A skip-level meeting happens between upper managers and employees who don’t directly report to them. These meetings, when conducted properly, give many useful insights to the senior staff. The purpose of not including the direct reporting manager of employees in these meetings is to connect those working on various organizational levels.
In these meetings, employees can ask questions like what the company’s main challenge is or whether the organization will undergo any major changes. Managers can ask questions about the employees’ biggest concerns or whether they have adequate resources to perform their jobs effectively.
Skip-level meetings can take place between an employee and a senior manager or several employees and managers. This meeting helps the upper-level management to better understand the employees’ points of view, their challenges, and the general work environment.
Keep reading to find out more about how to conduct an effective skip-level meeting and questions to ask.
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How Managers Can Conduct Effective Skip-Level Meetings?
Conducting such a meeting for the first time may seem a bit confusing as you are not used to talking with these employees regularly. Here are some tips to help you.
- Learn about the employee you’re meeting: It’s important to learn about the employee you are meeting so you can ask them relevant questions. You can read their bio on the company website to learn about what they do for the organization.
- Create a welcoming atmosphere: Don’t begin by asking about work. Instead, build rapport with the employees by asking them about their hobbies, family, etc.
- Create a meeting agenda: Just walking to a skip-level meeting without knowing what to ask will ruin its effectiveness. So, define what you want to achieve with the meeting. For example, note certain important topics around which the meeting will revolve.
- Listen attentively: Listening actively will make you aware of the employee’s feedback and make good use of it. So, give them more opportunities to talk and share their thoughts and be all ears while they are doing so.
- Conduct skip-level meetings a couple of times a year: It’s easy to finish a meeting and get back to your normal routine. However, to truly benefit from them, you must conduct them regularly. Their duration can be as short as every two weeks or as long as once in three months.
How to Have Successful Skip-Level Meetings As an Employee?
As an employee, this is your chance to give your senior manager feedback about the company and yourself. It’s better to be prepared before coming to the meeting. Here are some tips for you.
- Create an agenda: Sitting in this meeting with a solid agenda will help you make a good impression. Your agenda should consist of the important topics you wish to discuss, which may include challenges (yours and the company’s), company strategy, and career development, to name a few.
- List the main challenges you face: Skip-level meetings present a wonderful opportunity to share your roadblocks with the senior staff. What’s more, you may find that the manager already has the solution to your issue. If not, they can put you in contact with someone who can resolve it.
- Research the person you are meeting: Just like the senior manager researches the employee they are meeting, you must do so, too. It will help you ask the right questions and position yourself better.
- Create a list of your achievements: Sometimes, the senior manager can ask about your performance. It’s always better to be prepared in such a case. So, ensure to note all that you have accomplished for the company beforehand to strike a good impression.
- Ask your team members what they’d like to know: Often, you aren’t alone in the challenges you face. Similarly, chances are, the burning question that you want to ask is also one that your entire team wants to ask. So, a good idea is to ask them beforehand about what they’d like to know about and pass them on to the manager.
What Questions Should Managers Ask in a Skip-Level Meeting?
It’s never a good idea to start a skip-level meeting with work-related questions. So, we have divided the questions into 3 categories.
Icebreaker Questions
- What are your hobbies?
- Where would you like to go on your next vacation?
- Who is your favorite singer?
- What’s your favorite quote?
- What motivates you the most about your job?
Employee Feedback Questions
- What is something you like in your department?
- What do you think can be improved in your work operations?
- How do you feel your department is performing within the larger organization?
- If you were allowed to add more people to your team, what kind of people would you choose?
- How would you describe your work to your friend?
Questions About the Employee’s Role
- What do you think is the biggest obstacle preventing you from putting your best foot forward?
- Do you face a challenge on a daily basis?
- Are you happy with the current renumeration? What changes would you like in the company’s policies related to it?
- If you were allowed to move to another position, which one would you choose and why?
- What have the changes you observed since you started working here, and how have they changed your perspective of the company?
What Questions Should Employees Ask in a Skip Level Meeting?
For employees, skip-level questions can range from career growth to company changes and more.
Questions Related to Career Growth
- What mentorship opportunities can the company make available for me?
- How can I get more involved in the larger company’s operations?
- What skills should I focus on to grow more in the company?
- How can I contribute to the improvement of the company?
- How does my role impact the company’s success?
Questions Related to the Company
- Are there new areas or markets that the company is looking to explore?
- What are the biggest challenges facing the company (or my department), and how can they be addressed?
- What major changes are coming over the next six months?
- Is the company progressing well on its goals?
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Summing Up
Skip-level meetings give the senior management insights into the functioning of the organization. It helps them discover the challenges or contributions of those in lower positions that may otherwise go unnoticed. Ultimately, effective skip-level meetings help improve the overall company performance. However, it’s important to prioritize these meetings and prepare for them well in advance. This ensures that all the necessary things are addressed and changes (if necessary) implemented.
