Is It Really The Least Essential Workers?

[SanFranciscan]

September and October are heavy convention months locally. Because I don't have a clear understanding of what goes on at these events, I have been asking those likely to know. If I am getting the straight scoop, the general consensus of opinion seems to be that conventions are where companies send their least essential workers. Whether or not you believe that might well depend upon whether you are chosen to attend conventions and how often.

Do you attend conventions? What are you expected to accomplish while you are there? Apparently I have also been confusing conventions with trade shows and conferences, but that may be because the differences are of no real difference at all.

[okeydokey]

Do you mean people to staff the booths at a trade show, or to attend the sessions and meetings at conventions and conferences? Often a conference or convention will also have a trade show as part of it.

Since it can cost a small fortune to send anyone to a convention, and these are tight times, I can't see them send non-essential employees. What are non-essential employees anyway? Not sure where you are getting this info.

[diznygirl]

When I worked I was about as non-essential as it got and I never got to attend a convention. There are a few I would have liked to go to.

DH, however, attended quite a few conventions/trade shows/user conferences and as management was considered pretty essential. So essential that he HAD to attend whether he wanted to or not.

[luvsJack]

I would LOVE to be able to tell my supervisor that she is sent to all these conventions and such because she is "non-essential"! She spends most of her days making sure everyone knows just how essential she is. (not sure if she is trying to convince herself or the rest of us! )

[SanFranciscan]

Originally Posted by okeydokey

Do you mean people to staff the booths at a trade show, or to attend the sessions and meetings at conventions and conferences? Often a conference or convention will also have a trade show as part of it.

Since it can cost a small fortune to send anyone to a convention, and these are tight times, I can't see them send non-essential employees. What are non-essential employees anyway? Not sure where you are getting this info.

Around here the booth personnel are poorly paid people sent by temp. agencies so they are essential to the well-being of such agencies since they are the product of such agencies, which otherwise would not make money off of that labor. Even the people who work at local conventions don't know what gets accomplished there so I am not getting any solid information from them. What I do know is that the sightseeing tour companies do a good business when conventions are in town so I guess that it is good for the local economy.

I hear the conversations of convention attendees while I am downtown though, and I have been hearing that companies are less and less willing to pay convention expenses so apparently the attendees are expected to pay more themselves or not go. It is making me wonder what goes on at these events that cannot be justified to the shareholders. Can someone explain? I have never worked a job where I was expected to attend a convention so I haven't got a clue. Can someone explain?

[NeverlandClub23]

I know several people who have gone to WDW for conventions. Basically they attend workshops and seminars/lectures on different skills (i.e. management skills, teambuilding workshops, etc.) or industry specific things. It lasts from usually 8-10 a.m. until 4-6 p.m. for a few days. I've never known any of them to come back and say they learned anything they hadn't already known or couldn't have learned from books/classes at home (maybe that's why shareholders wouldn't find it a positive things to shell out company money for in these times). But of course they enjoy them 'cause they usually tie in a family or solo vacation into the convention or they enjoy the time outside of the convention. I think "non-essential" is in the eye of the beholder . I've only known people in management or skilled positions to go to conventions not people like admin. assistants, secretaries, receptionists, etc.

I went to an RV convention a couple of years ago (in Louisville, KY) that was only for dealers and manufacturers for 3 days. It was so boring and optional so I opted out every year after that .

[jlima]

Originally Posted by SanFranciscan

September and October are heavy convention months locally. Because I don't have a clear understanding of what goes on at these events, I have been asking those likely to know. If I am getting the straight scoop, the general consensus of opinion seems to be that conventions are where companies send their least essential workers. Whether or not you believe that might well depend upon whether you are chosen to attend conventions and how often.

Do you attend conventions? What are you expected to accomplish while you are there? Apparently I have also been confusing conventions with trade shows and conferences, but that may be because the differences are of no real difference at all.

I've worked at three different hotels in Las Vegas that had lots of conventions & meetings; here's my 2 cents. There are many different kinds of meetings.

Trade show - usually held by an industry association. For example, there is a big event every March, usually held at Bally's, called ShoWest. It is a trade show for people who own movie theaters. Lots of movie studios bring actors & directors who will be in Summer movies; and give presentations to the theater owners. There is also a trade show associated with this and the exhibitors are people who sell products to movie theaters - Coke, Pepsi, candy companies, popcorn companies, sound equipment, projection equipment, etc. They are trying to sell their products to people in the movie theater community who are decision makers on these purchasing decisions. Another example of a trade show is a Tea Industry show that has been held at Mandalay Bay in the past. Tea importers exhibit their products; and people who own tea stores, tea shops, etc. attend the show to see new products and purchase teas to resell in their businesses. The biggest show like this in Vegas is the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held in January. Lots of electronic companies introduce new products at this show and it gets a lot of publicity every January.

Incentive - These groups are usually attended by people who earned the trip by meeting or exceeding a sales goal; and is usually paid for by an employer. There is very little meeting in conjunction with these group; and usually all the events are leisure events (golf, shows, tours) paid for by the company. These types of events have been getting bad press; i.e., banks that received bailout money having incentive events for their employees.

Conference - Usually held by an association for its membership. They have industry-oriented seminars; sometimes a keynote speech by an association President or motivational speech by someone outside the industry; and sometimes an awards banquet for members reaching goals. You can also probably attend classes for earning or maintaining a certification level in your industry. For example, my DH is an enrolled agent and he has to take 12 hours of continuing education credits a year to keep his membership. He goes to a local show here in LV every December to keep up with tax law changes. There are lots of these kinds of meetings in Las Vegas in every industry - lawyers, nurses, etc. My sister attended a nursing conference at The Mirage a few years ago; she lives in Louisiana.

Company meeting - This would involve some elements of an incentive group (i.e., paid for by the company with some leisure element) with a pep talk from a CEO and catered functions so people from different offices can get face time with each other. There would be meetings and motivational presentations and possibly limited exhibits from vendors; or very involved meetings if a new product was being introduced. For example, image a huge meeting of McDonald's managers (the fashion show of McDonald's uniforms was a hoot - you just had to be there). Or a meeting of real estate agents. Or a car company's introduction of a new truck or SUV; or a pharmaceutical company's introduction of a new medicine. One car dealer used a very famous magician to make a new model "appear" to their dealer meeting - they have to sell the car to their sales people first; at this meeting, before they can tell their customers how wonderful it is and why they should buy it.

I would say now, in this economy, anyone who attends a trade show or conference would be the best sales person or employee that an employer thought could negotiate the best deal if they were purchasing stuff; or an outstanding employee they wanted to invest in by sending them to seminars to learn more about their industry. Convention attendance is down all over Las Vegas; many companies are sending fewer employees to these kinds of meeting and spending less money when they do attend. If my employer asked me to attend a trade show or conference I'd consider it an honor, particularly if they were paying for everything.

On the flip side, if your job is to exhibit at industry trade shows and you are the person working in the booth at a trade show, then it's probably in your job description that you will be representing your employer at these events and your job is ___% travel.

Hope this helps.