A Guide to Creating an All-Hands Meeting Agenda

In every organization, employees need to meet the management from time to time in an all-hands meeting to discuss issues about the organization. Whenever this need arises, an all-hands meeting agenda template will come in handy.

An agenda is essential in an all-hands meeting because it helps you coordinate the discussion accordingly. An agenda also helps save time and ensures that the meeting is productive. Without a meeting agenda, it might become difficult to achieve your objectives.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to write a proper meeting agenda for your next all-hands meeting.

What Is an All-Hands Meeting?

An all-hands meeting is a face-to-face or online gathering of an organization’s employees, leaders and stakeholders, to discuss vital company matters. The term “all-hands” suggests that everyone in the company must be at the meeting.

Most all-hands meetings are typically conducted in the top-down method. This means that the organization’s management is in charge of all communication, including the topics discussed and the agenda of the meeting.

What Should an All-Hands Meeting Agenda Contain?

man standing in front of people sitting beside table with laptop computers
Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

1. Ice Breakers

Meetings can be a total bore, so the first item on your agenda should be a relaxing and interesting activity.

A meeting that starts on a happy note will likely end productively. You may begin by sharing a story or getting your employees to play a game or trivia.

2. Organization’s Vision

Your all-hands meeting agenda must contain your organization’s vision and mission.

Your employees might already know this, but a reminder wouldn’t hurt anyone. By stating your vision, you remind your employees what the organization aims to achieve. 

3. Major Goals of the Meeting

Use bullet points to state all the goals you want to discuss at the meeting. Begin with the most important goal, and end with the least important.

4. Organization Updates

Include new updates your employees need to be made aware of. This may include informing the staff about a new hire and welcoming the person after that. 

5. Organization News

Your meeting agenda should include important news about your organization. You may inform the attendees about recently closed deals, upcoming team-building activities, and new equipment purchases. 

6. Goal Achievement

Organizations typically have set goals and targets, and it’s only appropriate to let every employee know when a goal has been achieved. Your employees are critical to your organization’s success; they most likely worked tirelessly to achieve your goals.

You may include pie charts and bar graphs to aid understanding. Congratulate everyone on those teams for a job well done.

7. Employee Recognition

This particular agenda is important because it demonstrates that you care about your employees. It’s vital to give accolades when necessary. Ensure you recognize employees that have worked tirelessly on a project. This will encourage others to take their tasks seriously.

8. Include Reminders

An all-hands meeting is a great platform to convey reminders that affect the entire organization.

Even if you have mentioned it at the start of the session, bring up essential details because everyone might have forgotten. Such reminders might relate to impending business events, anticipated product launches, HR efforts, etc. 

All-Hands Meeting Agenda Template

Sample 1

  • Introduction
  • Review of company performance 
  • Discussion on strategic goals for the upcoming year. 
  • Q&A session

Sample 2

  • Call to Order 
  • Roll Call of attendees 
  • Treasurer’s report 
  • President’s Report/Old Business/New Business
  • Discussion on company goals for the next quarter and how each department plans to accomplish these goals.
  • Changes in company policy.
  • Promotions or terminations within the company.
  • Employee recognition.
  • Update on any lawsuits or legal issues.
  • Other items deemed necessary by management

5. Adjournment

Sample 3

  • Opening remarks.
  • Review of company performance to date and goals for the remainder of the year. 
  • Discussion of major initiatives that will be undertaken in the next quarter. 
  • Update on recent employee engagement surveys and plans to address any issues that were identified. 
  • Q&A session

Sample 4

  • Introduction.
  • Review and approval of minutes from the last meeting. 
  • Update on finances. 
  • Discussion of new policies and procedures. 
  • Any other business

Sample 5

  • Introduction.
  • Housekeeping Items 
  • Old business 
  • New Business
  • Staff announcements
  • Changes in procedures
  • Upcoming events
  • Other new business items
  • Discussion of the hospital’s budget
  • Questions and Answers session

5. Closing remarks.

Sample 6

  • Welcoming remarks.
  • Review of business objectives and progress.
  • Presentation of new ideas or developments. 
  • Discussion and voting on important decisions. 
  • Question and Answer session
  • Closing remarks

Conclusion

The biggest mistake you can ever make when preparing for an all-hands meeting is to see it up without an agenda. An agenda not only takes the uncertainty out of your meeting prep but also ensures that you tackle all relevant issues.

The all-hands meeting agenda template above makes the perfect guide if you need to prepare an outstanding meeting agenda. 

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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