Professional Conferences, are they worth it? Well, it depends!

Today your employee comes to you and says they want to attend a professional conference! They say that they are a member of this professional association and this is their annual event! You say, "Super" then the employee says, "and I want YOU to pay for it!" WHAT!? And now the hard work begins.

It is one thing to let someone go to an event, e.g., you have vacation time, do what you wish vs you want me to pay for it? So what does pay for it mean? Travel/event costs such as meals, transportation, lodging, event price, and perhaps other expenses, AND time away from work. The next thing is the cost of letting someone go (actual cost) and the cost of the lost opportunity of them not being there. This can be quantified to assess a Return on Investment (ROI). If I were a decision-maker, this is where I would dwell.

So here is something to consider when making the go-no on a funding decision.

What will I get in return for funding this travel event? Often when funding is given to allow someone to attend, there is no expectation of return. This means that the attendee goes and does not "REPAY" the organization for the privilege to attend! So as a supervisor or manager how do you "codify" this?

In making a conference useful to your organization you ought to dot he following:

1. Have the prospective attendee present their offer to include suggested sessions they intend to attend, to include a copy of the conference schedule with descriptions of sessions.
2. Review the request with supervisors and managers to assess if the suggested sessions are in line with the organization's needs. If they appear not to be aligned with the organization's needs ask the prospective attendee to support how it is or direct them to attend another that is. Of course where that scheduled time slot sessions do not suggest a preference, then leave it up to the prospective attendee to choose.
3. After a thorough review and agreement on what the prospective attendee will do, then there must be an agreement on what the prospective attendee will REPAY to the organization. A REPAY is the ROI you seek and will be in the form of internal workshops, summary papers, or other presentations to the organization on the particular subjects and takeaways from that session. If there are 10 sessions, expect 10 REPAYS.
4. REPAYS should be scheduled as soon as the prospective attendee returns from the conference.

Is it a waste to send someone to a professional conference? Well, it depends on who is paying for it! If your organization is funding it and you are allowing it, you must get something in return.

In contracting, we speak of consideration, a this for that. While one can be comfortable with using this a perk, you know they are good employees, let's hook them up, is that wise use of organizational funds. Maybe if the goal is solely employee satisfaction or part of their agreed-upon benefits package. For most I suppose, it isn't so and while a happy employee is a benefit, we ought to look at the organization as a whole.

Final note TEACH THEM! If you do as I suggest, you are teaching accountability and the importance of ROI to your employees. You are expecting them to present and support their position and indicate how it is in the organization's interest to support this. You give them further opportunities to take good notes and re-present what they learned to the organization whether in writing (report) or verbally (a presentation). You are teaching them accountability so don't waste this opportunity and not expect an ROI, demand it, or don't fund it. These professionals will be your future supervisors and managers, so groom them right!

Remember the words from Sensei Miyagi-san: Wax on-Wax off! The hard work of building better professionals.

#tcg #thecontractingguy