When you are feeling so high….
… there’s only one way to go.
Yesterday was such an exciting day. For the last few years I have wanted to go to a conference which is held in America. In fact this is the global equivalent of the conference I went to the other week. But for various reasons I haven’t been able to go.
So this year, W and I decided we would try a more direct tactic. We submitted a paper. We did this with the full agreement of our boss, and her boss too. Although there did seem to be a bit of a misunderstanding, which we did try and put right at the time (and when we send them links to the website, it’s not our fault they don’t actually read them is it?) that they thought it was just a website. We did go back to them and state that as well as the website, it was a 4 day conference, but I am still not convinced they fully understood.
Anyway, we submitted the paper at the end of September. It was number 4,200 odd. They only have 300 papers presented at the conference.
Yesterday we got invited along to present our paper at next year’s conference.
W and I were cockahoop!
We spent most of the day out of the office, delivering our own developed in-house training course on the software in question. This is something which will save the company 10’s of thousands of pounds per year, because they are sending people on this course, and they come back with little clue how to translate what they did into their worklife. To be fair it’s not their fault - nor the trainers really - since they are going to a generic course, and our company is quite specific about how is queries data.
So we have developed a course which covers all aspects of what they will need to know to do their job. They won’t be able to pass any exams (like I did, whoo hoo) with what we are teaching them, but they will be able to do their job quickly and efficiently, and hopefully ask my team fewer stupid questions along the way.
Currently, all new people are sent on two courses in the first 6 months or so. They cost almost £1,500 each. Excluding travel, accomodation and meals.
The cost for sending us will probably be in the region of £1,500 each, including flights, accomodation and meals.
We will teach them the bits from each course they need to know, in two days, on site. Very little cost to the company.
When I told my boss we had been invited to America to present our paper, but would need permission to go, he didn’t sound too hopeful.
So today I have crashed right down. I have done what I can in terms of pointing out what I am saving the company, how much external courses cost, how useful the UK conference was (leaving out the toyboy encounter, obviously), how it is relevant to my job, how it is a joining together of likeminded business people from around the world. I now just have to wait for my boss to discuss it with his boss.
But right now I think if they say we can’t go (and it is more than possible I reckon) I am going to walk. Talk about being unappreciated.
I might go and work for the software company, and come back as a consultant and charge them a damn sight more than £1,500!!!!!