Attendance Justification Toolkit

TOOLKIT

U s e t h i s t o o l k i t t o c r e a t e

a b u s i n e s s c a s e f o r w h y

y o u s h o u l d a t t e n d a

c o n f e r e n c e o r t r a i n i n g

e v e n t

EVENT JUST I F I CAT ION

Professional conferences and events are a

great way to develop your career. However

there are many events to attend and a

limited budget.

This toolkit will help to guide you through

the process of justifying your attendance

at an event to a line manager using a

business case approach.

WHY ATTEND

CONFERENCES?

WHY A T T END CONF ERENCE S ?

LEARN

Attendance takes you out of

your comfort zone and enable

you to learn about topics in a

different way

Events give you an insight into

what's on offer on the horizon

in terms of trends and

technology in information

You can meet new people

who share common

interests or work in the

same area as you

PLAN FOR THE

FUTURE

NETWORKING

WHY A T T END CONF ERENCE S ?

MOTIVATION

Attendance can help to renew

your professional enthusiasm

and discover new areas to

explore

You will have a chance to meet

representatives from

companies and see

demonstrations of products

which might be useful to you

It 's a chance to explore

different areas of the

information profession .

You don 't know what

you 're missing otherwise !

EXHIBITIONS TRY SOMETHING

NEW

THINGS TO

CONSIDER

LET SOMEONE

ELSE DO THE

HARD WORK

Does the webpage of the

conference give you any hints

on how to justify your

attendance?

BE SOCIAL !

Scan social media for

information on events. This

can help to identify relevant

events months in advance

which could lead to big

savings!

DO YOUR

RESEARCH

Make sure you're choosing the

right event for the right

reasons. Research the event

and why it would be a good

fit. Chances to attend events

are limited so make the most

of the ones you get to go to

WHAT IF THE

ANSWER IS NO?

If you're unsuccessful don't

worry! Are there other ways

you could 'attend' the event

e.g. remotely via Twitter or live

streaming?

PREPARING A

BUSINESS CASE

Think about your request for

attendance as a business case -

what will your employer get out of

investing the time and money to

send you?

Focus on the Return on

Investment (ROI) that your

employer will get from sending

you. Balance the investment

they're making with the benefits

you will bring back

WHAT TO COVER I N YOUR BUS I N E S S CAS E

BENEFITS

What knowledge will you

bring back to your team? Be

specific rather than vague.

Also think about the benefits

to you personally, both now

and in the future

Do any of the sessions address

a specific problem in your

department? Highlight these

in your application so that

your employer can see the

relevance of your event

Don 't forget about

networking opportunities

at the event . Which new

connections can you

make? Who will you be

able to talk to that you

wouldn 't meet normally?.

SPECIFIC SESSIONS NETWORKING

WHAT TO COVER I N YOUR BUS I N E S S CAS E

COVER

What will happen to your

work whilst your away?

Outlining how your work will

be managed in your absence

will reassure your line

manager that things will still

get done

How much will the event cost?

Calculate the cost of early bird

booking to show your

employer the potential savings

of an quick decision

What information will you

bring back from the

conference and how will

you share it with

colleagues?

COSTS SHARING

HOW WILL YOU

SHARE?

IT 'S NOT  ALL

ABOUT YOU !

Although attending events is

great for you personally, think

about how you will share the

outcomes of your attendance

with your department and the

wider library world

SHAR I NG OUTCOMES

GIVE A SHORT

SUMMARY AT A DEPT

MEETING

This doesn't have to be as

scary as it sounds. A five

minute summary of the main

issues raised at the event is

fine and you might find you

can go on for a lot longer

This sounds really formal but

it's just a matter of outlining

the main topics discussed and

the potential relevance to your

library. When it comes to

reports short and sweet is

better than long and complex

Blog about the event

before , during and after so

that people can keep up

with events as they

happen . It 's a great way to

get the information out

there quickly

PRODUCE A WRITTEN

REPORT

WRITE A BLOG POST

SHAR I NG OUTCOMES

PUT SOMETHING

TOGETHER FOR A

NEWSLETTER

Is there an in-house

newsletter you could

contribute to? This can just be

a short couple of paragraphs

to inform others of what went

on

Real-time updates on social

media are great for those who

can't attend an event. Whether

you tweet, share videos or take

photographs nothing has as

much of an instant impact

If you want to make things

more formal then why not

try putting something

together for a magazine or

journal . This will look

great on a CV in the

future !

SHARE THE EVENT

LIVE ON SOCIAL

MEDIA

WRITE FOR THE

PROFESSIONAL

PRESS

LET 'S

TALK MONEY

ALL EVENTS WILL

DIFFER IN THEIR

COST BUT SOME

OF THE COMMON

COSTS TO INCLUDE

IN YOUR

CALCULATIONS

ARE :

Event registration

Travel

Accommodation

Miscellaneous expenses (food

etc.)

FINALLY ,

REMEMBER

IF YOU DON 'T

ASK , YOU WON 'T

GO !

GOOD

LUCK !

Claire Sewell

[email protected] Available CC-BY