Why kick-off events and AGMs benefit your business

As the year is coming to an end, planning and preparation for the new business year and new projects are well underway. A great way to make those a success is to hold kick-off events and Annual General Meetings. These kinds of events are not only the best ways to inform team members and clients but also to establish the nature of collaboration and foundation of reliance.

Start your project with a bang

Kick-off events are a great opportunity to introduce a new project and get it started with all participants’ spirits raised. The goal of such an event is not only to provide orientation for the project. It also helps to establish backgrounds, supplies a space to meet the client(s), sets out a path of what comes next and sets expectations. It is an excellent moment to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of a company to determine the most effective and efficient route to take to make. In the end at a prosperous kick-off event, all parties involved should have generated enthusiasm for the upcoming project.

Preparation is key

As for all successful projects, kick-off events form no exception. Not only should those in charge of planning the project and event be well prepared for the kick-off event but it is extremely helpful to equip the attendees of the event with a kind of checklist or information leaflet containing all necessary information. For example, if the event is held online, wholly or partially, it helps to remind about login details or registration on specific platforms where the event is held.

Designing a framework

Most kick-off events share a similar structure. Starting with an introduction or welcoming part, the agenda has then to be discussed and set. Before everyone is diving right into work, it is advisable, especially if new team members or clients are present, to include ice breakers. Those help to create a more relaxed and more familiar environment for everyone. After background information is presented, roles should be assigned and timelines set. This will allow everyone to have clear instructions on what lies in their area of accountability and task assignment. Before attending to the new project a risk assessment and a layout of rules and dates for future meetings complete the necessary foundation to start working well-prepared.

Find a balance

Facts and figures are essential at a kick-off event. It is important to keep a balance between delivering informative content to all parties involved and engaging activities. Brainstorming and pitching ideas is a fantastic way to get started and excited in internal company kick-offs. Additionally, team-building exercises are crucial to creating a flourishing work environment. A strong team with a strong foundation of trust and reliance paves the way for the needed corporative workspace. Team building activities can be included at different stages of a kick-off event. For events held on several days it may be a good idea to include activities on each day. A theme as well as visualisation support memorising the event and stimulate creativity to achieve great results. Themes can be anything from a company symbol or achievement and help to create an engaging environment.

Capture and keep the attention

For online or hybrid events it is important to keep the attention of those attending remotely. An effective way to do so is by personalising the event to the attendee. By creating smaller working groups (in cases of a high numbers of attendees) allows equal opportunity to contribute to the kick-off event. Gathering feedback not only at the end of the event but throughout can help to improve the next kick-off event as well as resolving issues evolving along the way without feeling helpless and looking unprepared.

Annual General Meetings (AGM)

These rather formal meetings should proceed in a similar fashion. Despite their more general nature, AGMs should be an opportunity to assess strengths and weaknesses. They also give attendees the chance to interact. Each attendee should leave the event well-informed and inspired for the upcoming business year. A plan of action should be set, questions answered, expectations set and roles assigned. AGMs rely less on team building activities and ice breakers but ultimately they should convey a message of competence and reliance with the prospect of success. Online attendees need the opportunity to participate actively. Thanks to modern platforms this can be done without compromising anyone’s rights and duties.

Thanks to modern technology in form of web-streaming, interactivity and much more kick-off events have ascended. They are now on a whole new level and enabled creativity on new levels to help businesses to succeed.