Working life and HR
Template: notes from a one-to-one
A note template for regular one-to-ones between manager and team member, with follow-up from last time, what is in the way, and agreements both have seen.
ONE-TO-ONE: [team member] and [manager]
[date], [duration]
FOLLOW-UP FROM LAST TIME
- [Agreement from last time]: [did it happen, or not]
HOW IT IS GOING
[Briefly. Write only what the team member understands is written here.]
WHAT IS IN THE WAY
- [Obstacle]: [who does what]
AGREED
- [ ] [Name]: [what] — by [date]
- [ ] [Name]: [what] — by [date]
FOR NEXT TIME
[What is to be raised but did not fit today.]
Next conversation: [date]How to use it
- Share the notes with the team member. Notes only the manager has are a log, not an agreement. Misunderstandings are caught most cheaply the same day.
- Write only what the other person knows is there. A one-to-one is not a place to gather observations quietly. If something is to be documented formally, it belongs in a different process.
- Let the manager have tasks too. Notes where only the team member has deadlines are a work allocation, not a conversation.
- Start with follow-up from last time. That is the single move that makes agreements actually get kept.
The boundary against a formal personnel matter
If the conversation is about circumstances that could have consequences for the employment relationship, you are into something else, and different rules apply. Check what your own jurisdiction requires before that conversation, not after.
Frequently asked questions
A short note, yes. Not as documentation upwards, but as a shared memory: what was agreed last time, and did it happen. Without that, the same conversations repeat for months.
Both of you. Share them with the team member after the conversation, so any misunderstanding is caught straight away. Notes only the manager has are not a shared memory.
The one-to-one is frequent and short, ideally every week or fortnight, and is about what is happening now. The appraisal is annual, more formal, and about development, goals and working conditions over time.