Frankly speaking, this is a fairly broad question and I can have many answers to. Depending on the situation/ meeting/ context, the recommended tools or templates varies. There are no specialised resource or methodology that HRBP or the likes of uses exclusively, I would say they tend to be project management tools or business practices adopted by those in and outside of HR.

For example, if you are in the position where you need to pitch a new idea to the business, say implementing a new HR system. A simple pros & cons table or SWOT analysis, along with an objective and conclusion (i.e. opening and closing points), should provide a good basis when speaking with business managers. Thereafter something like a gantt chart to itemise the approach/ actions across timeline and who is the owner.

If you are referring to daily meeting type of collaboration, then I would recommend to use the STAR approach. List out the Situation, what is the Task to resolve/ improve/ needed, then the Actions required + by who & when, followed by anticipated or ideal Result.

Hope this helps

Kitty

In reply to Kitty:

Thank you Kitty for the very useful points. I was looking for tools but also for structured agenda/topics to discuss with a new dept manager and thereafter for regular weekly catch ups etc to be proactive.

In reply to Nad C:

Glad to see my suggestions helped.

To your point about tools, I imagine your referring to some sort of software like Trello, Monday.com where you both can have access to, logs history and future conversation. Tbh, unless the manager specifically asked for it, I’d say 9/10 they don’t care if it’s just a word or excel doc, somewhere to list out what when who how. We need to bear in mind even the managers who are the biggest supporter of HRs, just want to know what people initiatives/ action would help their bottomline and that’s where a meeting should focus on. Bottomline not just in quantitative (eg retention rate) manner but also qualitative (employee engagement rate).

In reply to Kitty:

Thank you Kitty for your additional comments and ideas.