Why you should send your staff to conferences
In my last role working for a company before launching Futureforth, I made valuable connections with great people who worked with and ran popular brands. These relationships were established at different conferences and trade shows I attended on behalf of the companies I worked for. From following up after each event, I was able to reconnect with each person and find mutually beneficial ways to work together.
My time attending different conferences made for some of my fondest memories (like that 2,500-mile road trip). This is because getting outside of the walls of the office, learning new things, and building new relationships make employees happier.
It is paramount that businesses find ways to improve their company culture, employee retention, and business development. As we come out of the pandemic and in-person events start back up, sending your staff (with their consent of course) to a conference is the perfect way to accomplish this and more.
Why Companies Should Send Their Staff to Conferences
Conferences break the mundane. Drinking from the same coffeemaker, staring at the same view from our desks or lonely home offices, and seeing the same people day in and day out can get repetitive. We spend more time at work than we do with our families. Getting out of town and to a conference helps to break up the repetitiveness of the regular 9-5 (or 8-6).
Conferences empower your employees. Remember when your parents finally gave you the keys to their car? You had that feeling of freedom. You knew you wouldn't let them down by crashing it. That's the feeling employees get as they board the flight or enter a conference center thanks to you. They too, won't let you down. So much can be said for trust.
Conferences educate teams. When your people attend the different keynotes, breakout sessions, panels, and workshops, they learn new skills and methodologies from the expert speakers. By taking notes on what they learn, they can use these new ideas to benefit your business.
Conferences make your staff ambassadors. As your employees explore the exhibit halls and network with fellow attendees, sponsors, and speakers, they talk about your company. They become your ambassadors and proudly share information about what your business does and who you are. This leads to brand awareness and new business opportunities.
The investment in sending employees to a conference can be expensive but the efforts can also be rewarding. If your team is properly taught how to network before, during, and after each conference, you will see great returns on your investment. These new relationships lead to new customers, employees, investors, promotional opportunities, and many ideas to advance your company - the nice way.