STC Conference: a Cost-benefit Analysis
By: Brian Baddour, Northeast Ohio Chapter, STC

The Costs: Self-Improvement on the Cheap

Didn't even consider going to the conference, did'ja?

If you thought that spending a couple hundred dollars for a dozen seminars was a bitter pill, think again. The whole trip typically costs well over $2000! (See sidebar.) Don't blame the Society. Not only is registration a pretty modest slice of the expenses, it's only the third-largest category of expense.

Like many of you, I wasn't considering the trip to Baltimore. Then my chapter sweetened the cost-benefit balance. Hmm, could I make it cheap enough to be worth the trip?

Lodging. I almost scalped my registration in dispair. From $180 to $280 per night? Plus 12.5% tax?? They must be high. (Pun intended.) Color me naïve, but I thought a cheap hotel would be an order of magnitude lower. I'd started hunting too late to find someone to split a room with. Hotels.com to the rescue. The Inn at the Stadiums was just over a mile away from the Convention Center, very pleasant, and under $80 per night. Sold!

Lost work/wage. My boss tried to explain that the real cost to the company is not registration, but rather lost work time. I did the math. They're right. If you're an independent consultant, you understand. So I listed the 200 seminars and which corporate projects and divisions they could benefit, and told them the registration was already paid. Still no luck. Offering to pitch in a share of my own vacation time, plus lodging and travel expenses convinced them that I really believed in the conference, and they let me go.

Registration. Someone at our chapter proposed that we hold a raffle for our members. More involvement earns more entries. Good idea, because it encouraged more people to attend programs, and knowledge to return to the chapter through the winners. As one of the two winners, I can tell you it worked. I wouldn't have been as involved locally or at the conference otherwise.

Travel. Even online fares to Baltimore weren't attractive. I opted for the alternative seven-hour drive. With the efficiency of our gas-electric hybrid Toyota Prius, it would qualify as a Neil Zurcher "one-tank trip." During the whole trip, the car went 54 MPG! There were more bonuses: more comfortable seating than one finds in coach class, better ventilation, no security checkpoint delays, no extra charge for bringing my musical instrument or bicycle, and no need for a rental car once I arrived. In fact, I could have multiplied my savings if I'd found a traveling companion before everyone bought airline tickets.

Meals. I didn't pay much more than I would have if I'd stayed home. I joined the gang from our chapter at classy places only twice. Other times, if I wasn't too busy to grab a bite, I ordered from the healthy menus at the fast food chains instead of the formal places recommended by the Visitors' Bureau.

Child care. Here's just another reason a strong family pays. A really understanding spouse with whom good will was already built up, and parents who still live close by, made this adjustment not only less expensive, but also less traumatic for the kids.

Transportation. When many hotels are a catwalk away from the convention center, you don't need a rental car. I brought my bicycle to commute the flat mile from bed to bustle. Other pros included welcome exercise and a wider range for sight-seeing. Even in the 80-degree heat, I needn't break a sweat. Of course, this option requires one to be street-wise and weather-ready.

Other tips. Glad I brought our family's laptop computer. Instead of waiting in line at the cramped kiosks, I kept in touch with home and work, checked Cleveland news, took seminar notes, searched them and downloaded seminar materials easily, and sent the
kids some photos from Baltimore, all from the comfort of my hotel room at no charge. One security tip: I hear laptop bags are theft targets. A backpack was better camouflage against would-be thieves, and was easier to carry between seminars and on the bicycle.

Though still not a cost to be trifled with, the 82% savings made the difference between "no way" and "well, maybe, if the benefits are attractive enough." With some forethought and luck, lighter costs can make the conference's benefits worthwhile.

The Benefits: Invaluable or Unvaluable?

Our junior high school class took field trips like most take: The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, even the Crown Filtration Plant. Teachers knew it would be a real-world, educational experience -- a bunch of "teaching moments." The kids' spin? "What-everrr. It's a day outside that dull, stinky classroom, fine, let's go."

My co-workers have that careless attitude about conferences, although once we get there, we take our self-improvement much more seriously. Maybe your employer won't give you a "free ride" for that masters degree you'd like. So all the more reason to milk every last drop of self-improvement out of a conference.

Why doesn't management send me to these things more often? Do they think these soft skills and intangibles are so simple and automatic to understand, let alone execute? Maybe they overheard my co-worker, who practically kicked his heels together and exclaimed, "It's a day outside that dull, stinky office. Let's go!"

Eenie, Meenie . . .

He with the gold makes the rules. OK, so of the 200 seminars, those that might best benefit my sponsor went on the itinerary. In my case, it was easy to strike out seminars about students, globalization, and contracting. I highlighted seminars that might directly benefit my sponsor's active projects for stronger consideration.

Then I got stuck. What about the topics I know a lot about already, but just want to brush up on? What about those I just want to get some fresh ideas about, because the quick Google search in my time of need didn't give me the whole story? I'm no know-it-all, but I know enough to be productive. There's the rub: I already have more skills and ideas than I have time to apply.

That was a scary realization.

Sure, conferences teach you stuff you didn't know. Sure, they give you answers you'd have a hard time "googling" for. But isn't that stuff crème -- a nice-to-have that you could live without? Similarly, my life's a little better because of the street-corner musician, but what kind of tip is he worth? And surely you've heard this appeal: "What's public broadcasting worth to you? A dollar a day?" It's an arbitrarily-valued benefit that my sponsor will compare to a hard cost.

Heresy!

Scarier yet, the benefits of my involvement in the STC are just as difficult to quantify. I bring them back fresh ideas and policies. Usually, those ideas can be expected to translate into better customer sales and support, but only after a daunting amount of effort.

Oh dear, the STC conference and even my society membership are (gulp) worthless! At least that's the case for technical communicators with sufficient skills and workload.

(Comment to the editor : you did ask for a way to generate more "letters to the editor," right?)

There's Hope

Society members who attended the "STC Transformation" seminar or otherwise learned of the proposed changes, there's a glimmer of hope. Centralization and sharing of chapters' computerized tasks and information, and the establishment of communities should enliven not only the society, but also its annual conference. Time will tell.

Personally, I'd prefer to set aside time to drop everything, give ear to what my peers are trying, and reevaluate my own business methods in light of those presentations. I have to prove their value.

So, it's time for me to distill some of those actionable tips, ideas and policies that are relevant to my sponsor. The "cost-benefit analysis" will be their duty. Will they see it as valuable enough to send me next year? Will a trip to Seattle in 2005 be worth the time away from my family and friends in Cleveland?

Whatever. It's a day outside that dull, stinky mindframe I'm stuck in. Let's go.

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