ランダム 1 on 1 が始まり、緊張しつつも全員と話すことができ、得意なこと、苦手なこと、考えなどを知ることができました。 結果、まずは全社ミーティングで話しやすくなりました。そして、相談できる相手が増えたおかげで、自分が苦手なことを得意な人に相談できるようになりました。
コミュニケーションが円滑にできるようになると、気持ちが楽になり、生産性も上がります。
もしみなさんが同じような悩みをお持ちでしたら、ぜひ ランダム 1 on 1 を試してみてください!
Do you have a colleague you have never spoken to? Random 1 on 1 recommendations
Hello, good evening! My name is Omagari from mgn Co., Ltd. Are there people in your company that you have never spoken to before? If you work in a large company, work remotely or are stationed at a customer site, there are probably a lot of people you have never spoken to. If you work in different departments or on different projects, you rarely have a chance to talk to them.
I work for mgn, a fully remote working company, and despite having around 10 employees, there were times when I rarely spoke to people on different projects. We would text back and forth, or see each other’s tweets, but if we never had a conversation, we felt somewhat distant from each other. I would like to ask them what kind of person they are, what kind of work they are doing now, what they are good at, and so on! But there was no time to do so! In order to create such a “timing”, mgn has introduced a random 1 on 1, which is held once a month.
This article presents this random 1 on 1.
What is 1 on 1 meeting?
Random 1 on 1 is based on ‘1 on 1’ – what exactly is 1 on 1?
A 1 on 1 is primarily a one-on-one meeting between a supervisor and a subordinate or between colleagues. The main focus is on work-related developments rather than chit-chat. For supervisors and subordinates, it can be about work evaluation or career advice. If colleagues are colleagues, they can discuss certain tasks or give feedback on their work. It is not a one-way meeting, but an opportunity to share opinions and information with each other.
Image by Adobe Firefly
At mgn, all employees also have a 1 on 1 with Megane-san, the CEO, once a month for 30 minutes. The 1 on 1 with Megane-san starts with a light-hearted question: “How are you doing these days?” We talk about each other’s work that we are involved in at the time, our physical and mental state, the future of ourselves and the company, and also discuss personal concerns that we are currently having. Compared to a typical 1 on 1, the content of the conversation may be a little more informal. Rather than talking about business in a formal way, I see it as an opportunity to talk about things that are difficult to find the right time to talk about.
So what is a random 1 on 1?
In the Random 1 on 1, the meeting is divided into random pairs from all the employees gathered at that time, and the pairs meet for 30 minutes. The main content of the conversation is small talk. This is an opportunity to learn about the personalities and current work of people with whom we don’t have much contact on a day-to-day basis, so the conversation is free to take place. We share about three chatting themes in advance in case there are any difficulties in the conversation. Some pairs share their current situation and thoughts on the chat topics, while others discuss a certain issue in a project they are involved in.
How exactly do you do it?
I am in charge of the Random 1 on 1 and I will invite anyone who wishes to participate that morning.
I use a tool published on the internet to select chat topics, and as mgn is not involved in this tool, I will not link to it directly, but I am always very grateful for your help. Thank you very much!
Once the prospective participants are confirmed, we divide them into pairs. This is PHP code that I made quickly, but I always run it to divide the pairs.
Share the output pairings and adjust the pairings slightly if some pairs ended up talking to the same person last time.
Once the pairs are confirmed, we are split into pairs for 30 minutes of 1 on 1. After 30 minutes, we disperse on our own. Sometimes, after the break-up, we gets together to share what we talked about.
If there is an odd number of people who wish to participate, Megane-san is asked to join or leave. (This is because Megane-san has a separate 1 on 1 opportunity with us else.)
Good to do Random 1 on 1
I remember that for about six months after I joined the company, I didn’t have much opportunity to talk to the majority of the employees. I often spoke to people who were working on the same projects, but I never had the chance to speak to anyone else, and I didn’t really know what they were like or what they were good at. Of course, there were times when I would talk to them or discuss things with them in the course of company-wide meetings. But I felt a little reserved. I was very worried about how I should phrase things, especially when I was supposed to disagree with them. It wasn’t easy to say to someone I’ve almost never spoken to before that I disagree with your opinion.
Image by Adobe Firefly
Random 1 on 1s started and although I was nervous, But I was able to talk to everyone and learn about their strengths, weaknesses and thoughts. As a result, first of all, it became easier to talk at company-wide meetings. And thanks to having more people to talk to, I can now talk to people who are good at what I am not good at.
When communication is facilitated, I will feel more comfortable and productive.
If you have similar problems, please try Random 1 on 1!