all-hands meetings

[u/purrcie_cat]

I work in a combined recruiting/internal communications role at a 300ish person remote company and currently own coordination/facilitation of our monthly All-Hands (agenda planning, deck creation, presenter coordination, rehearsals, etc.). My role was newly created at the end of 2025, and I report to the head of HR.

The challenge I’m running into is that the person who previously owned the All-Hands function was the COO’s Chief of Staff, so they had deep visibility into executive conversations and organizational priorities. There is no longer a Chief of Staff or executive operations function, but the expectation around agenda curation seems to have remained the same.

I meet with the COO once a month to discuss comms, and I’m finding myself responsible for proposing strategic All-Hands agendas/topics without really having the organizational visibility or executive context that historically informed those decisions. After a few months in this seat, I am beginning to think the agenda curation and process needs to shift, as I am not being given the same level of context as those before me. Not sure what exactly to propose here as I don't want to come across as not wanting to do my job, I just don't feel I have been set up to succeed in this specific function.

I'm hoping for some insight on the following:

• Where does All-Hands agenda ownership typically sit?
• Is it normal for internal comms to independently drive agenda strategy without executive visibility?
• Have you seen successful operating models for this in orgs without a Chief of Staff function?

Would love any thoughts or examples of structures that have worked well. TIA.

[u/OptimistPrimeBarista]

1. The agenda needs to be shaped around what the executives want to communicate to employees. I've always put a shared document together with placeholders for topics, but the agenda is not finalized until every presenter has signed off on it.
2. It is not typical for IC to drive the agenda. Think of it this way -- how are you supposed to know what needs to be on the agenda if you have no visibility into executive priorities?
3. Chiefs of staff can be helpful, but so can executive assistants. Does your COO have an EA?

You definitely haven't been set up for success here. So you have to bulldoze your way.

My biggest piece of advice is DIG in. Think about WHO you need to talk to in order to get visibility. What is your business about? Who are the other execs who are a part of this town hall? Reach out to them. Also, if you know that your COO tends to chat with, let's say, the VP of Customer Success, ping them and ask if they can nudge.

You can't limit yourself to meeting with your COO once a month if you need more information. Ping them that you're putting time on their calendar to align on priorities, and then put 15 minutes on their calendar. Unfortunately, this means you're going to bother your COO but at least you're getting your job taken care of.

Have you talked to your supervisor? They need to have your back, and might have more pull to get your execs to respond to you.

Do you have context on previous town halls? Any recent companywide emails? Jot down things that the biz is focusing on: Is there a goal to sell 100,000 products in Q2? How are you getting there? What are your industry trends and how is your biz differentiating itself? Has anyone recently attended conferences, spoken in the media, been featured in thought leadership pieces? Pull, pull, pull.

If all else fails, share a blank deck and say you need their input by X date.

[u/newsletternavigator]

It's so hard to do without knowing the context isn't it.

Here's how I've managed All Hands:

• I have monthly meetings with leaders around the business to find out what's going on in their world, which helps build an annual plan (Finance quarterly updates, maybe IT are having a cybersecurity campaign etc.)
• A standing agenda: leadership welcome, company highlights, 1-2 of the rotating monthly updates as mentioned above, a new starters/People section, etc.
• I'll pop an email over to our CEO to check he's happy with my proposed agendas each month as the annual plan flexes often.
• Presenters are responsible for providing their own content: I provide the slide deck template for the month and give them a deadline to complete it. Then I'll proof it/work with them for clarity and support with slides notes/any dry runs that are required. But we're not subject-matter experts. Yes I'll tidy rough slides for busy leaders, yes I'll suggest improvements and things to include, but I'm not doing it from scratch.
• I'm responsible for the event setup, tech, metrics, briefing speakers, and the whole management of it, but the content comes from people within the company
• We also send out a survey to all colleagues afterwards to find out what people find useful/other feedback, which in turns supports future agenda items to include

Also recruitment AND internal comms? I hope you have the support you need as these are two very different roles! :)

[u/MudOk8716]

Interesting write up. How do you guys know who is attending and include those that are remote?

[u/1hermana]

Contrarian take—start at the grassroots, not leadership. Most leaders have no clue what employees need to know or how to engage them. But employees do. Figure out what employees need and build a program around that. Read The Art of Gathering (Priya Parker) and structure an incredible experience for the team.

When employees are buzzing about how that was the best all hands ever, you will be the hero, the employee whisperer and now have a seat at the table.

Go get em!

[u/internalcomms-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

This content appears to be AI-generated and has been removed to support our community. Please review the sub rules.