communication department

Volume XX Number 9

2005 Region 5 Conference: STC'S Transformation in Action

By Aiessa Moyna, Associate Fellow, Phoenix Chapter, and Public Relations Committee Manager, Tech Comm 2005 Conference When the Phoenix chapter agreed in 2003 to host the 2005 Region 5 Conference—known as Tech Comm 2005—chapter leaders and volunteers were enthusiastic, but cautious.

In the two years leading up to the conference, the chapter would overhaul its budgeting and planning process, launch a new professional education and development series, serve as a pilot for rechartering under the Society's Transformation initiative, and lead several communities in sponsoring the Southwest Regional Technical Publications, Art, and Online Competitions—all while continuing to deliver its award-winning program of meetings and services for members and other technical communicators across central and northern Arizona. There would be a lot to do in a relatively short time, and a relatively small group of dedicated volunteers to do it all.

Then, inspiration struck. Phoenix chapter member Jane Smith, who also serves as Instructional Design and Learning special interest group (IDL SIG) manager, and STC director Sherry Michaels, who was Phoenix chapter president at the time, wondered what might happen if the two communities joined forces. The Phoenix chapter needed to host a regional conference for technical communicators across the southwestern United States, and the IDL SIG had been looking for an opportunity to deliver more value to its members, apply its financial resources effectively, and help members grow as individuals and as a community. Meanwhile, the Society's Transformation initiative had motivated chapters and SIGs around the world to consider new models for developing community and delivering value to members. Tech Comm 2005 represented a perfect opportunity to put the principles into practice and to help both communities achieve their goals.

Along the way, both the IDL SIG and the Phoenix chapter learned some valuable lessons that will benefit other communities that enter a virtual-geographic community partnership.

Establish Joint Leadership

Conference co-managers Karen Zorn, representing the Phoenix chapter, and Jane Smith, representing both the IDL SIG and the Phoenix chapter, led the conference planning team. They ensured that the interests of both communities always were considered equally. In addition, the various conference committees included members from both communities, as well as members of other chapters in Region 5.

When the Phoenix chapter hosted the regional conference in 1999, the chapter provided virtually all the volunteer power, essentially delivering the meeting for the entire region. In contrast, Tech Comm 2005 was a true team effort in which the IDL SIG and Phoenix chapter managed the delivery of a meeting presented for the SIG and region by the SIG and region. Never before had a chapter and SIG collaborated on such an event. Planning team members hailed from Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Sedona, Tucson, and other locations in Arizona. But they also hailed from Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas; San Diego and Stanford, California; and New York City (part-time).

Learn from Those Who Preceded You

Better still: Recruit them for your planning team.

The small core team that initially formed to begin planning the conference didn't have a lot of experience—a couple of members had never even attended an STC regional or international conference when they volunteered. They got the ball rolling by securing planning resources available from the Society. The team found a great deal of valuable information on the Tieline Knowledge Base and adapted or incorporated some of the annual conference supporting materials into their regional conference planning—the Call for Papers and guidelines on Preparing Your Conference Session provided useful models.

Next, the planning team reached out to members who helped plan the 2004 Region 5 Conference in Salt Lake City and the 1999 Region 5 Conference in Phoenix. They also contacted planning team members for STC conferences in other regions and for non-STC conferences and events. In this way, they learned through the experiences of others what to do…and what not to do.

The planning team got to work filling the committee manager roles and recruiting other team members. First, they asked volunteers who had served in those roles in the past. Many were pleased to receive the implied affirmation of a job well done, and they happily agreed to tackle those jobs again. Others were happy to share their experiences, notes, and samples from previous conferences, but preferred to volunteer for other roles this time around. And even the folks who declined with a polite "Been there; done that" still offered to share whatever materials and memories they had.

As the planning team continued to recruit volunteers, they considered which roles were location-dependent and which could be done virtually. With about 180 members concentrated mostly in a single metropolitan area, the Phoenix chapter was able to contribute volunteers "on the ground" to secure a venue, serve as points of contact for key vendors, and manage the event logistics.

With more than 1,800 members worldwide at the time, the IDL SIG was able to contribute volunteers who could handle "back-office" tasks that didn't require being within easy driving distance of the conference venue. And with years of experience working as a virtual team, the SIG introduced a number of best practices to the planning process, including the use of teleconferences, e-mail, and small-group meetings, rather than frequent face-to-face meetings of the entire planning team.

Agree in Advance on Shared Investment and Return

As an established community with strong economics, the Phoenix chapter agreed to manage the conference expenses and income through its checking account, and was prepared to contribute any up-front investment that might be required to deliver the conference. The IDL SIG, with a smaller treasury, was prepared to contribute in-kind goods and services, such as printing of promotional materials, as well as fun items for the gift bags presented to conference attendees.

There was an assumption among planning team members that the Phoenix chapter would absorb the financial loss if the conference failed to break even. (Although for the conference co-managers, that was never a viable option!) However, the two communities never explicitly discussed whether they would share responsibility for a financial loss or would share the proceeds if the conference produced a financial surplus.

When the final receipts were in, it was clear that the conference had been a financial success. It was then that the core planning team quickly proposed granting the SIG a generous share of the proceeds, reflecting the effort that its members had contributed. Because this sum would constitute a rather large disbursement from the Phoenix chapter treasury, however, it required a vote of the chapter's elected council members. The vote had to be called hastily (and handled virtually!) at a time when the chapter and SIG leadership and general membership should have been celebrating their success and getting some much-deserved rest. Afterward the team agreed that, next time, they would decide in advance how to split the proceeds so that they could avoid a last-minute scramble!

Benefits of Collaboration

So why collaborate? How might your community benefit from a SIG-chapter partnership? While similar results cannot be guaranteed for all such ventures, the Tech Comm 2005 collaboration was an impressive success on several fronts.

The conference generated a significant surplus that will allow both the Phoenix chapter and the IDL SIG to fund their existing programs and services, plus new initiatives.

It provided the two communities a forum to demonstrate to their own members the value they can deliver. Attendees rated their overall experience 3.6 on a scale of 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent), and the consensus was that the conference delivered a premium educational and networking experience.

More important, the conference provided each community a forum to demonstrate to the other the value it can deliver. The conference represented a unique opportunity for them to market their programs and services to a receptive audience and possibly attract new members.

Our experience proved the maxim that there is strength in numbers. By joining forces, the communities attracted more than 100 conference attendees, both Society members and nonmembers, and presenters from across the United States, as well as from Canada and Belgium! Alone, either community likely would have had difficulty mounting a conference with such broad appeal.

For more information, or to obtain a copy of the post-conference summary, contact conference co-managers Karen Zorn (k.zorn@zorntech.com) and Jane Smith (jemcomm@sedona.net).