What is a kickoff meeting?

What is a kickoff?

As the name suggests a kickoff is the start of a new project. Companies might have different types of kickoffs depending on what's being started. For example, the start of a quarter might see a company-wide one to discuss priorities, whereas a marketing kickoff might only need stakeholders from that team.

What is a kickoff meeting? 

Generally, most kickoffs start with a meeting. It’s a chance for the relevant stakeholders to come together and run through the project’s goals, objectives and necessary requirements. 

Where most meetings will typically have an agenda ahead of time, a kickoff meeting should also have a rough plan of how the project will be completed. The details of this can be fleshed out in the meeting, but it’s helpful to have an idea of the project’s start, middle and end. 

When the meeting begins, the project leader will normally act as chair. They should give an overview of the initiative as well as expected roles and responsibilities. It’s a good idea if you have other people owning specific parts of the project, to let them know ahead of time so they can be prepared to present to the group in this meeting. 

With a new project, the group might be meeting for the first time. Think of an icebreaker to let everyone get comfortable and make any introductions they need to. 

Be sure to keep each point concise. This is just an introduction to the project and further meetings can explore particular tasks in more detail. Also, don’t forget to take feedback as you go. Unlike other meetings, in a kickoff, you’re expecting people to take on roles you assign. Make sure they understand what’s expected of them. 

At the end of the meeting, check everyone is happy with the roadmap and understands the action points to take away. It’s also a good idea to set expectations about how often you’ll meet and that an invite to those meetings is coming. 

How to arrange a kickoff meeting

Getting people together for the first time - especially when you don’t know their schedules is hard. Doodle can get a meeting in your diary in minutes. 

Group Poll lets you find the best time for any number of people. Just pick your times and the people you need. They’ll decide what works for them and you’ll have a meeting time. 

If you’re working with externals, Doodle Professional lets you add your own branding to meeting invites. It can also get rid of ads and set deadlines for when people have to respond.

Don’t worry if your first meeting is online, with Doodle you can easily integrate your favorite video conferencing tool and its links will automatically be added to all the invites you send.

Doodle makes it easy for you to arrange a kickoff meeting quickly. No email back and forth, no more stress, just more free time for you to focus on more important things. Try it for free today.