Skip Level Meeting Questions- Various Types

Skip-level meetings are meetings between senior managers or CEOs and their skip-level employees, without the presence of the managers who are working under them. Skip-level meetings allow the senior manager or CEO to know their subordinates better and become up to date with the progress of their work and their ideas. As such, the CEO needs to ask good questions during a skip-level meeting to facilitate better communication. The managers attending the meeting should be prepared for the possible questions in the meeting to create a good impression on their boss. Here, let’s know some Skip Level Meeting Questions.

Types Of Skip Level Meeting Questions

There are different types of skip level meeting questions based on different objectives that the senior manager or CEO may have. Some examples of common skip-level meeting questions are listed below.

1. Skip level questions to increase bonding with employees:

These questions allow Senior leaders to find out more about their employees’ interests and personalities. This would help in creating an inclusive work environment and make senior managers more approachable to employees. On top of that, these questions also serve as ice-breaker questions if the senior manager is meeting his or her skip level employees for the first time.

• How did you decide on this company to work for?
• What do you like most about your role?
• What is your favorite hobby?
• What is your daily source of motivation for your work?
• Where did you grow up? What do you like about that place?
• Which institution did you graduate from?
• What do you like about this city?
• Which is your favorite movie/ song?
• What inspired you to work in this field?
• What is your favorite eatery to grab lunch from?
• Do you have any upcoming travel plans?
• How are your family members (parents/children/spouse/ siblings) doing?
• Can you describe one of your accomplishments you are proud of?
• What is one career goal you would like to achieve this month?
• Is there any good news (personal or work-related) you would like to share with us?
• What is one aspect of your work you dislike the most?

2. Skip level questions to find out areas of improvement in the management:

These questions help Senior managers identify room for improvement in the management. This would enable them to make changes to better support their employees in their work.

• What type of support do you think you need to be more efficient in your work?
• Do you feel that you are getting sufficient guidance from your superiors in your work?
• Do you think that your role is offering you the opportunities you need to achieve your career goals?
• Have you discussed your career progression with your superior? Was the discussion useful for you?
• Are you satisfied with your role at this company?
• Do you think your superiors are approachable? Why do you feel this way?
• In what ways does your superior assist you when you need help?
• In which areas do you think your boss helps you best?
• What are some things you think your boss can improve on or do differently?
• What do you like most about working together with (the employer’s manager’s name)?
• What is the thing you least enjoy about working together with your boss?
• What is one thing that your boss has done that has inspired you?

3. Skip Level Meeting Questions to identify areas of improvement in teamwork:

These questions help the boss to pinpoint things to change or improve to enable better teamwork, such as conflict management. If teamwork is more efficient and collaborative, then the productivity rate of the employees will increase, which would increase profits for the company.

• What are some practices you think your team should let go of? Why do you think you should do away with those practices?
• What is the biggest challenge your team is facing currently?
• What are some areas for improvement for your team?
• What type of support does your team require to improve your efficiency?
• Do you feel that the amount of work assigned to your team is manageable? Why or why not?
• Do you feel that all the members of your team are treated equally and fairly by your manager?
• What do you worry about the most regarding your team?
• How do you think you can help your teammates?
• Who do you feel is the most important member of your group? Why is this person the most important member?
• What do you enjoy most about working with your team?
• How would you feel if we were to make a change to your team’s project?
• What do you think are the strengths of your team?
• What do you think are the weaknesses of your team? How do you think your team can improve on them?
• What is one mistake your team made in the previous project? What has your team learned from this experience?
• Do you feel that all your team members are doing their part for the project?

4. Skip level meeting questions to identify high-performing employees:

These questions help the senior managers to find out which employees are performing well. Then, the senior manager will be able to give public recognition to the great work of these employees. According to surveys, many employees value rewards and recognition for their work. Giving recognition to the good work of employees will boost the employees’ confidence and motivate the employees to keep up their good work and to try to achieve better results. On top of that, other employees will strive to work harder so that their work would also be recognized like their colleagues’ work. 

