As a manager, how do you propose any allocation of resources in your
organization? You need to understand two components to make decisions:
- Expense (the “investment”)
- Return on Investment
This article provides some easy-to-use tools to help you calculate
the investment and identify your return.
Understanding Your Conference Expenses
Conference expenses are affected by a number of factors. Before you
can even begin to justify conference expenses, you need to calculate
what those expenses are. To do so, use the following Expenses
Worksheet to develop a cost estimate for attending your selected
conference.
Expenses Worksheet
| Expense |
Guideline |
Cost |
| Conference Registration |
|
$ |
| Pre & Post-Conference Class Registration, if applicable |
usually optional |
$ |
| Materials Fees (if any) |
books? software? media? |
$ |
| Flight |
try Kayak to get a quick estimate |
$ |
| Lodging |
$199 / night at the Broadmoor inclusive of the resort fee.
|
$ |
| Transportation: Airport to Hotel |
if flying: taxi? car rental?
|
$ |
| Transportation: Hotel to Airport |
if
flying: taxi? car rental? |
$ |
| Mileage Reimbursement |
driving to conference? To the airport for your flight? Use the map on our travel and venue page
to calculate distances, then multiply miles by 50 cents/mile (IRS
standard for 2010) |
$ |
| Parking Reimbursement |
at airport for flight departure; $14 for overnight guests or $16 for valet parking at the Broadmoor
|
$ |
| Food Per Diem |
Remember, TUG 2010 U2U includes continental breakfast, lunch, breaks and an opening night reception
|
$ |
| subtotal |
$ |
| total number of employees going |
|
| = total |
$ |
Understanding the Benefits
Let’s face it: many benefits from conference attendance are hard to
quantify. For example, experts agree that the top benefit of conference
attendance is networking value. Where else can you find so many industry
contacts facing the same issues as your organization? Are there
solutions you’re not aware of?
Although networking is undoubtedly the most important aspect of a
conference, it is also the toughest for which to quantify any value.
On the other hand, if an employee came to you and said, “I want
you to fund me for $4,000 and I don’t know what it’ll do for you,”
then you would likely scoff at the offer…and maybe even mumble a few
colorful metaphors about his/her suggestion.
When you propose a conference for approvals, don’t focus on how much
you want to go; focus on what you will specifically bring back to
the organization as payback for the investment.
Some specific details you’ll need to identify include:
- Session content. What sessions have particular
relevance to your organization’s work? Specifically identify:
- Tools (Pricing Management and Optimization, Content Management, Network Management and Security, etc.)
- Technologies (Mobile Solutions, EDI, Bar-coding, Document Imaging, etc.)
- Processes (Disaster Resource Planning, Inventory Management Best Practices, Operational Excellence etc.)
- Vendor contacts. Will the conference showcase
vendors with tools you use or are evaluating for potential future use?
Is this an opportunity during which you’ll be able to compare competing
tools?
- Best practices. Will there be training sessions in
areas that will immediately benefit your group?
- Training. Will there be workshops designed to teach
attendees a special skill and/or help your team overcome current or
future challenges?
Quantifying the Benefits
Although you might understand the benefits of the conference that
interests you, your manager may not. Therefore, to be most effective in
justifying the conference, you need to clearly articulate the connection
between your organization’s knowledge requirements and the conference
program. DO NOT assume that your manager will be able to automatically
make those distinctions.
To support this process, use the following Benefits Worksheet
to help you focus on the benefits. Use whatever makes sense for your
particular organization and conference, and omit the rest.
Benefits Worksheet
| Your Organization’s Benefits |
Specific Needs and the Conference Sessions & Training
that Meet the Need |
| Networking Benefits |
This conference will allow [specific team members] to network with
other professionals and vendors in the industry. We will be able to take
the pulse of what is happening for tools, technologies, and processes,
and hear ideas we weren’t even aware of. |
| Teambuilding (if sending a big part of your group) |
This conference will help build our team, providing a forum for team
members to discuss tools, technologies, and processes and how we might
apply them in our company to improve our information products,
workflow, and processes. |
| Current Tools |
|
| Future Tools Exploration |
|
| Current Technologies |
|
| Future Technologies Exploration |
|
| Current Processes |
|
| Future Processes Exploration |
|
| Vendors With Tools & Technologies You Are Exploring |
|
It’s all in the Selling
After you have identified the specific knowledge benefits, you’ve
provided both the expenses and benefits your manager needs to decide the
value of your proposition.
Salespeople work the same way. They don’t let customers infer the
value of what they are selling, they make that leap for them.
Sell your conference proposition!
This article was used with permission.