An interesting question came to mind as I was conducting a One on One today...
A bit of background... Meeting room availability is little to nil in my organization and conducting a O3 in an employee's cubicle is not great either as privacy is an issue. So generally the cafeteria is used to hold the meeting.
I have 3 Team Leads plus myself conducting O3s with our direct reports. What was interesting today was that as I was conducting my O3 the other 3 Team Leads showed up in the cafeteria at the same time to conduct their individual O3s. We all stayed far enough away from each other so as not to distract etc. but the question that came to my mind was "What do the employees think of all of us conducting these meetings at the same time and the same place?" Was their perception now tainted... Did they now see this as a "process"... ?
We take the One on Ones very seriously... Should we make sure that we don't meet in the same place at the same time? There are 22 people participating in the sessions so it is quite difficult not to cross paths. Should this be a concern?
Thoughts?
Kate
Perhaps this depends on the context...?
Hi Kate,
Interesting question - I had a similar experience with the office canteen becoming a de-facto meeting room and eventually I did avoid using it for O3's as much as I possibly could.
I felt that the problem was that ONLY O3's were being held in the canteen - everyone used it for O3's but not for other types of meeting. It was probably the context (room size, seating arrangements, availability etc) that drove this behaviour but the effect of looking round a roomful of people having simultaneous O3's did make us feel like we were simply going through the motions.
I guess if your O3's are just one of many different types of meetings that happen in the canteen, then it's not an issue. But if only O3's happen in the canteen, then yes, I would think about doing something different.
Regards
Matt
O3 meeting place - context and clarification
Thanks for the advice, Matt. Your point in well taken. For clarification....the cafeteria is used for a variety of quick meetings by all depts in the organization, so I think I am OK from that angle. I like the cafeteria because it tends to be less formal. As such I am hesitant to remove it from the equation.
If I can find an additional/secondary meeting place I should be able to reduce the chance of O3s crossing paths and thereby minimize the O3 "process" perception - if it exists.
Thanks again!
Kate
Should This Be A Concern?
My smart alec answer is 'I don't know, ask them'. It's only a concern if your directs are concerned
Tim