Company kickoffs have been popular for many years in the tech sector, and now companies of all kinds have started throwing these yearly company events, too. Kickoffs are an amazing opportunity for colleagues to connect outside of the office, for everyone to learn about the company’s progress and updated goals, and to plan for the year ahead as a team. 

As of 2022, 78% of Gen Z, 81% of Millennials, 75% of Gen X, and even 68% of Boomers prefer either remote or hybrid work. Over the past several years, employees of all ages and roles have learned to connect with their colleagues in various environments, whether online or in-person. They’ve gotten comfortable with video conferencing platforms and learned to work wherever it is that they work best.

But it hasn’t all been easy: almost half (45%) of workers shared that they’ve experienced a significant increase in work stress in the past year. Day-to-day work stress adds up and, left unchecked, can quickly lead to burnout and disengagement.

A hybrid kickoff is a great way to show your employees that your company is willing to make a significant time investment in helping employees re-center, connect with one another, and remember why they love working at your company. 

We’ll get into everything you need to know about company kickoffs and how to host a hybrid one in 2023. 

What is a company kickoff?

A company kickoff is a yearly event, often held at the beginning of the year, where the entire company comes together to discuss the company’s areas of success and ongoing opportunities and for people from all over the company to get to know one another. It’s like an internal conference, lasting anywhere from half a day to several days. 

When you set aside dedicated time for reflection and planning, employees of all levels can press pause on day-to-day tasks,  focus on the big picture, and figure out what’s ahead. 

Some companies fly out employees from all over the world to meet in one central location, springing for hotel rooms and conference centers. But this isn’t necessary for a successful kickoff: remote and hybrid kickoffs are gaining popularity. 

Not only are hybrid kickoffs infinitely more affordable — meaning more companies can consider throwing a kickoff at all — but it’s also a lot more environmentally conscious to curtail the massive air travel that normal kickoffs involve. And hybrid kickoffs also include employees with a variety of life situations and needs, like if they’re a single parent or a primary caregiver for an elder, to enjoy the experience of a company kickoff even if they wouldn’t be able to travel for it. 

In this article, we’ll cover how to run the best hybrid kickoff possible.

Key factors when planning + hosting a hybrid kickoff

• Plan out your sessions ahead of time
• Work with a dedicated event planning team
• Create unique experience paths for in-person and virtual attendees
• Provide detailed agendas for every day
• Invest in the right streaming platform
• Use best-in-class video conferencing cameras
• Factor in time zones
• Record all sessions for future viewing

How to plan a hybrid kickoff

A hybrid kickoff is a company kickoff that’s accessible to remote and in-person attendees. Composed of in-person events that are broadcast via best-in-class video conferencing platforms, as well as live and pre-recorded online sessions, hybrid kickoffs let employees participate in the event no matter where they are. 

When done correctly, remote participants will get to enjoy not only the informative sessions but also get to connect with colleagues from other parts of the company and deepen their learning about their company’s mission, vision, and roadmap. 

1. Decide what types of sessions you want to host

Every company is a little different, but here’s a taste of the types of sessions and events typically offered at kickoffs. All informative and career-based sessions will need to be broadcast online and also held in a room that can accommodate all in-person employees who sign up for each one. Social events will be a mixed bag: some fully in-person, some hybrid, and some fully remote.

• Company progress and goals session — these sessions are often mandatory and are usually for the whole company.
• Day in the life of a [insert role at your company] panels — you can offer several of these sessions at once, and employees can choose to attend whichever one they find most interesting.
• Mentorship sessions — senior and junior employees in similar areas of your company are encouraged to meet for mini-mentorship sessions.
• Career advancement breakout sessions — you can offer several types of these, either by level of seniority, segment of the company, or any other grouping that makes sense for your business. For example: 

• • Advancing your career as an LGBTQ+ employee
  • Growing your marketing career
  • Getting from individual contributor to manager 
  • How to grow as a manager with multiple direct reports 
  • What makes an effective VP 
    
• Skill-building breakout sessions — get employees to teach their peers skills like how to manage a team - or do basic HTML - or improve their project management, and more.
• Social breakout sessions — art classes, exercise classes, happy hours, team dinners, bowling, and even hiring a DJ and doing a dancing night can be a lot of fun.
  