• Who do you enjoy working with the most? Why do you like them?
• Who has done great work in the current project? 
• Who has hidden talents in your team? What are their talents?
• Has any member of your team put in extra effort and time into the work? What is the work they have done?
• Do you feel that our company recognizes the efforts of hard-working employees sufficiently?
• Who is the most crucial member for the success of this project? What is their role?
• Who is the glue that is holding the team together? What strategies do they use?
• What type of rewards and recognition do you think your manager is doing great in that you would like them to continue doing more of?
• If you are to form a team for a new project, who would you choose as your teammates? Why did you choose these people?

5. Skip level questions to when the company is facing problems:

The responsibility of leaders is to know about the problems their followers are facing and to come up with strategies to help them. As such, senior leaders ask this type of question to find out what type of difficulties their employees are facing. This would enable us to have a meaningful discussion about how to solve those difficulties so that they can work more efficiently, which would allow the company to grow.

• What are you most concerned about in your work currently?
• What is your opinion on our company’s current performance?
• What do you think about the changes made to this project?
• What would your reaction be if some restructuring is about to happen?
• Why do you think your job is important? 
• How does your work affect your team and the company?
• What do you think you and your team should do differently to counter the problem we are facing currently?
• How do you feel about the challenges our company is currently facing? Do you think we would be able to overcome them?
• Are you confident that you and your team are capable of tackling this obstacle? Why or why not?

6. General skip level questions that are commonly asked in all types of meetings:

For a skip level meeting to be effective senior managers need to ask some common questions. Some examples of such questions are listed below.

• What is your key takeaway from this meeting?
• What should your team be accountable to do based on our meeting today?
• Have you discussed an issue with your superior?

Steps Senior Managers Should Take to Set Up Skip Level Meetings

There are some steps that senior managers should take to successfully set up productive skip-level meetings and these steps are listed below.

• Inform the managers under you about the meeting.

Informing your managers about the meeting before setting up and explaining the rationale behind the meeting will prevent your managers from feeling that the meetings are set up behind their backs because you doubt the quality of their work. On top of that, your managers will also be more receptive to receiving feedback and acting on it if they are aware of the meeting beforehand.

• Inform the employees who will be attending the skip level meeting about when the meeting will be conducted and its specific objectives in detail.

When your skip level employees are aware of the meeting and its purpose, the meeting would be more meaningful they would have prepared for it and hence, they can contribute more productively to the discussions in the meeting. On top of that, employees would also have a chance to think of ideas or issues to talk about in the meeting.

• Schedule the meeting for an appropriate day and time.

If your skip level employees are currently busy working on a project currently, you should organize the meeting to a date after the completion of the project. This would be appropriate timing for the meeting because you can discuss with them about their performance in the recent project.

• Take note of feedback that employees give you. This will show your skip-level employees that you are taking the feedback they are giving you seriously.

• Make changes as soon as possible according to the suggestions and feedback given by your skip level employees. The skip level meeting would be truly effective only when things are improved after discussions in the meeting. Acting immediately will show your employees that you care about their opinions, and you want to assist them in their work. This will motivate them to work harder.

Tips For Employees to Prepare Well for Skip Level Meetings

Employees need to be ready for the meeting so that they can present themselves in the best light possible, which would elevate their importance and the value they bring to the company. Some techniques to prepare for skip-level meetings are listed below.

• Try to find out what the meeting is about from your superiors and your co-workers. This will give you an idea of what type of questions you may be asked in the meeting, and you can prepare the answers to these questions in advance. You should also prepare for general questions asked in any skip-level meeting questions. This will enable you to answer the questions in the meeting confidently as you don’t have to come up with the answer on the spot.
• Prepare a formal and concise summary of your work so far and the progress of your team if you are working in a team on a project. You can easily show this summary to the senior managers during the meeting if required and it enables you to get them up to speed quickly on what is happening. 
• Ask for advice and tips from your experienced co-workers who have attended such meetings before. They might give you important information such as the personalities of the different senior managers who will be present at the meeting. This will give you an idea of what type of things you should talk about and what things you should avoid talking about. Furthermore, this information will help you guess the objectives behind the questions a senior manager asks and hence you will be able to answer suitably. By keeping their advice in your mind, you will certainly appear more polished during the meeting.
• If you need to request additional help or resources for your work or your team, a skip level meeting might be the perfect opportunity for you to discuss it with the senior managers. As such, you should prepare the necessary documents required for your request in advance of the meeting.
• Don’t be nervous about meeting your senior managers, even if it is your first time meeting them. You must remember that the main purpose of the skip level meeting is for your senior managers to understand how they and the company can help you and your team better. The meeting is not for them to scrutinize you and find faults in you.

