Virtual meetings save time and overcome distance-based obstacles. They can also lead to more productive outcomes than in-person meetings. There’s more of a “comfort zone” factor that can help propel the meeting; the participants can attend from their own space rather than someone else’s.
If you’re launching a new project involving internal stakeholders or an external client, a productive virtual kickoff meeting could make a notable difference in how your project proceeds.
What Is a Project Kickoff Meeting?
Seasoned project managers understand the value of a productive kickoff meeting; it’s an investment in project success and can help guarantee things progress smoothly. The kickoff meeting outlines and affirms the required groundwork for the road ahead.
One of the goals of a kickoff meeting is achieving a shared understanding of the project along with its scope and agreed-upon milestones. Those individuals who will guide and shape the project must remain clear in their roles and responsibilities. The project kickoff meeting is often the first time all parties meet to discuss and establish how the project will prove successful.
Why Kickoff Meetings Matter
How well a kickoff meeting goes often determines how well the project proceeds. The kickoff session could shape what kind of a relationship develops with a highly valued external stakeholder. It’s not hard to see why project managers and team leaders appreciate tips for kickoff meeting success, especially as virtual meetings become more of the norm.
Virtual meetings bring both benefits and challenges. A successful virtual meeting could depend on how well proactive measures to minimize challenges remain.
Challenges in running a successful virtual meeting include:
Make sure no technical issues, such as video or audio problems, affect any of the participants
Ensuring that the overall tone and virtual environment encourage attendees to contribute and request clarification when needed
Keeping track of and intervening when a participant dominates the meeting and prevents others from contributing
Accommodating individual participants’ time zones and business hours
Some thoughtful planning and the meeting facilitator’s interactive skills can overcome the challenges a virtual meeting might present. Overall, the benefits of setting up a virtual kickoff meeting easily outweigh the challenges.
The benefits the virtual environment provides include the following:
Cost savings - there’s no need for travel expenses or conference room bookings.
Time savings - daily business routines can continue until the meeting begins and resume as soon as the meeting ends.
Less effort is required to set up the basic arrangements - most of the preparation effort can cover content and goal details rather than working out logistics.
Control over interruptions - the facilitator can maintain the focus on relevant issues by muting participants until they have questions or contribute needed input.
Eco-friendly operation - lacking travel or commuting requirements translates into a reduced carbon footprint.
Participants typically feel more relaxed, engaged, and receptive when attending a virtual kickoff meeting from within “their own space.”
Preparation
Because most of the effort in preparing for a virtual meeting can remain focused on its content, one of the most effective approaches involves paying close attention to the vital areas of purpose, goals, and scope. Purpose, for example, reflects the primary reason for the project’s existence.
The kickoff meeting should clarify the project’s internal, business, or external client purpose. The meeting facilitator’s ability to define and emphasize the project’s goal can have much to do with a kickoff meeting’s success.
A project’s goals are vital to its purpose; they define specific outcomes that further help achieve its overarching purpose. Goals typically come with completion timeframes; in this respect, particular goals serve as milestones and demonstrate if the project is proceeding as planned.
A project’s scope requires a clear and well-defined outline of what stakeholders can and should not expect. If the kickoff meeting fails to note limitations, the highly undesirable circumstance of “scope creep” could develop. Project failure can result when an expansion of deliverable outcomes extends past the available time, budget, and resources.
When preparing for a virtual kickoff meeting, it’s essential to ensure that the agenda clearly defines the project’s purpose, goals, and scope. The preparation process should also involve creating a distributable pre-meeting agenda.
What To Include in Your Virtual Meeting Agenda
Your kickoff meeting agenda should note the project’s “why, what, how, when, and who” details. The “why” refers to the project’s purpose. It’s the reason the project came into existence, and its measurable goals reflect “what” outcomes will serve its primary purpose.
The answer to the “how” question explains how the project will achieve its goals. This could include the dynamics of stakeholder and project management interactions. Communication channels and measuring goals fall into the “how” category.
The issue of “when” plays an essential role in kickoff meetings. Time is money, and not many projects come without a budget cap. Whether or not the project achieves its milestones within expected time frames could make or break a project.
The “who” category notes and outlines the roles of various stakeholders, managers, and team members. It describes who will do what and could also detail where project members will perform their assigned tasks.
Final Tips for a Successful Project Kickoff
Some final tips for virtual kickoff meeting success include the facilitator remaining aware of the possibility of scope creep. Project stakeholders may intentionally or unintentionally expand the outcomes and deliverables. It’s best to consciously avoid or deflect conversations that could place pressure on project management to extend its scope.
When an external client becomes involved, a preliminary “pre-kickoff” meeting with the internal team members could help prepare them for a successful kickoff with the external stakeholder team. It could also prove beneficial to engage in a pre-kickoff meeting with external clients before introducing them to the internal team.
One of the most critical issues to consider is the technology choice. The custom virtual meeting platform comes with a variety of features that can accommodate a wide range of specific industry needs and conferencing preferences. Contact a Zoom hardware and services expert to learn what options best meet your virtual kickoff meeting needs.