I am not sure how it got to be mid-September already. Living in Florida my kids have been back in school for a month already!!  Time flies! For the past several weeks you may have noticed we have been reposting some of our most popular posts from the past two years. So welcome to this, our first new blog post for the Fall.  And just like that, the Fall conference season is upon us.  As a matter of fact, as I type this I am travelling to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Rocky Mountain APPA conference.  

For those in the facility and asset management world there are tonnes of opportunities to “get out there” and learn about and discuss some of the hottest topics related to your businesses.  As a seasoned conference attendee and speaker, I thought that I would provide a few recommendations to conference attendees on how to make the most of your conference experience.

Ultimately, most of what I am going to write here is about doing some pre-work and planning for the conference.  Lots of folks I talk to at our booths or during networking sessions don’t have a solid plan for what they want to get out of a conference, which sessions they want to attend and which attendees/business partners they want to connect with.

When it comes to the educational aspects of each conference, if the conference doesn’t require you to sign up for specific sessions, I always recommend that you have a look at the agenda, review the abstracts and the speakers and pick the sessions that you would like to attend.  I find there are often two sessions running concurrently that I want to see.  If that happens to you at least you can arrange to divide and conquer if you are attending with a colleague.

One of the biggest benefits of conferences is the opportunity to network with peers and suppliers.  Most conferences (at least in the US) provide an attendees list about a week or so before the conference starts.  Have a look at the list and see who else, like you, is attending.  Are there folks from another organization that you would like to get to know.  Is there a peer group that are attending and you might want to pick their brains or share ideas.  Contact information is often shared on the attendees lists so why not send an email or make a call and try to arrange a specific time to connect.

The same approach works with business partners.  Conferences always share those that will be exhibiting, speaking and who has sponsored the event.  If there are products or services that you/your organization are interested in or will need in the near future, why not reach out and schedule time to meet at the booth or during a break so you can have a meaningful conversation.  I know that as a business partner I try to do this as much as possible.  Every few conferences, I have someone come up and say “I was looking for you”.  I always say thank you and suggest that next time they reach out ahead of time to make sure we connect.

Conferences can be quite expensive with registration fees, travel costs and time away from work and family.  As we head into the heart of the Fall season, try some of the above to make the most of your next work conference.