Internal Team Kickoff

Starting a project with a team who's new to each other can be tricky, particularly when everyone is remote and doesn't see each other daily. Aligning on the project’s objectives is one thing, but you also want to build rapport with one another so everyone can work well together.

This template helps teammates get to know one another better - both as humans and as designers. It starts with a warm-up to introduce each person's personality and working environment, then moves on to working styles and finally project details and logistics. Setting the stage by getting to know each other and everyone's roles first allows for the highest chance of seamless success on a team of new colleagues.

While this template is  meant to kick off a project with your own team, you can use parts of this as a template for the entire company to get to know each other and continue building on as new people join.

What you’ll find in the template

• Our Team - Get to know the people you’ll be working with by sharing personal interests and answers to collaboration profiles meant to communicate how a teammate approaches work, design process, and teamwork

• Our Project - Align on the purpose of the project by discussing the client team, timeline, expected deliverables, and any background information that will be helpful to start.

• Project Resources - Share where all existing resources can be found to help gain context around the project.

• Roles & Duties - Set expectations for what everyone on the team will be responsible for throughout the project

• Individual Goals - Give teammates time to share their individual goals for this project and how they want to grow

• Weekly Cadence - Align on a schedule of recurring meetings and project milestones that works for everyone to set expectations around time.