An Event Planner’s Guide to Epic Company Kick-Off Meetings

Don’t stress over planning your team’s kick-off! With this online guide, you’ll find resources to help you organize a memorable, exciting, and impactful meeting.

Successful kick-offs are generally multi-day meetings that get corporate groups pumped up about the launch of a new product, the start of a project, or the beginning of a fiscal year.

So, if you’ve you been asked to plan your company’s upcoming kick-off, you may be feeling like the pressure’s on to organize a great – maybe even epic – event.

Okay, take a big breath…our team of experts has you covered!

No matter which type of kick-off you’re planning, you can use this guide as a tool to help you put together an unforgettable multi-day meeting.

Specifically, you’ll find tips, expert advice, and insight on:

• The most common reasons kick-offs fail
• Fun kick-off meeting ideas
• Topics your meeting agenda needs to cover
• Easy event planning pitfalls to avoid
• What to do after your kick-off to make things stick
• Where to find downloadable guides for off-site meetings

Continue reading for a complete list of resources that can help you plan a fun and effective kick-off, or download your free copy of An Event Planner’s Guide to Epic Company Kick-Off Meetings.

Table of Contents

Planning Your Kick-Off Meeting

Discover how to take the guesswork out of putting together a successful kick-off meeting, and plan one your colleagues won’t be able to stop talking about. In this online guide, we dive into fun kick-off meeting ideas as well as some key things you can do to ensure yours is a success.

• 5 of the Biggest Reasons Kick-Off Meetings Fail – When executed properly, kick-off meetings can be an incredible way to reenergize your team or to realign the focus of a project. They can inspire employees, get them excited about what’s to come, and provide each individual with an in-depth understanding of what they need to accomplish. But in order to achieve everything you’re hoping to, it’s important to ensure you’ve safeguarded your event against these five common reasons why kick-off meetings fail.
  
  
• 3 Essential Topics to Cover in Your Kick-Off Meeting Agenda – The reality is that no two kick-off meetings will ever be the same since factors such as attendees, presenters, and overall priorities will all serve to make them unique. But with that being said, there are three key agenda items that are consistently important every time. In this article, you’ll learn about the three essential discussion items you need to cover in your kick-off meeting.
  
  
• Avoid These 3 Mistakes to Have an Unforgettable Kick-Off Meeting – Company kick-off meetings are meant to convey key takeaways in a clear and memorable way. That means your kick-off meeting is only as good as the information you’re able to impart on your employees. We spoke with Bryan McWilliams, one of our most tenured Employee Engagement Consultants, to get his expert advice on three common kick-off meeting mistakes to avoid in order to ensure your attendees get the most out of them.

After Your Kick-Off Meeting

Even once your meeting is finished, your responsibilities as a planner aren’t quite done. Find out what you need to do after your kick-off to ensure attendees retain what they’ve learned.

• How to Stick the Landing After Your Kick-Off Meeting Is Over – When it comes to hosting a successful company kick-off meeting, the meeting itself is only the first step. One of the most critical components of any kick-off meeting is what you do immediately afterwards to ensure your employees follow through and deliver results. This news article looks at the five steps you need to take post-meeting to make sure you realize the results you’re looking for.

Other Resources for Off-Site Kick-Offs & Retreats

Looking for additional meeting planning tools? Check out these downloadable guides for more information on organizing successful off-site events.

• The Definitive Guide to Planning Your Company Retreat – If you’re looking for a great way to get your team together outside of the office to bond, get motivated, or address organizational challenges, there’s no better option than a company retreat. This free online guide provides you with step-by-step instructions for planning a successful company retreat including your agenda, fun kick-off meeting ideas, tips and tricks we’ve learned from more than a decade of planning retreats, and the actionable steps you can take post-retreat to make sure you achieve tangible results.
  
  
• Top Activity Ideas for Company Retreats – If you’re planning a company retreat but you’re not quite sure where to start, reading this free online guide is a great first step. You’ll find ideas for company retreats to suit any need or business goal, from creativity to philanthropy, sightseeing, and problem-solving.
  
  
• The 20 Best Destinations for Team Building Retreats – Company retreats provide you with a unique opportunity to get your entire team together in a new and inspiring location. But where should you go? You can either throw a dart at a map and hope for the best, or you can check out this online guide where we look at the ten best destinations in North America for team building retreats.

Learn More About Planning Epic Kick-Offs

Download An Event Planner’s Guide to Epic Company Kick-Off Meetings for more information, or get in touch with an Employee Engagement Consultant today.