One-on-ones that follow the plan

Most companies already hold one-on-ones. Many companies also have a plan. The two often never meet. The one-on-one covers this week's fires. The plan comes out at the monthly review, when it's too late to do much about the month.

You can connect them without adding a meeting. Run each one-on-one from the person's own objective and A3. The meeting you already hold then becomes the place where the plan gets worked.

This isn't a standard form from the Hoshin literature. Published guidance covers the two-way talk between managers and direct reports, called catchball, and it covers monthly and quarterly reviews. It says less about the weekly or biweekly conversation between them. The agenda below is one practical way to fill that space.

What changes when a one-on-one follows the plan

A standing agenda

Use the same agenda each time. If people know the shape of the meeting, they can prepare for it without being asked.

1. What changed since last time? Look at the latest reading on the person's goal and any A3 work since the last sitting. Start with facts that both of you can see.
2. Did last time's commitments happen? Go through them one at a time. Each one gets a yes or a no. If the answer is no, ask what got in the way.
3. Where is the A3? Look at the current step. If the person is ready for a sign-off, read that step together and question it. If you don't believe it, say what you would need to see.
4. What does the person need? This is the catchball part. Hear each ask, and answer it now or set a date for your answer.
5. What will happen by next time? Agree on one to three commitments, with dates. Write them down.
6. Anything else? Leave time for what isn't on the plan: a problem at home, a concern about a colleague or a career question. A one-on-one is still a conversation between two people.

How often to meet

Choose a rhythm that fits the seat. Weekly or every two weeks works for most managers. Whichever you choose, keep the slot. If you often cancel, people conclude that the plan comes second. A short sitting that opens on what changed does more than a long one every few months.

A worked example

The company is fictional. It's a metal parts maker with 180 employees, one plant and two shifts. The numbers are made up to show the method. They aren't results.

The production supervisor meets with the second-shift supervisor every two weeks. The second-shift supervisor holds this goal: 24 or fewer scrapped parts a week on Line 2 by March 31. She has an open A3 on first-hour scrap at the press brake. Here is the sitting on January 26.

What changed. The weekly scrap count is 44 parts, down from 48. The A3 moved to step 6. The first-piece check started on January 13.

The production supervisor doesn't celebrate. Four parts in a couple of weeks could be noise. He says, "That's one reading. Let's see what it does."

Last time's commitments. She had two. Write setup sheets for the top 20 parts by January 22: partly done, 14 of 20. Talk to the quality manager about who owns the setup sheets: done, and the quality manager will name someone by January 29.

He asks what's holding up the last six. She says that those six parts run only on first shift, and she can't get time with the first-shift lead operator.

The A3. He reads step 6 with her. He asks, "Which cause does each action go after?" She traces each one. The first-piece check goes after why 2. The setup sheet goes after why 3. Naming an owner goes after why 5. He asks about the check dates on step 7, and they're on the calendar. He signs off step 6.

Asks. She has two.

• Two hours with the first-shift lead operator. He says yes and sets it up himself by January 28, because the first shift reports to him too.
• An automatic back gauge, which was the third countermeasure on her A3. He says, "Not this year. It's outside the budget." He explains why, and he offers to raise it for next year's plan. She now has a clear no, which is better than an open maybe.

Next time. They agree on three commitments: finish the last six sheets by February 2, bring the weekly count by job to the next sitting and report whether operators actually use the sheets at each changeover.

Anything else. She mentions that a lead operator is thinking about retiring. It isn't on the plan, but it's going to matter to the plan.

The whole sitting took 30 minutes. It covered the plan, the A3 and the person. Neither of them needed a separate status report.

Questions that work better than "How's it going?"

• What did the last reading show, and what do you make of it?
• What did you see when you went and looked?
• Which cause does this action go after?
• Are people doing it, and is the number moving?
• What would you need from me or from another department?
• What would have to be true for you to miss this date?

Mistakes to avoid

• Turning it into an interrogation. The objective is on the table so that you can both look at it. If the person dreads the meeting, you will get green reports and no real information. See common Hoshin failures.
• Writing the A3 for them. Ask a question and let them find the answer. Your sign-off means that you believe it, not that you wrote it.
• Reporting every detail upward. Your own manager needs the status and the gap. Keep the working detail where it belongs. See status rolls up, substance stays put.
• Saving bad news for the monthly review. If you hear about a miss in a one-on-one, deal with it then. The monthly review shouldn't surprise anyone.

How Run Hoshin handles this

Run Hoshin holds one-on-ones in the app. Each one-on-one shows a summary of what changed. You add comments and private notes, and one Approve marks it as held. Nobody else in your company reads a private note. Our staff can read one only inside a logged visit, which needs your consent, and each read goes on your company's record. The person's A3 steps and the supervisor's sign-offs stay in the history, so you can see what was agreed last time and what happened after. The one-on-one is the only meeting the app holds. See what the app does not do yet.