  

2. If you don’t have an in-house events team, hire one

It may feel excessive to hire an events professional for a smaller kickoff, but kickoff events are complex. Here are just some of the logistics they’ll take care of:

• Ensuring that everyone knows which sessions to attend and that they’ve signed up for a full agenda of sessions
• Making sure every Zoom link for every session works on the day of
• Prepping every room to be set up to accommodate all the in-person attendees
• Managing venue and room booking
• Setting up and providing food and drinks ready for onsite attendees
• Sending out a gift box sent to remote attendees
• Troubleshooting all issues on the day of the event — everything from lagging internet to delayed food delivery to replacing a speaker who’s out sick and anything else that comes up

All these tasks — and the literally hundreds more that go into kickoff planning — are way out of the scope of most marketing and employee experience teams, so invest in the help of professionals who have run hybrid events before. 

3. Create two unique experience paths for virtual and in-person attendance

Creating a hybrid workplace means taking into account the employee experience for your remote teams just as much as you do your in-person teams — or even more. And during your kickoff, it’s especially important that everyone feel considered and included, so proactively create two different ideal experience paths for your remote and in-person attendees. 

After all, the goal of every kickoff is for employees to leave feeling invigorated and excited to be working for your company. So if remote employees have a subpar kickoff experience, they’ll feel a little left out and disconnected, which is the last thing you want. 

For example, here’s what Day 1 could look like:

4. Plan each day down to the minute and provide agendas to attendees

When managing an event for hundreds (or thousands) of people, it’s crucial that every single person knows where to go, when, and how to get there — whether it’s online or in person. In the weeks leading up to the event, every participant should be prompted to sign up for the breakout sessions they’re interested in, and they’ll also be registered automatically for the mandatory sessions. 

In the days leading up to the event, every attendee should receive an agenda that shows a roadmap of every day of the kickoff. 

Plus, every session should have an agenda that attendees can access either at the beginning of the meeting or before it starts. Agendas help attendees know exactly what to expect with each session and can help improve engagement during the meeting. To get some agenda inspiration, check out our collection of 15 Meeting Agenda Templates. 

5. Invest in the right event streaming platform 

Managing an online-only event is complex enough, but adding in the in-person element — and the combination of the two! — leads to an incredible amount of logistics and potential challenges to manage. 

Find a live streaming platform like InEvent, Accelevents, or Bizzabo that specializes in hybrid events so that you can leave the recording, streaming, and day-of event execution to the professionals. 

6. Use best-in-class video conferencing technology for hybrid sessions

Especially for your small to medium sessions, using the Meeting Owl 3 and its accessories to broadcast the session can help remote employees feel even more part of the conversation. 

Just set up a Meeting Owl 3 and a screen where remote participants can be shown to the in-person attendees, and everyone will be able to experience the session together — from the presentation to the Q&A.  

7. Take time zones into account

When planning your hybrid event, consider that remote attendees will join from various time zones. Of course, it’s not possible to accommodate every time zone around the world, but work with your event team to find the best solution that works for the largest number of your remote employees. 

8. Record all sessions and make them available after the event

Make sure all (or at least most) of the kickoff breakout sessions and the mandatory sessions are recorded so that employees can go back and watch them later on. Knowing a session is recorded helps attendees focus on being in the moment instead of taking notes. 

Plus, they’ll be able to go back and reference that great HTML tip they learned or that online training that one panelist mentioned about team management. 

Kickoffs for all!

Getting the company together, whether it’s remote, in-person, or hybrid, can help employees reconnect with their work, see the big picture, and make a lot of new friends.