The Role of HR in Setting the Rhythm of One-on-Ones in their Organizations

In today’s fast changing business world, it's more important than ever for HR managers to ensure that their organizations have a rhythm of one-on-one meetings between managers and their employees. By ensuring that they are happening both regularly and effectively, HR managers can help set the tone and rhythm for how an organization runs. These regular check-ins provide an opportunity for managers to touch base with their direct reports, give feedback, assess progress towards goals, and discuss any concerns or issues.

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In successful organizations, HR managers play an important role in ensuring that one-on-one meetings are effective and happen on a regular basis. They can do this by creating policies and procedures around one-on-one meetings, training managers on how to effectively hold them, and following up with managers to ensure that they are happening. 

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In this article, we will share several pointers that HR managers can use to educate line managers on how to effectively run their one-on-ones.

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One-on-one meetings are a great venue for managers to continually learn about their employees, listen to how they feel about their current work responsibilities, about their progress and challenges, and to build relationships with them, and to coach their career growth. However, managers who don’t structure these meetings well or prepare adequately before each meeting will end up with counterproductive time slots for all parties involved. 

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Here are 5 skills that managers can use to increase the effectiveness of their 1-on-1s:

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1. Prepare your questions beforehand 

You should always come prepared with some questions that you want answered, otherwise you risk having a meeting without any purpose or direction. Planning ahead will also help ensure that you get the most out of your time together by making sure that there is no wasted time and effort involved.

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2. Think about what both parties want out of this meeting

This sounds simple enough but it’s one of the most important aspects of planning any type of meeting because it allows everyone involved to stay focused on what matters most at any given point in time (often known as ‘timeboxing’). 

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3. Ask open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are those that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. They help you get inside your employees' heads, and when used sparingly, they can be powerful tools for getting to know them better as individuals.

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4. Be sure to acknowledge progress and share aspirations

This is the perfect time to discuss goals and aspirations. You may have some assumptions about what is important to your employee, but don't make them! The best thing you can do is listen intently to them about what they want to achieve in their professional lives and try to get them there.

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5. Ask about challenges 

You may be surprised by how much information this gives you about what they're going through—and how much it helps shed light on the issue at hand!

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While 1-on-1s can be intimidating and uncomfortable (especially for new managers), they're a valuable tool to help the manager build vital employee relationships and drive engagement among his or her team members. 

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HR managers have a great role to play in supporting their organizations to achieve the goal of effective and regular one-on-one meetings.

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