Managing one-to-ones

caviardreams

Hello

My new year resolution is to keep on top of my one to ones better in terms of managing them and streamlining them etc. - I have 9 or 10 per week for each of my direct reports so was thinking of using an online tool to share the agenda with each individual and recording follow ups etc. as sending emails is unwieldly and time consuming. We don't have access to much in the way of software (really only use stuff like microsoft teams and email) - are there any good free tools? I find in the virtual world they really take up a big chunk of time in terms of the admin around them as well. I am hoping it gets a little easier if we ever get back to some face to face before I retire :eek:

Thanks

listermint

10 one to ones per week is far too many it means you haven't set long term goals or projects that have length in them. And could also mean you've less trust in the individual team members.

You should really be looking at biweeklys and a large single team based weekly check up.

This sounds like meetings for the sake of meetings.

long_b

You should be getting the direct reports to take the notes and the actions and email them to you.

caviardreams

listermint wrote: »

10 one to ones per week is far too many it means you haven't set long term goals or projects that have length in them. And could also mean you've less trust in the individual team members.

You should really be looking at biweeklys and a large single team based weekly check up.

This sounds like meetings for the sake of meetings.

It's a very diverse team and everyone has a different role - e.g. not all sales or not all IT etc. so team meetings are a challenge as one person's issues won't be relevant to anyone else's. I used to meet a lot less regularly but with some individuals communication was difficult with motivation and projects dropping off and work not getting done from one meeting to the next - not sure how to fix this? I would LOVE less meetings tbh.

I've asked the team for agenda items, to send on follow-ups etc. but many of them don't engage - there isn't really a culture of it. Some of the team are great, but with others my emails go unresponded to a lot of the time.

Augme

caviardreams wrote: »

I've asked the team for agenda items, to send on follow-ups etc. but many of them don't engage - there isn't really a culture of it. Some of the team are great, but with others my emails go unresponded to a lot of the time.

If the emails are in need of a response you need to out the foot down here. Sounds like you are allowing yourself to be walked in about.

If you don't nip stuff like that in the bud early on you'll just find yourself on a slippery slope and being taken advantage of. You need to tell those team members that a response to emails is expected and make that clear.

StupidLikeAFox

Hi OP, look into setting up a Kanban board with a tool like Asana. Microsoft teams has a version as well. Basically you can set it up a task on it, give it a status, add notes etc. When you have your weekly meeting you can use that to guide the conversation - why is this late? Is this closed out? This has been open 3 weeks and doesn't seem to be moving etc etc. Keeps everyone honest, stops things falling through the cracks and gives a good idea of current workloads at a glance

accensi0n

At the very least in the short-term, move your more self-driven and capable directs to bi-weekly.

listermint

StupidLikeAFox wrote: »

Hi OP, look into setting up a Kanban board with a tool like Asana. Microsoft teams has a version as well. Basically you can set it up a task on it, give it a status, add notes etc. When you have your weekly meeting you can use that to guide the conversation - why is this late? Is this closed out? This has been open 3 weeks and doesn't seem to be moving etc etc. Keeps everyone honest, stops things falling through the cracks and gives a good idea of current workloads at a glance

This is good. But realistic ETA dates are vitally important and the dates should come from the owner of the task.

Mrs OBumble

listermint wrote: »

10 one to ones per week is far too many it means you haven't set long term goals or projects that have length in them. And could also mean you've less trust in the individual team members.

You should really be looking at biweeklys and a large single team based weekly check up.

Disagree totally, though it depends on what you mean by 1-1's, and also on the composition of the team.

If you have 10 direct reports, and especially if you are working remotely you should be making time to check in with each one at very least weekly, if not daily.

For detailed project / progress reviews, frequency depends on the consequences of delays and likelihood that staff will resolve issues without input. In some circumstances monthly is ok. In others, daily stand-ups are needed.

For in-depth coaching, it depends on the career-stage and needs of each staff member. Some will need weekly, others hardly any.


Regarding technology - what's the HR expectation in the company? Do 1-1 outputs feed into the PMS? Can write-ups be done during the meeting? Seems to me it's actually less of a tech question and more about how it's used.


I presume you're familiar with this classic management article? https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey

caviardreams

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Disagree totally, though it depends on what you mean by 1-1's, and also on the composition of the team.

If you have 10 direct reports, and especially if you are working remotely you should be making time to check in with each one at very least weekly, if not daily.

For detailed project / progress reviews, frequency depends on the consequences of delays and likelihood that staff will resolve issues without input. In some circumstances monthly is ok. In others, daily stand-ups are needed.

For in-depth coaching, it depends on the career-stage and needs of each staff member. Some will need weekly, others hardly any.


Regarding technology - what's the HR expectation in the company? Do 1-1 outputs feed into the PMS? Can write-ups be done during the meeting? Seems to me it's actually less of a tech question and more about how it's used.


