Finding the Right Project Kickoff Meeting Space

When seeking a project kickoff meeting space, the ideal place to hold it has:

A space with room: consider having one large room for the large kick off, then smaller break out spaces for breakout sessions.
A/V capabilities and business services
Easy parking and accessibility for project members
On-site banquet facilities to keep your members hydrated and fed well!
Ideally, it’s *not at your offices* which means your meeting off-site ensures the meeting will be distraction-free.

The Four Points by Sheraton Norwood and the Forefront Conference Center checks all of the boxes!

Project Kickoff Meetings

Project kickoff meetings are a big chance to put a team of people in the same room working towards the same goal. So, how can you best get everyone in the room on the same page at the project kickoff meeting? Start with a well-formulated, straight forward project kickoff meeting checklist.

Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda

A project kickoff meeting checklist can make all the difference. It can show the people who are working with the team what exactly is expected, and what steps they need to take to meet the goals of the meeting. It can also make managers more aware of what steps they need to take to get on the same page. If you don’t use a checklist for your agenda, your meeting will be a big missed opportunity for your organization.

There are four components that make up a successful project kickoff meeting agenda:

the project requirements discussion,
the team’s plan,
the project schedule, and
a discussion of how to best plan and schedule regular project update meetings.

The project kickoff meeting timeline and plan should be clearly documented. The team’s plan contains an action plan outlining what they have to do in order to get the project off the ground and start delivering what they agreed upon. In addition, the project kickoff meeting schedule should include milestones and goals. Nailing down project update meetings are a very important component to the project kickoff checklist as well.

First, Give an Inspiring Project Kickoff Speech

The best meeting speeches are brief and to the point. Your speech needs to explain why the project is necessary and what are its goals. It also needs to give details about what needs to happen to get the project done and achieve the goals. Make sure that you convey the importance of the project to the audience. A solid sound system is key to a well delivered speech, after-all – you want everyone to hear your message! At the Four Points by Sheraton Norwood, our integrated sound systems and wireless microphones ensure your speech will be clearly heard throughout the room.

One great approach can be to ask the audience to visualize the organization, its customers, or whoever the key stakeholders are in the project, in five or ten years and to imagine how their lives will be changed by the project. Paint a picture of the impact the project can have. Project kickoff meeting members will be more committed, if they take to heart the importance of the journey. A solid sound system is key to a well delivered speech, allowing everyone to be able to hear your message! At the Four Points by Sheraton Norwood our integrated sound systems and wireless microphones ensure your speech will be clearly heard throughout the room.

Project Kickoff Meeting Requirements Discussion

When you’re managing a large or a complex project, the team who has been assigned to your project needs to understand the scope of the project. For a requirements discussion, you begin by listing the known project requirements, as well as, any categories of “as-yet-unknown” requirements. You should also list out any project risks, and brainstorm with the team how you can best address and plan for these risks. For “as-yet-unknown” requirements, you can come up with a plan to resolve these so that there is no undefined scope.

Listen closely to the team’s response to the project requirements. Make sure that the team members are very clear about what the project requirements are, what the risks are, what steps you can take to manage the risks, and, finally, understanding you may not be able to resolve every issue in this first meeting. You can, however, certainly capture them for later addressing them in future project team meetings.

Break out spaces are a great tool for handling these types of discussions. After the main project kickoff meeting, break into smaller groups to focus on some of the individual areas of the project. Both the Four Points by Sheraton Norwood and the Forefront Conference Center have rooms in all sizes perfect for these small discussions.

For project kickoff meetings in Massachusetts, the Conference Center at Four Points Sheraton Norwood and the Forefront Conference Center is the perfect venue. Easy access from major highways, a centralized location, it offers the perfect facility for a distraction-free project kickoff meeting.