The TAC Conference & Exhibition is Canada’s largest national transportation conference―a forum for transportation professionals to gather under one roof. 1,400 attendees are expected from businesses, municipalities, provincial transportation departments, associations and academia attend.
In today’s environment, uncertainty is all around us and employees may need to make a case to their employer about the benefits of attending. Consider including the information below to make your case for why you should attend or present at the TAC Conference & Exhibition.
Importance of Attending
Benefits for employees AND employers
When an employer sends an employee to a conference, they bring back value, insights and other benefits that are only acquired from people and knowledge that they don’t encounter every day—it’s a win-win for all!
- Build your Brand—Attending major industry events elevates both personal and organizational brands. Individuals who attend are recognized as interested and enthusiastic leaders who are worthy of the expense to send; employers who send staff are perceived as supporting and valuing the development of their team. Attendees should consider preparing an “elevator speech” about their organization, their role in it, and how they hope to benefit by attending.
- Network—At a conference like TAC’s, which attracts attendees from the public, private and other sectors, serious and valuable business connections are made. These contacts could be potential clients, suppliers, advocates or other types of influencers, decision-makers and industry experts. Making these cross-sectoral links benefits both the employee’s longer-term network, and the employer’s potential business and strategic connections.
- New Information > New Perspectives—Employees learn about emerging trends, technologies and innovations from other players and sectors in the industry at conferences, both at formal sessions and through contacts. Hear others’ successes, lessons learned, challenges, and new skills and methodologies to develop insights that can help you and/or your organization. The scope of sessions at the TAC Conference & Exhibition is broad, which offers opportunities to learn about topics adjacent to your current areas of interest.
- Share the Learning—When employees return from the event, spending a few minutes to share some highlights of what they learned, either verbally or in a brief written summary, helps both the person and their colleagues. This way the benefits of attending can be amplified across a broader group, who may decide that it’s worth them attending the event in the future.
Professionals who are involved, prepared, informed and connected have the advantage—as do their organizations.
Importance of Presenting
Share ideas and show leadership
The reasons to attend above also apply to conference presenters, but there are also specific benefits to being a presenter.
- Share Ideas and Get Feedback—Talking about your work and ideas with a variety of people can give you new perspectives, since people will ask questions from their unique viewpoints that help you think about your project or research differently.
- Improve Presentation and Communication Skills—Although you may not use them every day, the ability to communicate and present ideas well can only benefit a technical skill set. The more these skills are practiced, the better they become and the more effective the presenter will be at sharing their technical knowledge.
- Show Leadership—Presenting at a conference shows leadership and drive. It shows your employer, potential employers, clients or funding bodies that you're engaged and taking an active role to lead the evolution of your area(s) of expertise. There is also satisfaction in sharing hard-won knowledge with others.
Presenting at the TAC Conference offers an opportunity to access approximately 1,400 Canadian industry professionals who are engaged and want to keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies, and exchange ideas and knowledge in transportation.