I presume you're familiar with this classic management article? https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey

Thanks. Yes the remote context is a factor - I would hope with a partial return to the office in 12 months or whatever that this could be reduced in frequency to former levels - I think adapting to the remote aspect has been the challenge. There is a real reluctance for some people to take accountability and ownership of things - this has probably developed over time so I am gradually trying to reduce this but it's difficult without coming across as passing the buck which hasn't been going down well. Will look at that article - thanks.

I guess I was looking for a technology tool to help streamline things better - and maybe a more formal system might highlight the "to do's" and actions for people in a more obvious way that's harder to just ignore - having it on an online to-do list or whatever might make them feel they need to progress things themselves a bit more as the outstanding issues are more visible. I don't want to rile them up though and make them feel micromanaged by listing out tasks and following up see where things are etc. and expecting updates

Jim2007

caviardreams wrote: »

Hello

My new year resolution is to keep on top of my one to ones better in terms of managing them and streamlining them etc. - I have 9 or 10 per week for each of my direct reports so was thinking of using an online tool to share the agenda with each individual and recording follow ups etc. as sending emails is unwieldly and time consuming. We don't have access to much in the way of software (really only use stuff like google docs and email) - are there any good free tools? Or any other tips on how to manage them more effectively would be great - I find in the virtual world they really take up a big chunk of time in terms of the admin around them as well. I am hoping it get s a little easier if we ever get back to some face to face before I retire :eek:

Thanks!

You and your team will need to be very disciplined if you intend to use tools in the public domain. You can very quickly find yourself in breach of data protection laws, especially if a disgruntled employee makes a formal complaint.

LimeFruitGum

In my last job where I had direct reports, I set up a Microsoft OneNote per person. A tab per year for 1-1s, tab for Compliments & Issues - I would use the OneNote functionality in Outlook to populate the C&I tab automatically whenever I saw something in email. Then again, I never had more than 3-4 reports so I could maintain this easily enough. I am not sure how scalable this is, especially if you have to do a lot of development with up to 10 people. But technically, you could share selected OneNote tabs or files, with the employee. It worked well for me, but this was before I learned about Agile.

I really like the Kanban suggestion. I use StupidLikeAFox’s method in my current company too, we are trying to develop that kind of Agile mindset with non-IT teams. That very much focuses on 1) What must be done, 2) What are you working on 3) What’s next, where do you need help. Kanban reduces admin / reporting overhead for everyone. Have a look into Agile practices: breaking down tasks into bite-size chunks, planning your weekly (or whatever) sprint with the team. Making work more transparent may be uncomfortable at first, but let’s see this as an opportunity for improvement. They can move the Kanban card from In Progress to Done when they complete a task. Yay. No extra emails, you see an updated task status in MS Teams Planner.

Keep reinforcing that Kanban in your stand ups as the source of truth.

listermint

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Disagree totally, though it depends on what you mean by 1-1's, and also on the composition of the team.

If you have 10 direct reports, and especially if you are working remotely you should be making time to check in with each one at very least weekly, if not daily.

For detailed project / progress reviews, frequency depends on the consequences of delays and likelihood that staff will resolve issues without input. In some circumstances monthly is ok. In others, daily stand-ups are needed.

For in-depth coaching, it depends on the career-stage and needs of each staff member. Some will need weekly, others hardly any.


Regarding technology - what's the HR expectation in the company? Do 1-1 outputs feed into the PMS? Can write-ups be done during the meeting? Seems to me it's actually less of a tech question and more about how it's used.


I presume you're familiar with this classic management article? https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey

What you are describing is classic Micro Management, It is very common in the public sector and small companies.

It displays a complete lack of trust in staff, it also displays a poor grasp of Project Outlay and management by the leader.

You should NOT need to be on top of an individual daily or weekly looking for updates. You agree the scale of the task at the start and set the deadlines at the start.


To say an article from classic management is useful today is frankly - Fun.

I wouldnt work for or with you at all.

witchgirl26

listermint wrote: »

What you are describing is classic Micro Management, It is very common in the public sector and small companies.

It displays a complete lack of trust in staff, it also displays a poor grasp of Project Outlay and management by the leader.

You should NOT need to be on top of an individual daily or weekly looking for updates. You agree the scale of the task at the start and set the deadlines at the start.


To say an article from classic management is useful today is frankly - Fun.

I wouldnt work for or with you at all.

Normally I would agree with you, however with all the remote working, I think weekly 1:1's can be vital for providing a connection to the workplace. My boss doesn't micromanage at all but since lockdown started last March, we've been having weekly 1:1's (previously they were bi-weekly) to catch up on progress of projects & also how things are in general. Someone could feel incredibly isolated working from home so a weekly 1:1 at least provides some level of interaction.

My boss operates a standard standing agenda for our 1:1's - progress update on each of the projects being worked on; actions on previous weeks 1:1; anything coming up during the coming week, company updates and any other business. It works for us. It's up to me to write the things I need to-do but my boss makes a quick note too & will follow up on the next 1:1.

