The short answer: First agree what should be settled after the kick-off and who needs to be there. Then decide whether you meet at the client or in one of your offices, and compare everyone’s outbound and return journeys for it. Set an agenda that fits the journeys, and agree overnight stays and the travel policy before you book.
1. What should be settled after the kick-off?
At the kick-off, the project team comes together for the first time, often with the client. Write down beforehand what should be clear afterwards: for example the goals and scope of the engagement, roles in the team, contacts at the client and how you will work in the first weeks. This determines the length, the participants and whether you need to meet in person. Appoint one person who brings together the date, the travel planning and open points.
2. Do you meet at the client or in one of your offices?
A kick-off at the client brings you close to the project’s contacts, rooms and processes. The place is then fixed; the only open question is how each person gets there. A kick-off in one of your offices suits an internal start better, when the client joins only for part of it or remotely.
Anyone needed for a single session only, such as an expert from another office, can join remotely. Plan equipment and a fixed time slot for that instead of booking a whole trip for one hour.
If several places are possible, compare them with the same assumptions: the same date, the same starting points, every team member’s outbound and return journey and the hotel nights needed. The office with the most team members is not automatically the best meeting point. The meeting point guide describes how to compare places fairly.
3. Who is travelling from where?
Record every team member with their home office. Clarify who attends the whole kick-off and who joins only for individual sessions. Anyone who works at the meeting point does not travel and needs no room. Ask specifically about travel and accommodation requirements. If the team is not fully staffed yet, plan with the people you know and add the others once they are confirmed.
4. What does a kick-off agenda look like?
This template for a one-day kick-off at the client starts only in the late morning. That way, even offices further away can make the start without staying the night before, and finishing at 16:30 leaves time for the journey home. Adapt the times and blocks to your engagement.
| Time | Session | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30–11:00 | Arrival, welcome and goals for the day | Project lead |
| 11:00–12:00 | The engagement: starting point, goals, scope and success criteria | Client and project lead |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch with the client team | Everyone |
| 13:00–14:30 | Work plan: phases, milestones and first deliverables | Project team |
| 14:30–15:30 | Roles, contacts and decision paths | Client and project team |
| 15:30–16:00 | Ways of working: meetings, channels, file storage and status reports | Project team |
| 16:00–16:30 | Open points, next steps and owners | Project lead |
For a two-day kick-off, move the work plan and ways of working to the second day and use the evening for a shared dinner. Then every person who travels needs an overnight stay. Send the agenda to the client and the team in advance, together with the address, a contact on site and the documents everyone should have read.
5. How do agenda, travel and hotel fit together?
Set the start time so that everyone can realistically make it. An early start on the first day often means that more distant offices arrive the evening before, which adds a hotel night. Plan that night deliberately or move the start. Check the return journey as well: a late finish on the last day rules out some connections home.
Before booking, clarify which rules of your travel policy apply, who approves exceptions and whether travel costs are recharged to the client. Check change and cancellation conditions, because a kick-off date can still move. The travel costs guide gives you a structure for the calculation; for an internal team meeting without the client, see the team offsite guide.
6. What belongs on your checklist?
- The goal of the kick-off, the participants and a responsible person are named.
- The location is decided: at the client or in one of your offices.
- Every team member’s home office, requirements and attendance times are recorded.
- The agenda fits the journeys and has been sent to the client and the team.
- Start, finish and hotel nights fit the journeys.
- Travel policy, approvals and recharging to the client are settled.
- The team receives the agenda, the travel plan and a contact person.
7. How does Coloqa support the planning?
Coloqa compares possible meeting points, such as the client site and your offices, by cost, travel time and CO₂ for every team member’s starting point. For the chosen place, Coloqa shows flight, train and hotel for every person, checked against your travel policy. The result refers to the places compared and the options available, not to every offer on the market.
See the planning flow in the product · Methodology and availability