Gaining Support

Justifying Your Attendance

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Over the past year, many travel and training budgets have been cut, and most facilities are experiencing some level of financial strain. This means that, regardless of the merits of the conference and show, you'll probably need to justify the expense. So, here are some things you might want to consider:

 

Prepare:

• Focus on what you will specifically bring back to the facility in return for the investment.
• Be ready with a plan that shows who will cover for you while you are attending the conference and show.

Share:

• Offer to prepare and deliver a short presentation and Q&A session to your colleagues and supervisor to share what you learned. That way, others at your facility will reap the benefits of your attendance, too.
• Share the seminar and session details and additional handouts with your supervisor.

 

Calculate your savings:

• Evaluate the cost and time to achieve the same amount of education and business objectives if you do not attend.
• Remind your supervisor that the conference and show is now condensed to five days, Monday - Friday, requiring less time away from your facility.
• Calculate the amount of money you can save by capitalizing on show-only specials.
• If you are working to obtain or maintain your Class A or CGCS status, remind your supervisor that this is a great way to earn education points, and is less expensive than registering for several individual educational events.

 

Reduce your costs:

• Offer to share a room to reduce hotel expenses by finding a roommate on the Conference and Show Forum.
• Be sure to check out the registration information page where all the various rates are listed to see if you qualify for any of the lower rates or discounts.

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