How to conduct a good one-to-one HR meeting

For most organizations, meetings are dreaded affairs which tend to be approached with a sense of wariness and reluctance. However, when conducted in an efficient and effective manner, one-to-one HR meetings can be a powerful management tool. So, here are 5 tips on how you can better conduct your HR meetings.

As packed as one’s schedule may be, HR professionals need to make it a point to ensure that meetings scheduled with staff members are treated with the utmost respect. Once an appointment has been made with a staff member, the HR professional should ensure that this employee’s time slot is adhered to. Often in today’s busy world, meetings get rescheduled and canceled at a moment’s notice.

However, the key to successful employee engagement is communication and ensuring that an employee feels respected and valued. Rescheduling or cancelling one-to-one meeting for reasons such as being simply too busy or overloaded with work is not a suitable reason and this leaves employees with a negative perception of the HR department. Employees need to feel that their time is respected and valued and, by not adhering to a set appointment time, it is a very clear indication that the employee’s time and presence is not valued or respected.

In order to better engage with employees, staff members need to understand that their participation and time with the HR department is both respected and valued.

While one-to-one meetings are an important management tool, a poorly management meeting will only serve to bore participants and cost valuable time and money. Hence, HR professionals need to take the time to carefully plan out the agenda and flow of the meeting.

Before the meeting is held, the purpose and agenda of the meeting should be communicated clearly to the participant. This ensures that the employee is able to approach the meeting with the correct mindset which allows for a more effective engagement session.

By planning out their meetings with employees, HR managers are able to ensure that meetings are conducted smoothly and effectively. Over the long-term, this will allow HR managers to better engage with their employees.

Ideally, one-to-one HR meetings are occasions where employees are able to freely voice their thoughts and feeling without any fear or favor. As HR meetings usually revolve around the discussion on matters that are more personal and confidential in nature, the meeting should be conducted in a quiet area separate from the rest of the employee’s colleagues. Ideally, such meetings should be conducted within the privacy of an office or a meeting room. Thus, this gives employees the confidence to discuss confidential matters in an open and transparent manner.

Should a meeting be conducted in an area in full view of other colleagues, it will be difficult to engage with said employee which essentially doom the meeting to failure. Hence, careful thought should be given when planning out a meeting location. HR professionals need to understand that some employees may be reluctant to be seen speaking to the HR department for fear of judgment by their colleagues.

Before starting the meeting, remember to switch off all phones in order to minimize distractions. Leave a note on the door which notifies everyone that the meeting should not be disrupted under any circumstances.

Not only does stopping throughout a meeting disrupt the flow of things, but it is a clear indicator that the time and presence of the other party is not respected. HR professionals should also notify the supervisor of the employee involved that he/she will not be available for the entire duration of the meeting and should not be disturbed. This has the benefit of preventing unneeded disruptions and shows employees that one-to-one meetings are of the utmost importance to the organization.

By giving the employee one hundred percent of your time and attention, this shows the employee that this meeting is the number one priority and allows HR professionals to better engage with employees.

Meetings can be boring affairs which are seen as time-wasters and efficiency killers. However, with the right mindset and approach, meetings can be valuable tools for employee engagement.

Further reading:

For passion or experience: the hirer’s conundrum

Few HR professionals realize workforce potential as key to business performance

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