42 Skip Level Meeting Questions to Ask Your People & 9 Questions to Avoid

Picture this: A world where communication within your organization flows smoothly, increasing employee trust and commitment to the organization.

That's the value of an effective skip level meeting.​

This article discusses skip level meeting questions and their ability to uncover issues and opportunities. 

Get 42 questions that help upper managers understand the pulse of their organization.

❓ 42 Effective questions to ask at a skip level meeting

Our selection of questions addresses different aspects of the employee experience. With them, you can:

• Gather valuable insights.
• Improve communication.
• Identify areas for growth that can enhance the overall effectiveness of the organization.

 👋 Icebreakers and rapport-building questions

A. What are some of your hobbies? (Helps understand employee interests.)

B. Outside of your employer, who are some role models in our sector? (Discloses influences on the workplace.)

C. What is the most rewarding project or task you've worked on recently and why? (Helps understand what type of work they find fulfilling.)

D. How do you like to receive recognition for your work? (Gives insights into their preferred ways of acknowledgment.)

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Understanding employee's perception of their team

A. What is currently going properly in your department? (Discusses advantages and best practices.)

B. What one change should your team make right away to improve performance? (Invites suggestions for improvement.)

C. Would you say your team's workload is too heavy, too low, or just right? (Considers workload and resource allocation.)

D. How does your team celebrate success or milestones? (Gauges the team's morale and camaraderie.)

E. Is there a process or procedure in your team that could be made more efficient? (Invites suggestions for improvements.)

🎯 Understanding the employee's role and career objectives

A. What prevents you from succeeding inside your team and the larger organization? (Discloses the challenges the employee faces.)

B. Describe your recurring objectives for your position. What do you recommend, considering the long term? (Evaluates how staff members' personal aspirations align with the organization's aims.)

C. What skills or experiences are you hoping to gain or develop further in your current role? (Understands their development goals.)

D. How do you see your role evolving within the company? (Gains insight into their long-term career aspirations.)

➡️ Find out 12 tips to enable employee career growth and the advantages it brings.

➡️ Learn how to build a career progression framework.

💡 Innovation and creativity

A. Do you feel that the company values innovation and creativity? (Assesses your people's view of innovation and creativity in your company.)

B. How does the company encourage you to think creatively or innovatively in your role? (Reveals how employees view the company's approach to innovation.)

C. Can you share an example of a creative or innovative idea you've had, and how was it received? (Assesses whether they feel their creative ideas are welcomed and valued.)

⬆️ Gathering feedback about the direct manager

A. Is your manager providing you with sufficient feedback? (Evaluates the effectiveness of communication.)

B. How has your manager helped your professional development? (Assesses the manager's role in employee growth.)

C. What is one thing your manager could do differently to better support you and your team? (Opens up for constructive feedback.)

➡️ Discover how to implement upward feedback. We included 15 sample questions and practical tips.

🌍 Evaluating the company culture

A. How would you describe the company culture if your friend asked to see if it was a good fit? (Examines employee's perspective on culture and values.)

B. How satisfied are you with coming to work every day on a scale of one to ten? (Evaluates general job happiness.)

C. If you could change one thing about our company culture, what would it be? (Identifies potential cultural issues.)

E. How do you think our company's values align with your personal values? (Gauges alignment between individual and organizational values.)

✍️ Collecting insights on organizational policies and initiatives

A. How well do you feel the company communicates about changes or new initiatives? (Gathers input that could improve your communication strategy.)

B. Is there a company policy that could be improved or clarified? (Determines if there are policies that you could clarify.)

🏳️‍🌈 Diversity and inclusion

A. How do you feel about the company's efforts toward promoting diversity and inclusion? (Examines employee's perspective on your organization's DEI efforts.)

B. Have you experienced or observed any incidents of bias or discrimination at the company? (Identifies potential discrimination issues.)

C. What can the company do to improve its diversity and inclusion efforts? (Gathers input that could improve your DEI strategy.)

⚖️ Work-life balance

A. How do you feel about your current work-life balance?

B. Is there anything the company can do to better support your work-life balance?

C. How does our current remote/hybrid/office work structure work for you?

(Seek to understand how well employees balance their professional and personal lives and whether the company supports them effectively in this area.)

💼 Skip-level meeting questions for employees in a leadership position

Leadership development

A. What is one skill you believe every leader should possess? (Understand the leader's perspective on essential leadership qualities.)

B. Can you share an example of a challenge you've faced as a leader and how you overcame it? (Learn from their experiences and how they navigate challenges.)

C. What resources or support do you need to continue developing your leadership skills? (Understand the need for extra support for their professional growth.)

BANNER leadership matrix ​

Leading people

A. How would you describe your leadership style? (Gain insights into how they manage their team.)

B. What strategies do you use to motivate your team? (Understand their approach towards team motivation.)

C. How do you handle conflict within your team? (Evaluate their conflict resolution skills.)

D. How do you ensure an equitable distribution of responsibilities within your team? (Assess their strategies for maintaining a balanced workload.)

Planning and goal setting

A. Can you share your team's most significant goals for the next year? (Understand the team's strategic planning and direction)

B. How do you ensure that your team's goals are aligned with the company's overall goals? (Assess their ability in strategic alignment)

C. How do you handle changes or deviations from planned goals? (Evaluate their response to changes and flexibility)

D. What metrics do you use to track and evaluate your team's performance towards its goals? (Understand how they monitor team performance.)​

➡️ Have you always wanted to enhance open communication, boost team morale, and increase productivity within your team? Achieve these in the most efficient way possible with our comprehensive free skip level meeting template.

