Skip-level meeting guide: how to run one, what to ask and what to say

Why skip-level meetings deserve a place on your calendar

Most senior leaders don't find out an employee is struggling until it's in a slide. What they'll hear is a filtered summary in a quarterly review, two layers removed from the person who's actually disengaged.

Skip-level meetings close that distance by putting you in a room with the people closest to the work, without the usual filters in between. So how do you run one well, and avoid the common ways they backfire? We explore that in this guide.

Why listen to us

For over a decade, Eletive has been the go-to employee engagement software for forward-thinking HR teams and people leaders. We’ve worked with organisations like Gina Tricot, Pollmann International, and The Openwork Partnership, helping them build feedback loops that connect engagement data to meaningful action.

Eletive makes it easy to manage employee data and ensure everyone gets surveys, even when many of our employees work irregular hours or have seasonal contracts.

The insights in this article come from that experience and our understanding of what makes employee engagement strategies work in practice.

What is a skip-level meeting?

A skip-level meeting is a one-on-one conversation between a senior leader and an employee who reports to one of their direct reports. The employee's manager isn't in the room, giving the senior leader a chance to hear about the employee's experience without the usual management layer in between. The conversation typically takes about 30 minutes and covers their role, their team, and what's happening across the organisation.

The "skip" refers to the manager in between. For example, if you're a VP and meet with someone who reports to one of your managers, you're holding a skip-level meeting. The purpose is to hear directly from someone closer to the day-to-day work, so you can spot patterns, understand blockers, and see what's happening beyond the view of your direct reports.

What should you call a skip-level meeting?

Not everyone is comfortable with the phrase "skip-level meeting" in a calendar invite. It can sound like their manager is being bypassed, which starts the conversation on the wrong foot. Alternatives that work well include "leadership check-in," "open conversation with [your name]," or simply "1:1 with [your name]." The goal is to signal an informal, two-way conversation.

In the invite itself, keep it brief and warm. Explain the purpose ("I'm scheduling regular conversations with people across the team to stay connected"). Add what it is not ("this isn't about evaluating anyone's performance"). One or two sentences is enough. If the employee has never done this before, a short note from their direct manager helps. Something like "this is something [leader] does with everyone" goes a long way.

Why skip-level meetings matter for engagement

1. For senior leaders

When you manage managers, most of what you know about frontline teams comes secondhand. Skip-level meetings give you a direct line to how work gets done, what's slowing people down, and where teams are thriving. That first-hand perspective is what turns engagement survey data into real decisions, because you're hearing the human story behind the numbers.

2. For direct managers

A well-run skip-level meeting makes a manager's job easier, not harder. When senior leadership understands the challenges a team faces, it's easier to get resources, clear roadblocks, and back the manager's decisions. The key is transparency. When the direct manager knows the meeting is happening and hears a summary of themes afterwards, they gain an ally in leadership.

3. For employees

Skip-level meetings give employees a voice beyond their immediate team. For many people, it's the only chance to share feedback with someone who can act on it at a broader level. That sense of being heard drives engagement, especially when it's followed by visible action.

Are skip-level meetings good or bad?

Skip-level meetings can strengthen trust and communication, but they can also create tension when they're poorly handled. The difference usually comes down to what happens before, during, and after the conversation.

When they build trust

Skip-level meetings build trust when employees can speak openly and see that their feedback leads to action. For example, if an employee raises concerns about workload and the senior leader works with the manager to address them, employees see that speaking up can lead to change. Over time, that can encourage people to raise issues earlier, before frustration builds.

When they backfire

Problems usually arise when:

• The manager is blindsided. They may feel that leadership is going around them rather than supporting them.

• Nothing happens afterwards. Employees may stop sharing feedback if they see no action from leadership.

• Leadership oversteps. A senior leader who changes a manager's decision based on one conversation can undermine the manager's authority without having the full context.

Brief the direct manager every time

A clear process can prevent most of these problems. Tell the direct manager about the meeting beforehand and agree on any topics that need their input. Afterward, share the main themes and agreed actions without attributing comments to individual employees. This keeps the manager informed while giving employees enough privacy to speak honestly.

Most importantly, close the loop. If employees raise an issue that leadership agrees needs attention, make sure someone owns the next step and communicates what will happen.

How often should you hold skip-level meetings?

The right cadence depends on how many people you'd need to meet and how fast your organisation is changing. A quarterly rhythm works for most teams. Monthly makes sense during periods of rapid growth, restructuring, or leadership transitions when uncertainty is highest.

The important thing is consistency. A skip-level meeting that happens once and then disappears does more harm than none at all, because it signals that the leader lost interest.

How to prepare for a skip-level meeting

For leaders

Start with the data you already have. Review the most recent pulse survey results and eNPS trends for that team. Look for patterns. Are there segments where engagement has dropped? Themes in open-ended comments that keep coming up? That context helps you ask better questions and spot whether what you hear in the meeting matches what the data shows.

Then speak with the direct manager. Let them know the meeting is happening, agree on what's in scope, and set confidentiality expectations. You're not asking for a briefing on the employee's performance. You're aligning on the purpose so the manager feels informed, not surveilled.

Prepare 3 to 5 open-ended questions, but keep space for the conversation to go where the employee takes it. The best skip-level meetings feel like a genuine conversation, not an interview.

