Building a Meaningful One-on-One Regimen
One-on-one meetings between a manager and their direct reports are a critical tool for managing human capital. When executed properly, they drive clarity around organizational priorities, lay the groundwork for identifying (and remedying) performance issues, create a rich “bottom up” source of information for managers, and, more generally, provide an avenue for developing healthy leader-member relationships (perhaps even more important in the new remote work era). While one-on-ones are valuable in just about any managerial context, they can be especially vital in highly dynamic environments where priorities/goals change often (e.g., rapid growth) and employees struggle to understand how to direct their efforts. Yet, paradoxically, one-on-ones are often some of the first things to get neglected when things get crazy.
In our work with leaders at high growth companies, we’ve heard a number of excuses for why one-on-ones find themselves on the backburner. Sometimes managers feel consumed by chaos and don’t feel like they can justify the time. Sometimes they assume creating another meeting for their employees will be counterproductive. Sometimes they overestimate their relationship quality with subordinates and assume “it’s all good” (a meta-analysis of studies shows that leaders generally rate relationship quality higher than subordinates). or, sometimes, they wrongly assume one-on-ones go against building a “team first” culture (Brad Kirkman and I debunk this in our 3D Team Leadership book).
Look closer, though, and you will find that in many cases these excuses are really just subterfuge for a manager not knowing how, exactly, to execute a solid one-on-one regimen. Luckily, there’s a straightforward solution.
Before we dive in, we note that a healthy one-on-one regimen is not just a series of informal check-ins. While informal conversations have a place, they are insufficient for driving clarity and creating a shared accountability between managers and employees. Below we offer a few simple guidelines of how you can design one-on-ones that create value:
1. Make the one-on-one a priority. Managers need to block time at an appropriate cadence and make the one-on-ones a clear priority, not something that gets brushed aside anytime a convenient excuse emerges. While the right cadence depends on several factors, we generally advocate for a once-every-two-week schedule in our Scaling for Success book. Start there and adapt as needed.
2. Make a plan. Good one-on-ones have clear expectations and agendas. They are not stodgy, per se, but they are also more than casual, free flowing conversations. Find a set of questions and topics that allow for a rich exchange of performance- and career growth-related issues, then re-visit them in each meeting to track progress, surface misunderstandings, and develop plans for how to move forward. Agendas vary by context, of course, but there are several excellent resources that can point you toward clear questions/topics you can use to structure your one-on-one’s (we’ve provided one option below, but also check out this post from Lattice as well as this article by Rebecca Knight).
3. Keep a record. One-on-one’s are goal-centric, which also means there needs to be a clear tracking/documentation process for them to deliver max value. There are several fancy tools that you can buy to manage one-on-one documentation (see Lattice and Lighthouse and HyperContext), but you can find great value in cheaper, “scrappier” options when you’re first starting out (one of the coauthors of this piece, Andrew, is currently in the late stages of developing one such option). For smaller/younger firms, even a shared Google doc can suffice (shared with the employee, manager, and an appropriate HR contact*). The virtues of documenting your one-on-one conversations include guiding progress toward goals, enhancing accountability, and providing some modest litigation protection for an imperfect performance management system (*allowing an HR contact to have visibility makes it more likely that potentially dicey issues are addressed before they get out of hand!). Note that documentation is not just a one-way street. Both the manager and the employee should be a part of the documenting process, which will allow for more accurate record keeping, better resolution of disagreements or misunderstandings, and ultimately more shared accountability (we’ve provided an example from our book, Scaling for Success, of what a shared one-on-one template might look at the end of this post).
Implementing a one-on-one plan is not complicated, but it does require thoughtfulness and intentionality. Rest assured, though, your efforts to get it right are well worth it. If you’re just starting out, we hope the guidelines above and the example below are helpful in designing a program that works for you. If you’re already well into a rich one-on-one program, we’re curious: What works for you? What lessons have you learned?
