11/ 13/ 2006
Raise your hand if you've ever been to a conference and walked away with nothing. Or maybe you walked away with some great ideas but forgot them by the time you got back to the office. Conferences and seminars can be an effective way to develop yourself and your employees, but you can't just show up and expect your business to reap the benefits immediately. It takes work. Here are some things to consider before RSVPing for your next conference:
Who should go? Diversifying whom you send is a good way to spread the benefits of a conference or seminar across your entire business. Don't send the same person each time. Not only can it get monotonous for the attendee, it can also be discouraging to your other employees.
So that it's clear to employees that you're not cherry picking who gets to go where, consider creating a written policy for conference/seminar attendance and/or a merit-based system tied to a quantifiable goal (like number of sales, etc.).
Where should you go? If your conference budget is small, focus on conferences that are most specific to your line of business or conference objective. You'll get more bang for your buck. Aim for one big conference and two or three in-town or smaller-scale seminars each year. If the budget doesn't allow for any big conferences, consider participating in an online conference. You save money on travel costs, and it gives you an opportunity to involve more employees.
What is the objective? Schedules and subject matter are available in advance of most conferences and seminars. It pays to prepare and decide what your objective will be. Review the schedule yourself and jointly with the attendee from your business and map out what sessions both you would like your employee to attend and what your employee would like to attend. Anyone who's been to a conference knows that time slips away sometimes. If networking is part of your objective, map out with your attendee exactly when this will be done.
Pay attention: When attending the seminar, be deliberate and take notes during sessions. You may think it's a great idea when you hear it, but if you don't write it down, you might not remember it once you return to the office. Also, don't forget to hold onto seminar materials provided by the instructors, which can be valuable resources not compiled elsewhere––and can help jog your memory when recalling the lesson later. If your employee is attending, consider sending him or her a quick e-mail asking how things are going to get them thinking about the types of things they've learned.
Debrief: When you or your representing employee returns from the office, consider setting up a quick presentation to share what was learned. This forces the attendee to think about the material again, and it also presents a learning opportunity for everyone else.