Questions Employees Should Ask Their Senior Managers During Skip Level Meetings

Most senior managers or CEOs prefer having proactive employees. As such, they would appreciate it if employees would take the effort of actively asking them questions instead of just passively answering questions for the entire meeting. Therefore, employees need to prepare some questions to ask the senior managers during the meeting when prompted or near the end of the meeting. Some examples of the questions that employees can ask are listed below.

1. Questions about the company’s tactics:

• What are some new projects this company intends to work on in the future?
• How do you feel about the techniques we are using currently for this project?
• What do you think about the obstacle our company is facing right now? 
• What strategies do you have in mind to tackle our competitors’ strategies?
• How do you plan on improving the culture in our company?

2. Questions about the company’s productivity:

• What are your aims for our department for this year?
• What do you feel should be our order of priority of tasks for this quarter?
• What do you think my team and I can improve on for our next project?
• How can I contribute to the current problem in the company?
• How would you solve this problem if you were in my role?
• What skills should I learn to be more efficient in this area of the project?
• What are we doing to differentiate ourselves in the market?
• Are you satisfied with our company’s current output?

3. Questions to identify areas of improvement:

• Are you satisfied with our team’s work on the last project?
• Can I get more elaborate suggestions on how I can improve in doing this task?
• In what ways do you think my team can improve for future projects?

4. Questions about career progression:

• How was your career progression at this company?
• Can you give me some advice on the direction I should take in my career?
• What skills and knowledge do you think someone in my role should possess?
• What type of leadership do you believe in?
• What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a leader?
• What are the opportunities that this company can offer me for my career growth?

Tips For Employees to Ace Skip level Meetings

It is not sufficient for employees to prepare well for the meeting.  They also need to perform well during the actual skip level meeting. Some tips to do well in these meetings are listed below.

• Employees should maintain eye contact with the senior managers while talking with them. This shows that the employees are confident speakers and that they are paying full attention to what the senior managers are saying to them.
• Employees should speak in a pleasant tone, and they should appear eager about the meeting. They should be mindful of their body language while listening to others. They should not be doing things such as yawning or rolling their eyes, which can be perceived as them being uninterested or disrespectful towards the speaker.
• Employees should answer candidly as possible the questions put forth by the senior managers. They should not provide false information about their work, and they should not delve into topics that they are not very familiar with.
• Employees should never bad-mouth their superiors or co-workers. There should not be any negative attitude in the meeting. Even if employees are unhappy with their co-workers or their bosses, they should not become angry and start complaining about them to the senior managers because this will create a bad impression on them, and it would also make the meeting unpleasant for everyone.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, skip level meetings help to facilitate communication and understanding between the senior manager or CEO and their subordinates. As such, senior managers must ask good quality questions during the meeting to enable high-quality conversations and a better understanding of the work that the subordinates are doing. The employees attending the meeting should also be well-prepared so that they can perform well in the meeting. When skip-level meetings are conducted properly, they can help to reduce communication barriers between the upper management and the employees of the company and help to improve the company’s performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is a skip-level manager?

A skip-level manager is a manager who outranks you by two ranks on the organizational chart of your company. In other words, your skip-level manager is the boss of your immediate superior. A skip-level manager might be interested in interacting with you in a skip-level meeting to find out more about you and how good your feedback is for your boss.

2. What is a one-on-one skip level meeting?

A one-on-one skip meeting is a meeting whereby the senior manager meets with one employee per meeting. The senior manager divides the team up and meets each member individually. Some senior managers prefer to hold one-on-one skip-level meetings so that they can get to know individual team members better and receive individual feedback on their team and immediate superiors.

3. How often should skip-level meetings be conducted?

Skip-level meetings are useful for senior managers to get to know their skip-level employees better, understand their team dynamics, and collect feedback for their managers and the company. As such, it is beneficial for senior managers to conduct skip-level meetings at appropriate timing throughout the working year. However, skip level meetings should not be conducted too often as it might cause managers to think that the senior managers do not like their work and hence are asking their subordinates about it.