Meeting Participation Justification
Convince your manager that attending #SETACFortWorth is a smart investment for your organization and professional career development. Write a letter using this Microsoft Word meeting participation justification template to your manager with a full plan that includes three main components:
- Propose how your normal duties will be covered while you attend the meeting. Will you work extra before or after so you can focus on the meeting? Would you work remotely? Have you enlisted the help of a colleague to perform some duties while you are gone?
- Promise that you will provide a memo with key messages and resources to share with your managers and colleagues. This way, everyone will benefit from your attendance.
- Present a cost-benefit analysis for your participation. Estimate the full cost of attendance and list all the tangible and intangible benefits.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
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Describe SETAC’s principles, values and culture and how it aligns with your organization’s aspirations.
- List the sessions that you would like to participate in and explain what you hope to gain and how it relates to your work, a particular project, an organizational goal, or a professional development goal.
- Mention specific plenaries you are intrigued by and describe how their message will benefit your work.
- List the exhibitor you will see and what you may learn from your interactions with them and can thus bring back to your team.
- List any collaborators that will be there and explain the value of face-to-face integration with them. Plan a side meeting with them during the week and double the return on investment.
- Identify any competitors that will be there and explain how you can showcase your organization’s brand next to theirs.
- List the courses or side events you plan to attend and any benefits to your professional development that you may wish to again.
- Identify networking events you want to go to and explain how connections you make will help your organization further its mission.
- Throughout, clearly make the connection between your organization’s needs and the benefits you are identifying.
- Further, do not assume technical content will be understood by all managers so write in simple terms.