3 Big Reasons HR Pros Should Attend Virtual Conferences

You have a lot on your plate. So, why should you attend a virtual conference? For starters, you should attend virtual conferences because they clear plates.

Consider this: A typical HR pro has job openings to fill, new hires to onboard, departing employees to offboard, PTO to track, performance to manage, reports to create and share, and countless other tasks to complete.

Deep breath.

And at some point, you’d really like to focus on growing your people through new initiatives and programs, gain professional development while learning from other HR experts, and network with other like-minded people in the HR world. Oh, and of course, you need to do all of this while managing a tight budget.

Enter virtual conferences.

While virtual conferences aren’t a be-all-end-all solution (sometimes it’s important to meet people face-to-face) there are many instances where they are the perfect solution for all of the professional needs on your plate. Here are three big reasons HR pros should attend virtual conferences:

Check out our list of Top HR Conferences of 2018.

Virtual conferences provide the insights you need.

You attend conferences to connect with bright minds and to learn. Virtual conferences are well-suited to give you both of those things in abundance.

There’s a reason information and the internet are synonymous with each other. The information highway is both deep and wide, and virtual conferences are no exception. Without the constraints of building space, online events can include more speakers. And since the speakers themselves aren’t bound by geography, virtual events can bring together more top-notch thought leaders, no matter where they are in the world..

With the diversity of options typically available at virtual conferences, HR pros can customize their conference experience so that they hear from the experts whose insights are most relevant to their current work. And with a virtual conference, even if you realize a given session isn’t quite what you had in mind shortly after it begins, it’s a lot easier to switch to a more applicable session online than it is to physically walk out on somebody (#awkward).

And the insights aren’t exclusive to the speakers. Virtual conferences typically include large chat forums where like-minded HR pros can communicate and collaborate with each other to discuss and highlight important issues across the HR space.

Virtual conferences are inexpensive.

A lot goes into planning an HR budget, so it’s always good to save costs where you can. Not to mention a big part of gaining executive support for your HR-driven initiatives is to show that you are financially responsible.

The costs of booking airfare, transportation, hotels, and whatever other per-diem needs that come up are non-existent with online events. Also, fees for virtual conferences (if there are any) are almost always significantly lower than they are for their in-person counterparts.

With the money saved by attending virtual conferences, you’re free to invest elsewhere—maybe in a fantastic idea you heard about during the virtual conference!

Virtual conferences are convenient.

As we mentioned earlier, you have a lot on your plate (#nokidding). When you attend virtual conferences, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of finding cheap airfare, locating an inexpensive (and sometimes questionable) hotel close to the venue, or figuring out which shoes to pack for the excursion. Instead, you can focus your pre-conference efforts on more important things—like growing your people.

All you have to do to attend a virtual conference is to set aside the time, decide which speakers you want to learn from, make sure you have an internet connection, and click your mouse a few times. Then—voilà!—you’re there.

Want to get some of your coworkers together to watch sessions while eating snacks in a conference room? No problem. Want to squeeze in a session between a couple meetings? Go right ahead. Want to attend the conference while sitting on your deck and petting your dog? Sounds like a plan. Save yourself the time, hassle, and maybe even a few trees.

And when it’s all over, you don’t have to travel back to your home city before applying the things you’ve learned. Just start implementing them now!

HR Virtual Summit 2018

While we’re on the subject, BambooHR and Glassdoor are proud to host the largest online virtual HR conference in the world. Here are five reasons you should attend the HR Virtual Summit 2018 on November 8:

• 60+ of the brightest HR thought leaders
• Downloadable content
• Free registration
• Free HRCI/SHRM credits (if you view at least 4 hours of content)
• Fantastic prizes

Register now for the world’s largest virtual HR conference!