🙅‍♀️ What is a list of questions to avoid at skip level meetings?

Avoid purely status-update questions

Skip-level meetings should revolve around the bigger picture. Avoid minutiae and asking for details that you can get from regular team meetings or project updates.

Examples of questions to avoid: 

• What's the latest update on Project X?
• How many client calls did you make last week?
• What's the current bug count in the new software release?

Avoid diminishing the role of immediate managers

Skip-level meetings should not undercut the role of direct managers. Instead, you want to foster a culture of trust and respect for all levels of management. 

Steer clear of questions that may create a conflict between the employee and their direct manager.

Examples of questions to avoid:

•  Do you think your immediate manager is good at their job?
• Has your manager missed any deadlines lately?
• Have you had any disagreements with your manager recently?

Avoid creating panic or anxiety

Skip-level meetings should aim to open up communication, not instill fear. Avoid questions that might lead to job security concerns or cause unnecessary stress.

Examples of questions to avoid:

• Given the company's current state, do you think your job is secure?
• Are you worried about the recent layoffs in our industry?
• Do you think we'll meet our financial targets this quarter?

🕵️‍♀️ The importance of asking the right questions at skip level meetings

• Foster open communication: Thoughtful questions from senior leaders create a safe space for employees to share thoughts and concerns.
• Gather valuable insights: Crafted questions encourage employee feedback and discussion on goals, growth, perceptions, helping leaders make informed decisions.
• Uncover challenges and opportunities: Effective questions help leaders spot blockers and challenges, leading to proactive issue resolution and improved employee experience.
• Ensure alignment on company goals: The right questions foster alignment and trust. This creates cohesive efforts toward achieving common objectives.
• Build better relationships: Thoughtful questioning strengthens rapport between senior leaders and employees. Its outcome will bridge gaps and increase mutual trust.

This process ultimately enhances the organization's overall success and harmony.

Ben Lamarche, General Manager at Lock Search Group, a Boston-based job consultancy and recruitment company talks about his skip level meeting experiences.

“As a manager, I’ve been in positions where I have both asked and answered questions in skip-level meetings. As a manager, I’ve conducted these meetings with employees when we’ve noticed a particular team's declining morale or productivity. Skip-level meetings are an ideal opportunity to get a feel for what’s going on at various levels.”

Ben outlined some questions that he found to be particularly meaningful. Here are 4 of those questions:
If you could tell your manager anything, what would you say? (And why do you feel like you can’t say that to them?)

1. If someone new joined your team, would you feel the need to wish them luck, or would you be able to offer a genuine warm welcome?
2. How do you see yourself in the big picture of our company in five years?
3. What do you wish you had known about your job before starting?

He explains his reasons for those questions and why he chose them as the right questions to ask.

“I like the first two questions because you can almost immediately sense a person’s emotions based on their body language, facial expressions, and, of course, what they say. You can tell whether an employee is content in their role or inching toward the exit.

The last two questions provide an opportunity to gauge whether an employee feels a sense of belonging and whether their future vision involves the company. If they don’t know where they fit in in the bigger picture, that’s an issue because they aren’t going to be motivated to stick around.

And asking what they wish they knew is another question that helps you understand their feelings about the culture, expectations, and even whether they feel a sense of pride in their work.”

💡 6 Tips to ensure the skip level questions you ask lead to meaningful conversations

Here are some tips to ensure that your skip level questions lead to meaningful and productive conversations.

• Research and prepare: Research the individuals and team dynamics before the meeting. You will ensure relevance for impactful discussions.
• Ask open-ended questions: Ask open-ended questions for detailed responses, rich discussions, and opportunities for in-depth learning.
• Be respectful and genuine: Respect the person by letting them speak, showing interest, and asking thoughtful follow-up questions.
• Be clear and concise: Craft clear and straightforward questions. Avoid jargon and overly complicated structures. Clearly, articulated questions are more likely to receive well-thought-out answers.
• Listen attentively​: Respond in a way that shows you're listening and appreciating the insights your people are sharing. This encourages a deeper conversation and a more meaningful connection.
• Keep the conversation professional: Ask for insights from their unique perspective and experiences. However, ensure these questions remain professional and relevant to your people's role, the meeting, and the company.

Remember, the goal of the skip level meeting is to gain insights into the employee experience, engage, and build relationships.

➡️ Conduct productive and motivating meetings with Zavvy

Zavvy's one on one meeting software is an invaluable tool for conducting skip level meetings.

Zavvy enables you to:

• Drive alignment and accountability: Promote alignment and accountability and ensure everyone in your company stays on the same page. 
• Skip some preparatory steps with templates: Pick and choose from multiple 1:1 templates. 
• Collaborate with your people when preparing the meeting agenda: Managers and their reports can contribute topics and prioritize items.
• Track action items: Document and check off action items for your meetings. No more forgetting about critical follow-ups. 
• Recurring pulse questions: You can customize your agenda pulse questions your people can answer before the meeting. 
• Take private notes​: Jot down personal observations and reminders. This avoids sharing sensitive information with meeting other participants. 

The best part about Zavvy's meeting software is that you can use it to conduct any 1:1 meeting: developmental conversations, well-being check-ins, informal performance conversations, and much much more.

📅 Book a demo to see all the possibilities for yourself.