Are you taking your team to the Service North Conference?
Maybe it is one or two employees, maybe it is your whole team. Either way, you are not going alone and that changes the game.
With just a few days to go until the Virtual SIAM Event for the year – Service North (28th and 29th April), we want to share our advice about why and how to tackle Service North as a team. Remember, conferences are what you make of them.
More value, less spend
Going to a conference as a team changes the game. As virtual conferences are cheaper than traditional ones, you can easily bring a colleague or two. Service North tickets are just £20 – great value for the experience you will have! Two days of presentations, SIAM experts, networking and much more.
And don’t forget, you won’t have to pay for all the associated costs of a traditional event like food, travel and lodging.
Make a plan before the event
Preparation always pays off! You don’t want your team/colleagues to lose out at the event. Whether is a virtual of a face-to-face conference it is important to make a plan with your team.
Before each conference we have a team meeting where we share our ideas and approach. If only one team member is attending the conference than we are the people behind that person – providing her/him with the logistics, additional materials, presentations etc. If few of us are attending than we are making a plan to give us a better approach and coverage of the conference.
Keep in touch
Conference days can be long and it is important to keep in touch with your colleagues. Conference or not, at Scopism we use Slack – it is an effective tool for us to communicate and brainstorm. You can even create a separate Slack channel dedicated to the conference and talk to each other, share ideas and takeaways. Your own private side channel!
Divide for better outcome
This year Service North is going virtual and global! Our most diverse agenda is complete and it includes speakers from India, China, Japan, Denmark, UK, Netherlands, Australia and Austria.
With the ability to join from anywhere virtual conferences have a more crowded agenda. Bigger line-ups mean more expert insights but sometimes it can be too much for one person. In this situation attending a conference with your colleagues can be a big advantage. You can choose who will attend each session, and which sessions you want to attend as a group. Plan in some breaks when you need them. For this to work it is important to have a plan before the conference. And in the breaks you can compare notes and talk about how to make improvements in your own organization.
Network together for better results
The most valuable conference takeaways come from the chats you will have with other people and the connections you make.
Even though you are attending the conference as a team, don’t spend all your time together. Use the breaks, the virtual exhibition time and the chat box to connect with people. Remember virtual is global meaning more attendees, and more diverse audiences. With this in mind the standard of the networking experience is higher.
Also, get involved during the sessions! A good question or comment can spark conversations with others that lead to future collaborations.
We encourage our Service North attendees to take advantage of the live chats, the exhibitor booths and use our hashtag #ServiceNorth to feature on our tweet wall. We also want to see your #servicenorthselfies – whether you attend on your own or with your team!
Bring the conference home!
And here comes the most important part – prove that the conference was worth it. We recommend you and your team schedule a meeting after the conference so you can share notes, implement takeaways and discuss how to make improvements in your own organization.
Do not forget – conferences are fun! Make sure you get the best out of it by taking the rights steps to make the most of the experience.
At Scopism, we have worked hard to create a conference experience for you that will deliver great results in a virtual format. Service North Conference is just a few days away – are you ready?
