All-Hands Meeting: Purpose and Remote Best Practices
A company-wide meeting where leadership shares updates, celebrates wins, addresses questions, and aligns the entire organization, typically held monthly or quarterly.
An all-hands meeting is a company-wide gathering where every employee comes together to hear from leadership, get organizational updates, and align on strategic priorities. Most companies hold all-hands meetings monthly or quarterly, though frequency varies based on company size and communication needs. The purpose is to create transparency, build culture, celebrate achievements, and give employees direct access to leadership for questions and feedback.
all-hands
- Company-wide attendance: All-hands meetings include everyone in the organization, from executives to individual contributors across all departments
- Leadership-driven: Typically led by the CEO or executive team who share strategic updates, financial results, and organizational changes
- Recurring cadence: Most effective when held on a regular schedule, whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly, so employees know when to expect them
- Two-way communication: While leadership presents updates, successful all-hands include Q&A sessions where employees can ask questions and voice concerns
- Culture building: Beyond information sharing, all-hands meetings reinforce company values, recognize team members, and strengthen organizational culture
Remote All-Hands Best Practices
Running effective all-hands meetings for distributed teams requires intentional planning and the right tools. Here are key practices for remote all-hands success:
Record and share asynchronously: Always record the meeting and share it with timezone-appropriate viewing times. Provide a written summary for those who prefer reading or need quick reference.
Use interactive tools: Leverage chat for real-time questions, polls for engagement, and reaction features to gauge sentiment. Tools like Zoom, Google Meet, or Loom work well for different company sizes.
Keep it structured but human: Have a clear agenda shared in advance, but leave room for spontaneity and authentic moments that build connection across screens.
Make Q&A accessible: Accept questions in advance through anonymous forms, during the meeting via chat, and afterward through follow-up channels. Address as many as possible and follow up on others publicly.
Optimize for attention spans: Limit presentations to 30-45 minutes maximum. Break up talking heads with video clips, demos, or guest speakers from different teams.
Create viewing parties: Encourage teams to watch together in local offices or coffee shops when possible, turning a passive viewing experience into a social event.
What to Cover in All-Hands Meetings
The most effective all-hands meetings balance strategic information with cultural moments and practical updates:
Company performance and metrics: Share key business results, growth numbers, customer wins, and progress toward quarterly or annual goals. Be transparent about both successes and challenges.
Strategic direction: Explain where the company is heading, why decisions are being made, and how current work connects to larger objectives.
Team spotlights and wins: Celebrate individuals and teams who’ve made significant contributions. Share customer success stories and project milestones that make the work feel tangible.
Organizational changes: Announce new hires, promotions, departures, team restructures, or policy updates that affect the whole company.
Product or service updates: Demo new features, share customer feedback, or preview upcoming launches to keep everyone connected to what the company builds.
Open Q&A: Reserve substantial time for questions, either live or from submitted forms. Address difficult questions honestly to build trust.
What to skip: Avoid content that only applies to specific departments or deep technical details that lose most of the audience. Save those for team meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an all-hands meeting be?
Most all-hands meetings run 30-60 minutes, with 45 minutes being the sweet spot for maintaining engagement. Smaller companies (under 50 people) can go shorter with more informal check-ins, while larger organizations may need the full hour to cover updates and Q&A. The key is respecting people's time by starting and ending punctually with a packed agenda that doesn't waste the collective attention of your entire company.
How often should we hold all-hands meetings?
The ideal frequency depends on your company size, growth stage, and communication needs. Fast-growing startups often hold weekly all-hands to keep everyone aligned during rapid change. Most established companies settle into monthly cadences, while very large organizations may do quarterly all-hands with department meetings filling the gaps. More frequent is better than less when you're remote, as these meetings become crucial touchpoints for organizational cohesion.
Should all-hands meetings be mandatory?
While attendance shouldn't be rigidly enforced (people have conflicts and timezone challenges), all-hands should be positioned as a priority company event that everyone is expected to attend when possible. Make it easy to catch up by providing recordings, written summaries, and highlight reels. The goal is high participation because people find value in attending, not because they fear consequences for missing it.
What if people don't ask questions during Q&A?
Silence during Q&A often means people need different question channels, not that they lack questions. Offer multiple ways to ask: anonymous submission forms beforehand, live chat during the meeting, and post-event question threads. Seed the conversation by having leaders or the communications team prepare a few thoughtful questions to get things started. Over time, as you build a culture of transparency and actually address tough questions, participation will increase.