you can click the pencil icon to edit your responses until the Review as a whole is complete. Once the meeting has been held and the Review is signed (or the forms are complete when no meeting is planned), the Review is locked.

What happens if the Manager who created a Review leaves the company?

Only the Manager who scheduled a review can delete it. If that person is no longer at your company, contact support to remove the review for you.

Learn more

Quarterly Discussions — Why quarterly one-on-one feedback conversations beat relying solely on annual reviews.

Lead, Agree, Coach — The leadership philosophy behind Ninety's Review commitments: leading toward organizational goals while coaching individuals to grow.

How to Prepare for Your Quarterly Meetings with Ninety — Practical preparation strategies for quarterly conversations and planning.