ect kickoff meeting
It is important for all project team members to participate in the kickoff meeting. Send a communication to each participant with a preferred time and date and include options in case they are unavailable. Even if someone is “out of pocket,” he or she can participate by phone.
Your goal here is to assemble the entire team so they all hear the same message at the start of the project. Instruct all participants to look for meeting materials on a specified date and to prepare for the meeting by reviewing them.
As soon as you have a firm time and date, schedule a conference room and phone services to support conference calls, as needed. Plan for a 90-minute meeting.
Personal note
In a recent project, I had 12 team members from four company departments located in seven physical office locations in five cities. It’s not always feasible to get all team members in the same conference room, as in this case. By preparing a solid agenda, providing supporting documentation ahead of time, and organizing the flow of the meeting, you can conduct an excellent kickoff meeting that gets all participants focused on the same objectives, even when many do not know one another.
Step 7: Send the kickoff meeting materials to all participants
On your designated date, send a package of meeting materials to each participant, including:
- Meeting time and date with call-in phone number
- Meeting agenda
- Project participants’ contact information
- Project plan draft
Ask each person to review the project plan carefully. Indicate that additional information will be discussed at the kickoff meeting and everyone should be familiar with his or her part of the plan. Explain that there will be a Q&A session at the meeting to answer any q