What should you say in a skip-level meeting? (for employees)

If you've been invited to a skip-level meeting, you don't need to prepare a presentation. Think about what's going well on your team and what you'd change if you could. Consider whether there are blockers that your manager hasn't been able to resolve alone.

A few things to keep in mind. Be honest, but focus on patterns rather than individual incidents. Don't use the meeting to go around your manager on a decision you disagree with, because that undermines the process for everyone. And if you're not sure what the meeting is for, just ask.

A 30-minute skip-level meeting agenda you can copy

This agenda works for both first-time and recurring skip-level meetings. Adjust the timing based on how the conversation flows, but aim to cover each section.

1. Open and set the tone (3 minutes). Thank them for their time. Restate the purpose: “I like to have regular conversations with people across the team to stay connected.” Confirm confidentiality: “I’ll share themes with your manager, not specifics.”

2. Build rapport (5 minutes). Ask about something recent: a project they’re working on, how their week is going, or what they’re enjoying most about their role. Let them talk.

3. Role and blockers (8 minutes). Ask what’s taking up most of their time, what’s going well, and where they’re hitting friction. Listen for patterns you’ve seen in the survey data.

4. Manager and team feedback (7 minutes). Ask how they feel about the support they’re getting, how the team works together, and whether there’s anything that would make a clear difference. Keep this about their experience, not an evaluation of their manager.

5. Strategy and bigger picture (4 minutes). Ask whether they feel connected to where the organisation is heading. Share one or two things you’re focused on as a leader. This gives them visibility into the bigger picture.

6. Close and next steps (3 minutes). Ask if there’s anything else they wanted to bring up. Summarise any actions you’ll take and confirm when you’ll next meet.

Skip-level meeting questions by theme

These 22 questions cover the themes that come up most often in skip-level conversations. You won't use all of them in a single meeting. Pick 3 to 5 based on what you want to learn.

Role and workload

1. What part of your work are you enjoying most right now?

2. What's taking up more time than you think it should?

3. Is there anything you need to do your job well that you don't currently have?

4. How clear are you on what success looks like in your role this quarter?

5. If you could change one thing about your day-to-day, what would it be?

Manager and team dynamics

1. How well does your team work together on shared goals?

2. Do you feel you get enough feedback on your work?

3. What does your manager do well that you'd want other managers to know about?

4. Is there anything that would make your team meetings or 1:1s more useful?

5. How comfortable do you feel raising concerns or disagreements within your team?

Organisation and strategy

1. How connected do you feel to where the organisation is heading?

2. Is there anything happening at a company level that feels unclear or confusing?

3. What's one thing leadership could do to make your work easier?

4. Do you feel the organisation's values show up in how decisions get made?

5. Is there a process or policy that gets in the way more than it helps?

Growth and development

1. Where would you like your career to go over the next year or two?

2. Are there skills you'd like to develop that your current role doesn't give you the chance to build?

3. Do you feel you have a clear path for growth here?

4. Have you had any learning or development experiences recently that were genuinely useful?

5. What would make this organisation a place you'd want to stay for the long term?

6. Is there a project or responsibility outside your current role you'd be interested in?

7. What's the best piece of feedback you've received recently?

After the meeting: close the loop without undermining managers

The meeting itself is half the job. What happens next determines whether it builds trust or erodes it.

• Share themes, not quotes: Give the direct manager a summary of the broad themes you heard. For example, "the team wants more clarity on prioritisation" or "people feel good about the recent project cadence." Don't attribute specific comments to individuals. This protects confidentiality while giving the manager useful information.

• Track actions and follow through: If you said you'd look into something, do it. The fastest way to damage trust in skip-level meetings is to ask for feedback and then do nothing with it. Keep a simple running log of what came up and what you did about it.

• Feed themes into regular 1:1s: If a skip-level meeting surfaces a pattern, bring that theme into your next 1:1 with the manager. Maybe the team wants more development opportunities or feels disconnected from strategy. Either way, it becomes a coaching conversation.

• Use anonymous feedback channels for sensitive topics: Sometimes an employee hints at something they're not comfortable saying out loud. An anonymous channel lets them follow up on their own terms.

Adapting skip-level meetings for shift-based and on-site teams

A 30-minute video call doesn't work when someone is mid-shift on a warehouse floor or behind a retail counter. For these teams, group formats tend to work better. A 20-minute on-site conversation during shift overlap, with 4 to 6 people, gives a senior leader direct contact without pulling anyone off the line.

The harder part is what happens between meetings. Frontline employees may not have access to a desktop or a corporate inbox, so any follow-up survey needs to meet them where they are.

Mobile-friendly pulse surveys and shared-device kiosk access solve that. If your workforce spans multiple languages, look for a tool with built-in translation. Eletive supports over 40 languages and offers kiosk mode for exactly this reason.

Make skip-level meetings part of how you listen

Skip-level meetings work best when they're part of a broader listening strategy, not a one-off. Combined with regular pulse surveys, 1:1 check-ins, and clear action-planning, they give senior leaders a direct, human layer of insight that data alone can't provide.

Eletive brings pulse surveys, 1:1s, and anonymous feedback together in one platform. That means the patterns you hear in a skip-level meeting can be tracked, acted on, and measured over time.

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