Justifying Your Visit

DRI conferences are an excellent training opportunity and should offer a great return on your investment. However, getting approval to attend can sometimes be a challenge. In most circumstances, the right approach can help you justify your time away from work, travel expenses, and all relevant conference fees.

You simply need to present valid reasoning and sound objectives for your management to understand the value proposition.

Structuring a Request for Approval to Attend a DRI Conference

• Provide an accurate estimate of expenses you will incur. Be sure to include all travel, dining and lodging expenses, and cost of materials or event tickets if applicable
• Identify the specific sessions and/or courses you plan to attend. Sketch out your itinerary and suggest ways that the information you acquire will benefit both you and the company
• Offer to share the information with co-workers. Bring home your conference materials to let co-workers share in the conference content
• Close the loop—create a trip report after the conference. Summarize key points of discovery brought out during the conference and point out how those relate to BC efforts in your organization
• A sample memo to your manager is provided here.