If you want to do it electronically, utilising OneNote is really good for checklists and being able to share it allows both parties to update.

caviardreams

Jim2007 wrote: »

You and your team will need to be very disciplined if you intend to use tools in the public domain. You can very quickly find yourself in breach of data protection laws, especially if a disgruntled employee makes a formal complaint.

Very helpful and hadn't thought of this - great advice so will steer clear, thanks! Any good Kanban tools - could OneNote be used as people suggest, maybe with a template, or maybe even add it to Microsoft teams? We use Teams for virtual meetings.

Dtp1979

Trello?

caviardreams

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Trello?

Thanks - will definitely take a look at this. Might run into the GDPR / data issues somebody else mentioned, so maybe better to stick with an enterprise product if possible like Microsoft Teams / One Note to cover myself perhaps.

beauf

As others have said I think you need to assert some authority. Lot of red flags here of poor process.

I'd want a one page task list from everyone, reviewed fortnightly. If someone is stalling or not getting a particular thing done then I'd be drilling down into the detail of that.

Group meetings would be to communicate common goals and objectives, and challenges. Not drill down into issues that have nothing to do with most of the group. That's just wastes everyone's time.

caviardreams

beauf wrote: »

As others have said I think you need to assert some authority. Lot of red flags here of poor process.

I'd want a one page task list from everyone, reviewed fortnightly. If someone is stalling or not getting a particular thing done then I'd be drilling down into the detail of that.

Group meetings would be to communicate common goals and objectives, and challenges. Not drill down into issues that have nothing to do with most of the group. That's just wastes everyone's time.

This is exactly why I am focusing on the one-to-ones and using them to move projects and work forward, and not via group meetings.

I do like the idea of a task list - again I am concerned I will get a lot of pushback re micromanaging people though.

StupidLikeAFox

Microsoft Planner is Microsoft's Kanban tool - almost identical to Asana or Trello

caviardreams

StupidLikeAFox wrote: »

Microsoft Planner is Microsoft's Kanban tool - almost identical to Asana or Trello

Thanks - will give that a go.

beauf

caviardreams wrote: »

This is exactly why I am focusing on the one-to-ones and using them to move projects and work forward, and not via group meetings.

I do like the idea of a task list - again I am concerned I will get a lot of pushback re micromanaging people though.

It seems you are doing it too intensively. I never needed more than a one page job list. Its has to be something that can be pulled together in 5 mins. Both for them to do, and you to speed read it.

Mrs OBumble

listermint wrote: »

What you are describing is classic Micro Management,

Micro management is more like asking people to plan what they will do with every hour of the working day, and insisting on management sign-off of every email or letter that they propose sending. (And in some industries with high safety requirements, even this behaviour is totally appropriate.)

Making yourself available to individuals once a week at a set time, checking on progress, providing guidance, updating them with relevant information from management meetings and the broader environment - is not, in most cases.

Now if you are lucky enough to be managing staff who have years of experience in the organisation and industry and who are highly motivated, then your 1-1s will likely be short on detail, possibly more like welfare checks. But most teams are nothing like that.

As a manager, you need to figure out what your specific staff need from you in order to perform - and also what you need from your staff in order to ensure you meet your own performance objectives.

If you have 10 direct reports, then dedicating 10 hours to them a week (average 30 mins meeting and 30 prep or follow-up) is often very effective time use.

That many 1 to 1's each week is crazy. Get everyone on a weekly call for an hour or ninety minutes at the most and do a round table. Anyone who highlights stuff that needs addressing, you've got back 8 or 9 hours from your week to deal with it. Plus you can have a little chit chat at the beginning of each call with everyone on the line. My two cents.

embraer170

Interesting exchange here, and I think it very much depends on the area and type of organisation. I have mostly worked in teams with individual team members responsible for their own activity areas with limited links to the work of others so I am not sure getting everyone on a weekly call is always an effective use of time (10 people on a 1 hour call is 10 hours used). As a manager, I find weekly team calls painful.

I ask every team member to send me an email every Monday morning:
- Work completed previous week
- Work expected this week
- Challenges

I use this as the basis for follow-up / 1to1s and copy the information into a spreadsheet to use during appraisal and performance discussions. It is also quite revealing to see those send me their report late almost every week.

beauf

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Micro management is more like asking people to plan what they will do with every hour of the working day, and insisting on management sign-off of every email or letter that they propose sending. ....

This is why I started keeping a work list. To track the time of work someone micromanaging was creating. As you'd need to track the time this took.

narwog81

Hey OP.

10 is a lot for sure and not surprised you are looking for solutions to optimise.

My first suggestion is if you haven't already is have you asked each team member on an individual basis how they would prefer to communicate in terms of style/platform/cadence? Totally agree with others in that a team meeting of 10 is no replacement for individual support but also not every person requires/desires the same input either.

From a tooling perspective do you need to get more complex than a running google doc with each person with AIs tagged in comments and reviewed weekly? Agreed also with others on establishing a template for the engagement, predictability is a great trait in a manager