Convincing Your Boss .. Conference Season

Well, let’s be upfront, this isn’t how to get your boss to give you a raise.

The end of the year is coming faster than I can even believe. Certain plans are getting wrapped up and budgets for next year are being created. Now is the time to get your goals into the company for the next year! Be warned, they might not all be approved, but at least the company knows what you’re trying to do to better yourself and essentially the company as well.

I don’t like being stagnant, especially in my career and personal goals. Discussing HR and everything it has to offer with other HR pros always gets me pumped. I’m attempting to make the goal of attending at least three or four HR conferences next year, that’ll be at least one more than this year. The biggest being the SHRM18 Conference in Chicago, but that one is looking a little iffy. Along with a few different state conferences and at least two DISRUPTHR talks.

So, you have your plans, you’re ready to present everything to your boss, or are you?

1. Find the Value for the Company – At the end of the day, you’ll be using company money, so it’s important that you’re bringing information back they can also benefit from. My company services two states, but I’d like to attend a state conference that we do not service, it’s going to be my job to find out the agendas as early as possible, and see if they have at least 2 sessions a day that my boss would find of interest for our company.
2. Find the Value for Self – I’ve decide that next year I’m going to focus on being a true HR Young Professional and HR blogger. I want to be able to provide all the blogs I write for, including my own, with the very best information, not just what’s popular, but what really matters. I want to help more young professionals in their career, and I want to learn HR functions that I may not be using right now. With all of that being decided, I must also align the conferences I’m looking to attend with goals I have for myself. There is already one state conference that I’m really looking forward to because they’re really trying to figure out how to attract young professionals, and I absolutely love that!
3. Finances – When you’re presenting this information to your boss, make sure you know everything point on. Know when the prices are cheaper and when they go up, research hotels around the area, figure out your travel information. This way your boss has an exact idea of how much this will cost. Also, some companies might make you pay and then reimburse you after the trip, are you prepared financially for this toll?
4. Schedule – It isn’t just your session schedule that needs to be planned out, but also your work schedule. With you being gone for so many days, make sure it doesn’t overlap anything else that can cause a conflict in the office. Even though you might want to attend a conference, it might not be the best time. Also, be prepared to present the sessions you want to attend to your boss, this goes back to the first point, find the value for your company.

Conferences are great, I’ve attended two official conferences and can’t wait to go back. This is the time to really start deciding which conferences you think would benefit your company and yourself. No matter if you’re a young professional, just starting out, or an HR Pro that’s been in the game for a while, having the correct information will only help your case. It can be nerve wrecking asking a company to help you finance these conferences, because they can cost A LOT of money, but you’re not just doing it to help you.

Almost every conference website I’ve seen has a “Convince Your Boss” tab that has print outs for you to help bring everything home. So, get out there, decide which conference is going to be that one for you, and I hope to see you soon!

A little sucking up never hurt

Until Next Time …