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This article was co-authored by Brad Harris, Ph.D. and Andrew Bartlow. It was jointly published by Series B Consulting and People Leader Accelerator.
Example one-on-one regimen between an HR manager (i.e., “manager”) and an HR team member (i.e., “worker”). Italicized comments represent manager remarks/comments entered during/after the meeting.
[Worker Name] / [Manager Name] One-on-one
Individual Development Plan (leave at top of 1on1 document)
1. Focus areas:
a. Learn more about & practice how to close candidates
b. Learn more about & practice how to talk about equity with candidates
c. Build skills in identifying best sources to generate qualified & interested candidates
2. What I need my manager’s support on:
a. 1on1 learning sessions and practice
Team Goals for this Quarter (leave at top of 1-on-1 document)
1. 8+ positions filled per recruiting team member (on average) for the quarter
2. Hiring manager Net Promoter Score of 10+ on 30-day post-hire survey
3. Employment branding built out on LinkedIn, Indeed, Facebook, and Glassdoor
[MOST RECENT DISCUSSION DATE]
1. What went well since our last check-in?
a. New Recruiting Manager started work and we have rebalanced workloads.
b. I agree. This was a pain point in the past and I’m excited to bring the extra resource in.
2. What could have gone better since our last check-in?
a. Onboarding took quite a bit of my time and we still need to clarify some responsibilities.
b. That’s fair. Let’s firm up team responsibilities by the end of next week. Should give the new Recruiting Manager an opportunity to weigh in as well.
3. What do you need help with?
a. Clarify responsibilities within the recruiting team and the new structure.
b. Making progress on my development plan - I haven’t set up learning sessions because I feel like I’ve been too busy.
c. OK. Deadline for responsibilities clarification is end of next week, which I’ll take the lead on and ask for everyone’s input before finalizing.
d. Before our next 1on1, please schedule one, 1-hour learning session for the two of us to work together each of the next 4 months.
4. What else is on your mind?
a. Will we continue to have 1on1s now that a Recruiting Manager is in place? How can I ensure this new hire will accelerate versus limit my career growth and skill development?
b. Yes, let’s continue biweekly 1on1s - at least for now. If we decide they’re not needed, we can change the frequency or cancel. Let’s continue to have candid discussions about your career aspirations and development progress.
5. How do you think you’re doing versus expectations?
a. I think I’m doing well. Thanks for the help resetting the expectations of my hiring managers.
b. Yes, you are doing well. Let’s get a working session on your development plan on the calendar for next week.
[PRIOR DISCUSSION DATE]
1. What went well since our last check-in?
a. Offer out to new Recruiting Manager - great skills and good fit with the team
b. Should help to balance workloads. The team is pretty stretched.
c. I agree. Let’s get the job requisitions transitioned by the end of next week.
2. What could have gone better since our last check-in?
a. Getting behind on company-wide recruiting activities as we have been interviewing Recruiting Manager candidates and figuring out how to reallocate responsibilities.
b. How have your clients responded to your discussions with them about this short-term priority shift, until we get the new hire in place?
3. What do you need help with?
a. Air cover with hiring managers and department heads as we get a new resource in place. Should help in the long term but is creating some pain in the short term.
b. You’ve got it. I’ll send a note to all your clients later today, with a CC to you.
4. What else is on your mind?
a. I don’t want my hiring manager clients to be disappointed in me. I’m feeling like I’m letting them down by focusing on internal activities (like selecting a new Recruiting Manager and sorting out responsibilities).
b. Do you think a note from me to your clients will address this concern, or can I do more to support you with this?
5. How do you think you’re doing versus expectations?
a. I feel like I’m letting my internal clients down, while doing what I’m being asked to do for our functional team.
b. You’re doing great - just communicate what’s happening to your hiring managers, focusing on the mid/long term benefits of adding a new member to our team. I have no concerns with your progress or priorities.
