Management & Feedback
Skip-Level Meeting
A skip-level meeting is a conversation between a leader and an employee who reports to one of their managers. It gives the leader direct information on how the organisation is experienced on the ground, and lets employees raise ideas or concerns outside their usual line. Done respectfully, it complements the work of middle managers instead of bypassing them.
17 questions
When to use this template
- When a leader wants to hear directly from the teams, for example once or twice a year with each team, or regularly with a rotating group.
- After a reorganisation, a change of strategy or the arrival of a new manager, to measure how it is experienced.
- In growing organisations, where messages risk being filtered or softened as they go up.
Questions to ask
Getting to know each other
- 01How long have you been here, and what do you do day to day?
- 02What attracted you to the company in the first place?
- 03What do you enjoy most about your work at the moment?
Daily work and obstacles
- 04What gets in the way of doing your best work?
- 05Which process or tool costs you the most time?
- 06What would you change in how decisions affect your team?
- 07Do you have what you need to meet the expectations set for you?
Management and communication
- 08How well do you understand the direction of the company and your team?
- 09How do you experience communication from the leadership?
- 10How supported do you feel by your direct manager?
- 11Is there anything about your team's way of working that you would like me to know?
Culture and growth
- 12Which values of the company do you see in everyday work, and which not?
- 13How do you see your growth here?
- 14Do you feel comfortable raising a problem or disagreeing?
Ideas and closing
- 15If you were in my position, what would you do first?
- 16What question would you like to ask me?
- 17What can I do to be more useful to you and your colleagues?
Tips for a useful conversation
- Tell the employee's manager that the meeting is happening and why, to keep trust in the line.
- Explain how you will use what you hear, and promise that nothing will be attributed without consent.
- Listen more than you speak and avoid defending the organisation.
- Share themes, not names, with managers and act on what you can.
- Come back to the group later to show what changed.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using the meeting to evaluate the manager behind their back.
- Making promises you cannot keep.
- Reacting defensively to criticism of the organisation.
- Holding a single meeting and never doing anything with the findings.
Let Passisto People hold these conversations
The AI agent holds structured voice conversations with your employees and gives managers a clear report. People decide what happens next.