Curious About Meeting Types? Let's Explore One-to-One vs. Skip-Level Meetings

Understanding Meeting Types

I want to know the difference between a one-to-one meeting and a skip-level meeting.

Regards,
Manpreet Kaur
Sr. HR Exec.

In a one-to-one meeting, only two persons are present, and hence the matters discussed are treated as confidential. In skip-level meetings, a few middle levels in the hierarchy are not included. Therefore, juniors can discuss freely and without fear with the senior-level people as their bosses (reporting officers in the middle level) are not present.

I hope the concept and purpose of both types of meetings are clear to you now.

Warm regards.

Hi Raj Kumar, Thanks for sharing this information with me. I have a few more questions on this topic, which are listed below:

Questions About Skip Level Meetings

Q1: I have also read that Skip Level meetings are conducted only once a year. Is that true?

Q2: Are Skip Level Meetings and Roundtable meetings the same concept?

Q3: I have read that Skip Level meetings are conducted between managers and team members. So, my question is, who are the managers - their reporting manager or the Director/CEO of the company?

Q4: How many times can we conduct Skip Level meetings in a year?

Q5: How many one-to-one meetings can we conduct in a year?

Thanks and warm regards,
Manpreet Kaur

Hi, please find below a link to a good article by Steven Sinofsky. Hope this helps.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/a...s-and-pitfalls

Regards,

Please find below a link to a good article by Steven Sinofsky. Hope this helps.

[Benefitting from skip-level 1:1s — tips and pitfalls | LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130305175712-2293107-benefitting-from-skip-level-1-1s-tips-and-pitfalls)

Regards,

One-to-one meetings are between two individuals and are generally supposed to be confidential. They are conducted in a private setting, preferably without any disturbances.

Skip-Level Meetings

Skip-level meetings are conducted between two individuals where at least one intermediate level is absent. Since one level is not present, it is termed a skip-level meeting. This can be very helpful if someone in the middle is filtering out all ideas or problems.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan

Hi Manpreet,
The Skip Level Meeting concept is generally observed in German companies, wherein employees get to address their issues and concerns directly with the Plant Head/CEO/MD. The employees are selected and invited by the HR. Their immediate reporting bosses are not invited to this meeting. Skip Level Meetings can be conducted bi-monthly, i.e., 6 times a year.

A One-to-One Meeting can be conducted between any two persons; they may be from the same department (boss and subordinate, between colleagues) or from different departments (to discuss a problem) or even at the time of signing an agreement.

Hope the terms are clear now.

Regards,
Surabhi

Hi Manpreet,

While thanking members for their contributions, I would like to provide brief sequence-wise replies to your queries as below:

A.1: Not true.

A.2: No, they are entirely different.

In Skip Level meetings, an intermediary level of hierarchy is necessarily left out, which is not the case with Round Table Meetings. Additionally, the latter generally involves opposing/competing/allied teams with a diverse participant cross-section.

A.3: Senior managers (who can also be CEO/Directors) and the team. The direct reporting managers are excluded.

A.4: There is generally no set frequency; however, minimum numbers can be stipulated. Normally, it varies from quarterly to monthly depending on the operational state.

The meeting with a Reviewing Officer (who is a notch above the Reporting Officer) during Performance Appraisal constitutes both a Skip and a one-to-one meeting.

A.5: Apart from Performance Appraisal Discussions, there can be several instances calling for one-to-one meetings.

If the above has helped to clear all your doubts on the topic, I would consider my efforts well rewarded.

Warm regards.