If there’s one thing the last couple of years have proven, it’s that meeting with peers face-to-face far exceeds the value of any virtual conversation. Need more convincing? Here are 5 reasons we love attending industry events:

1.  Peer-to-peer connections

We can’t overstate this enough. There is no replacement for meeting with your peers in a casual environment—learning from them, sharing experiences and building your network. As our industry continues to deepen it's roots, now is the time to make connections and strengthen relationships. Who knows where your career may take you...!

2.  Knowledge sharing

Sometimes you don’t even know you’ve had a problem until you hear how someone else approaches a similar situation with a better solution. Content at industry events is carefully curated to address some of the industry’s biggest known struggles and bring to light new ideas that can evolve your program.

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3.  Inspiration from industry leaders

This industry was born out of a necessity to improve the way work is done. And it keeps evolving because leaders and thought pioneers are constantly pushing the boundaries. And they often debut these ideas at industry conferences.

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4.  Solutions for today—innovations for tomorrow…

If you’re like most practitioners, you’re being asked to do more with less. There’s likely a tech-enabled solution that can help with that. Rather than scouring the internet and scheduling a dozen tech demos (after multiple calendar sync battles) that may span weeks, you can speed date with the industry’s top vendors all in one place.

5.  It’s a time to cut loose!

Attending events broadens us in so many ways. It’s also a time to relax, hangout and maybe even bust a move. And while these benefits might not have as clearly defined of an ROI, it’s one way to put balance back into your work/life and re-energize for those long days of back-to-back-to-back meetings. Besides—I think we can all agree—it’s more fun to cheers in person than over Zoom…

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