Company kickoff meeting: how to plan an all-company kickoff (and how it differs from a sales kickoff)
A company kickoff is the start-of-year meeting for everyone: it sets the plan and priorities, connects teams and recognizes the year before. A sales kickoff is for go-to-market teams and centers on practice. If you run both, hold a shared day first and a sales-only day after, at the same venue.
A company kickoff meeting is not a project kickoff. It is the all-company event, often held at the start of the fiscal year, where the whole company hears the plan, understands what each function will focus on and spends time with colleagues from other teams. The person organizing it is often a chief of staff, a People Ops lead or the EA to the CEO, and the hardest part is making one day work for every function, not just sales.
Many companies also run a sales kickoff around the same time. If that is the event you are planning, see our page on sales kickoffs planned with a local planner. Otherwise, jump to the company kickoff vs sales kickoff comparison. Formats vary by company size, so adapt the examples to your headcount and the way your teams work.
Company kickoff vs sales kickoff
The two events overlap in timing and sometimes in venue, but they serve different people and different goals. Venue and AV notes reflect how local planners usually set up these formats, not a benchmark.
| Company kickoff | Sales kickoff | Back-to-back version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | Everyone in the company | Sales and other go-to-market teams | Everyone on day one, go-to-market teams on day two |
| Goal | Share the plan and priorities, connect teams, recognize the year | Prepare teams to sell: messaging, product, practice | One shared plan, then sales-specific practice |
| Content | Company strategy, priorities by function, cross-team work | Targets, territories, product and pitch practice, enablement | Strategy for all, enablement for sales |
| Format | Plenary plus cross-team breakouts and a recognition moment | Plenary plus role or region breakouts and practice sessions | Shared plenary, then split tracks |
| Length | Often a day, sometimes two | Varies with the sales team's needs | A shared day plus a sales day |
| Venue needs | A main room that seats everyone, plus breakout rooms | A main room for sales, plus several breakout rooms | A main room for the whole company and enough breakout rooms for day two |
| AV | Plenary sound and screens, remote streaming | Plenary AV, breakout screens, practice recording if used | Full plenary AV on day one; on day two, a smaller plenary setup plus breakout AV, with time to reset |
| Budget owner | Often the CEO's office, People Ops or Finance | Often the sales leader or sales operations | Split by day or by line, agreed in advance |
| Timing in the year | Often at the start of the fiscal year | Often at the start of the sales year | Both in the same week, at the same venue |
| Success signal | People can explain the plan and their team's part in it | Teams are ready to sell the new plan | Both, without two separate trips |
The difference also shows up in who gets invited. In SalesHood's 2025 Sales Kickoff Industry Report, a vendor survey of 100+ B2B SaaS and software companies, 92% of respondents said they would invite sales to their kickoff and 8% said they would invite all employees (SalesHood). It is one vendor's survey of software companies, not a benchmark.
Who attends a company kickoff
The default is everyone. In practice that means three groups:
- Everyone in person, where possible. Much of the point of a company kickoff is the whole company hearing the same plan in the same room.
- Remote employees who cannot travel. They need a real role in the day, not just a stream; see the remote and hybrid section below.
- Leadership with clear jobs. The CEO presents the plan, each function lead presents their priorities, and someone owns the day's logistics and run of show.
Guest speakers are optional. If you add one, choose them because their topic connects to the plan, and keep their slot short.
A company kickoff meeting agenda
Here is one example agenda for a one-day company kickoff meeting. It balances the plan, the functions and time for people to connect. For other lengths, use our offsite agenda template.
| When | Session | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Morning, arrival | Coffee and check-in | Badges, a welcome screen and time to say hello |
| Morning | The CEO's plan for the year | The strategy, the few company priorities and why they matter |
| Late morning | Priorities by function | Each function lead presents briefly, so every team sees how the others fit in |
| Midday | Lunch | Seat people across teams on purpose |
| Afternoon | Cross-team breakouts | Mixed groups work on one company priority each and report back |
| Late afternoon | Recognition | Thank people and teams for the year before |
| Evening | Optional dinner or reception | A relaxed close, with a quieter option for people who want it |
How long a kickoff should run depends on your size and how far people travel. A single day suits a company that mostly lives nearby; a second day makes sense when travel is long or when the sales team stays on for its own sessions. Whatever the length, keep leadership presentations short so the breakouts have room. A kickoff that is all slides leaves no time to talk, so protect the cross-team time.
