How I met your mother (and other great reasons for an internal conference)

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In these challenging times for recruitment agency
owners and managers, the issue of costs is one that tends to consume a
lot of attention. Nigel Harse’s Facts, Not Fiction presentation
to RCSA audiences around Australia this past month has highlighted the
importance of managing costs effectively.

One of the most significant lump sums you may have
incurred (or are considering incurring) is for an internal conference.
The direct costs of flights, accommodation, food & beverages and (if
relevant) conference presenters together with the indirect costs of
employees being out of the operational business for a day or two, are
significant. Often just as significant is the internal time invested to
arrange, and prepare content for, the conference. Both of these types of
costs combine to make an internal conference a very significant
investment. And, as such, an investment that is easy not to make.

My experience, from all sides (ie organiser,
participant and presenter) of this investment, if done well, is that the
potential returns far outweigh the costs.

Here’s what Australia’s wealthiest recruitment
entrepreneurs, Andrew Banks and Geoff Morgan, have to say about this
topic:

One of the most important annual events was the
Morgan & Banks conference , (my
bold) where ‘Morgies’ were awarded for various achievements – it became
a tradition and our people loved them.

The Morgies were awarded at a black-tie dinner at
these annual conferences and it was fantastic to see the effect – some
people were in tears thanking their parents, their families, their
partners. It was wonderful to see the power and emotion that the
recognition of effort unleashed.

Source:
Flourish & Prosper
by Geoff Morgan & Andrew Banks (Penguin, 2005), pages 57 & 58

Here’s why I believe an internal conference is an
invaluable component of your company’s learning & development program as
well as a critical plank in your employee recognition and retention
strategy:

Initiates and powers internal networks :
My observation was that internal cooperation and inter-office lead
generation accelerated significantly after every conference. No
matter what you might do with your intranet, conference calls, Skype
and webinars there’s nothing like working intensively beside a
colleague from another team during a workshop or sharing a drink at
the bar to build genuine cooperation. You have to know and like, or
at least respect, a colleague before you actively seek opportunities
to help them or collaborate with them.
Best practice sharing :
Rarely are all offices or business units across a company equally
successful. Inevitably there will be a standout office or team.
These teams and offices have an opportunity to share with the rest
of the company the things that they are doing to make their team
more successful. It’s highly likely that this success formula can be
replicated by other offices or teams.
Review the scorecard, consider the future and
re-set goals : One of the things I
always found very motivational was hearing how the company was going
against the targets, both financial and non-financial, that had been
set. When everybody hears the same message and understand the role
that they play in the accomplishment of goals it creates a
stimulating atmosphere within which to consider the future of the
company, and its respective business units, and to set stretch
goals.
Bring in, or clarify, company-wide processes
or values/behaviours: Company-wide
consistency constantly eludes many recruitment agencies for the
simple reason that many people hear the message differently, or
maybe not at all, from different people at different times. When
everybody is together the platform for the communication of an
unambiguous standard or message is maximised.
Build skills:
The critical skill for the new economy is the capability of
employees to learn faster and more effectively than your
competition. This is your only genuine competitive advantage. An
internal conference is a perfect opportunity to build these skills
and accelerate that competitive advantage, whether through internal
or external presenters.
Acknowledge and celebrate achievement :
Peer recognition (as highlighted in the above Morgan & Banks quote)
is an incredibly powerful motivator for most people. In the very
competitive world of recruitment, annual awards (whether they’re
monetary or otherwise) are a sure-fire way to motivate the right
people to become (or stay) high achievers. Stopping once a year to
reflect on how far individuals, teams and/or the whole company has
come, and/or how much further there is to go, creates a much-needed
context for what every member of staff does each day.
The unexpected :
Who knows what might happen when you get a group of focused and
motivated employees together for 24 to 48 hours?. One recruitment
agency conference was in the same hotel as another company’s
conference. That company was about to embark on a rapid expansion.
An unplanned interaction between the two different companies’
employees at the hotel bar lead to business discussions and,
subsequently the recruitment agency billed $250k with that new
client in the following twelve months. I met my (now) wife at an
internal company conference! I am forever grateful that Aquent
invited me to speak at their 2005 conference on the Gold Coast. Who
knows what else great, may come from an internal company conference?