Example HR Meeting Agenda Templates for 2025

Too many workplace meetings today have become infamous time-wasters, and even top executives are taking note. Nearly half of business leaders (45%) believe that many meetings serve no productive purpose.

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With no clear plan or goals, it’s no surprise so much meeting time ends up wasted or aimless. Fortunately, there’s a practical remedy: using structured agendas to make meetings more intentional and efficient.

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This guide provides HR meeting agenda templates for a variety of scenarios. We also highlight why these agendas matter, and how to leverage tools like PerformYard to plan, track, and execute HR meetings successfully.

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Agenda for HR Strategic Planning Meetings

HR teams should periodically (e.g., annually or quarterly) hold strategic planning meetings to set department goals and initiatives. A detailed agenda for these longer sessions keeps the discussion on track and results in a concrete action plan for the HR team. Here’s an example agenda to guide your discussion.

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Tip: Encourage open dialogue during the brainstorming, but use a timer or facilitator to keep each section on schedule. Document the final plan in a shared file so the whole team can refer back to the agreed-upon goals and responsibilities.

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Agenda for Hiring and Recruitment Team Syncs

Regular meetings for hiring and recruitment teams help keep everyone aligned on hiring goals and candidate pipelines. Using an agenda for these meetings ensures that no open position or candidate update is missed and that hiring roadblocks are identified early.

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These are often weekly or bi-weekly meetings (~30 minutes) involving recruiters, hiring managers, and HR. An example agenda for a recruitment sync might include:

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Tip: Use a shared hiring tracker or recruiting software during these meetings to update each position’s status in real time. This creates a single source of truth for hiring progress.

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Employee Onboarding Meeting Agenda

On an employee’s first day (or first week), an onboarding meeting ensures the new hire gets oriented and has a clear plan for ramping up. It’s both a warm welcome for the employee and an efficient way to convey key information (often involving HR and the hiring manager together). 

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This initial meeting is typically 30–60 minutes. A sample onboarding agenda:

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Tip: Providing a printed or emailed agenda to the new hire helps them absorb a lot of information on Day 1. Consider pairing them with a buddy or mentor who can help follow up on this agenda and assist with questions after the meeting.

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Employee Exit Interview Agenda

An exit interview is typically a 30-minute meeting on an employee’s last day (or last week) conducted by HR to gather honest feedback about their experience. Having a structured agenda for exit interviews ensures consistency and that no critical topic is overlooked during an often sensitive conversation.

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A structured agenda helps you cover both the employee’s feedback and necessary offboarding items:

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Tip: Take detailed notes during the exit interview so you can spot trends across departing employees. Using a standard exit interview template ensures that you capture consistent information each time.

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Example Performance Review Meeting Agenda

Performance review meetings (whether quarterly check-ins or annual appraisals) benefit greatly from a structured agenda to cover all critical points within 45–60 minutes. These meetings involve reflecting on past performance, giving feedback, and setting future goals.

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The meeting should have a consistent structure to make the review fair and thorough for both parties. A sample performance review agenda might look like this:

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Tip: Ensure that both manager and employee have prepared for the review by writing down notes and examples beforehand. For annual reviews, it’s helpful to gather input from the entire year (prior one-on-one notes, peer feedback, goal results) so the discussion is evidence-based.

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One-on-One Check-In Meeting Agenda

Regular one-on-one check-ins (often weekly or bi-weekly) between a manager and an employee are vital for continuous feedback and alignment. These meetings are typically 30 minutes and focus on progress updates, addressing roadblocks, and personal development. For both manager and employee, this is a chance to touch base on current work and growth regularly.

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Here is a sample agenda HR teams can share with their department leaders:

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Tip: Keep a shared document for each 1:1 to note key points and track action items. This ensures continuity from meeting to meeting.

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Disciplinary or Corrective Action Meetings

When addressing performance issues or misconduct, a clear agenda ensures that the meeting is fair, focused, and documented. This structured approach helps cover all necessary points (the issue, improvement plan, and consequences) in a systematic way. Disciplinary meetings should cover what the issue is, what improvement is expected, and the consequences if expectations aren’t met.

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A typical agenda for a corrective action meeting (about 30–45 minutes) is:

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Tip: Always follow up a disciplinary meeting in writing. Provide the employee with a copy of the improvement plan and keep detailed notes in their HR file.

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Why Structured HR Meeting Agendas Matter

A clear agenda acts as a roadmap so that important topics are addressed in priority order and nothing critical is overlooked. Structured agendas have been shown to improve employee efficiency, keep discussions focused, and ensure productive team collaboration​.

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Sharing an agenda in advance also boosts meeting effectiveness. When participants know the topics ahead of time, they can come prepared with updates or questions, leading to more meaningful dialogue​.

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A consistent agenda format (with time allocations and topics) creates clarity and accountability. It keeps the meeting outcome-oriented, makes follow-ups easier to track, and builds confidence that the meeting will be worth the time.

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Using PerformYard to Streamline HR Meetings

PerformYard is a performance management platform that can support the creation, tracking, and execution of all these HR meetings. It provides a centralized place to manage goals, feedback, and performance data, which makes preparing for meetings much easier. 

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For example, PerformYard allows managers and employees to build and share meeting agendas collaboratively online. During one-on-one check-ins or annual performance reviews, you can record notes and feedback directly in the platform. This means every conversation is stored in one system for future reference.

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Using PerformYard also helps keep your performance processes on schedule. The software can integrate one-on-one meetings and periodic reviews into a custom review cycle with automated reminders and notifications. This leads to a seamless experience where, for instance, the objectives set in a performance review are immediately visible as goals or reminders in the system. Also, progress on those goals can be updated during subsequent check-ins. 

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By leveraging PerformYard’s goal tracking, documentation, and review cycle tools, HR professionals can ensure that every meeting ties into a continuous performance management process that drives accountability and improvement.