Running the company kickoff and sales kickoff back to back
If both events happen and most people travel, running them back to back at the same venue can save a second trip. The usual pattern is a shared day for the whole company, then a sales-only day for go-to-market teams.
What it changes for the venue:
- Plenary for everyone on day one. The main room has to seat the whole company, not just sales.
- Breakouts for sales on day two. The venue needs enough breakout rooms for role or region tracks, which is a different setup from day one.
- Room turnover. Allow time between the days to reset the main room and AV, and ask whether the venue can release part of the main room on day two, when only sales is in it.
- Room block. People who travel may need the night before day one. After day one, non-sales staff either stay for the evening and leave the next morning or leave that afternoon, while sales staff stay through day two. Size the block by group and night, and confirm release terms. Our guide to venue capacity for sleeping, meeting and dining helps check that the venue fits both days.
- Travel. Decide whether non-sales staff stay for the day-one evening, then stagger departures to match.
For how to build the sales day itself, see our guide to planning the sales day for sales leaders. If your sales event is a larger national meeting with its own venue and room block, see our guide to planning a national sales meeting. And if you are deciding between a kickoff and a broader, multi-day company offsite, start with the offsite pillar.
Remote and hybrid employees
If some people cannot travel, give them a role rather than a view. Ask remote colleagues to present part of their function's priorities, put them in breakout groups with a facilitator who watches the remote side, and send any materials or gifts ahead of time. Schedule the plenary at a time remote colleagues in other time zones can join live, and test the stream and the sound in the room before the day. Our guide to including hybrid and remote employees in an offsite covers the details.
Announcing the company kickoff
Announce the date early and explain the why: what the company will decide or share, who is expected to attend and how travel will work. Follow with logistics, an agenda outline and a contact for questions. For wording you can adapt, see our team offsite invitation email templates.
When a local planner helps
A kickoff that runs back to back with a sales day often means a venue, a caterer, an AV company and a transport provider, each with its own contract and invoice, plus a different setup for each day. The alternative is one local planner, one fee.
A Vantly local planner finds a venue that works for the whole company on day one and the sales day after, and puts rooms, food and drink, AV and transport into one priced proposal. You keep the content and the agenda; the local planner handles the logistics around them. Browse local planners to see who works in your area, or see sample events as examples a local planner tailors to your company.
Frequently asked questions
What is a company kickoff meeting?
A company kickoff meeting is a start-of-year all-hands where the whole company hears the plan and priorities, connects across teams and recognizes the year before. Its purpose is alignment: everyone leaves knowing the plan and their team's part in it. It is different from a project kickoff, which starts a single project.
What is the difference between a company kickoff and a sales kickoff?
The audience and the goal. A company kickoff is for everyone and centers on the plan, priorities and connection across teams. A sales kickoff is for go-to-market teams and centers on messaging, product and practice. The comparison table shows how they differ on format, venue, AV and budget.
What should be on a company kickoff agenda?
Include the CEO's plan for the year, short priorities from each function, cross-team breakouts on company priorities, a recognition moment and an optional evening. Keep presentations short so people have time to talk across teams. The sample agenda lays out one full day.
Should the company kickoff and sales kickoff be back to back?
It is often sensible when most people travel: a shared day for the whole company, then a sales-only day at the same venue saves a second trip. Check that the venue can seat everyone on day one, has enough breakout rooms for day two and can reset the main room between them.
How do you include remote employees in a company kickoff?
Bring them in person if you can. If not, give them roles rather than a stream: a part in their function's presentation, a place in breakout groups with someone watching the remote side, and materials sent ahead. Test the sound and stream before the day so remote colleagues can hear and be heard.
Related guides
- Sales kickoffs planned by a local planner
- Offsite agenda template
- Planning the sales day for sales leaders
- Team offsite invitation email templates
- Including hybrid and remote employees
- Venue capacity: sleep, meet and dine
Sources
- SalesHood, 2025 Sales Kickoff Industry Report (vendor survey of 100+ B2B SaaS and software companies)