The Digital Workplace Conference held in Melbourne this week gets a five-star rating from me. 30 expert presenters from Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada, delivered great content covering topics relevant to anyone with an interest in making their digital workplace better. Case studies that shared real world experience, technical how-to’s, governance, change management and sessions to help us work better in the digital world. There was something for everyone!

Debbie Ireland opening the Digital Workplace Conference

The conference had a great vibe, with many opportunities to catch up with people, meet new people, talk to vendors, listen, and learn. Having attended numerous online events over the past few years, I know that the online is a poor substitute for meeting in-person. Even the best organised online events get interrupted by life going on around you, it can be hard to truly focus on the event.

Throughout the conference there was a consistent conversation about how we manage the change and why people are the most important part of digital transformation. Dumping a new system on people without guidance on how, what and when to use different tools should be a thing of the past! Success comes with good planning, alignment with business needs and those of the people who inhabit our digital workplaces. There are different learning styles, different problems to solve and different levels of expertise across our organisations. This diversity means we need a range of options, not a one size fits all approach. The proof is in the pudding (and the adoption analytics).

The inaugural Digital Workplace Awards dinner was another highlight. I was fortunate to be seated with an award winner and finalist. The nominees were inspiring, and the winners deserved the accolades they received. I loved the focus on rising stars and helping communities. Wonderful stuff!

Digital Workplace Awards Dinner

Events like this require a lot of commitment from the conference organisers, presenters, and sponsors. It takes hundreds of hours to organise the event in addition to the hours of effort each presenter puts into creating engaging presentations. I’d like to give a huge thank you to everyone that made it happen.

The only gripe I have (other than those expressed in the Governance Gripes & Guidance sessions) is that many of you missed the opportunity to be part of the event. EVERYONE I spoke to had learnt something, meet new people, bonded over common interests, and left re-energised!

Loryan Strant, Christian Buckley and yours truly discussing Governance Gripes & Guidance.

In-person is important. Humans are social creatures, and we benefit socially and emotionally from the interactions we have with others, especially if we share a common interest. If you are on the fence and thinking, can I really be bothered, then I ask you to push yourself a little and go. I promise you won’t regret showing up!

Thank you to everyone who attended my sessions. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts, answering questions, having a selfie together and the conversations between sessions. Don’t forget to download my slide deck from the conference website & please connect with me on LinkedIn.

P.S. There is still a place for online events and conferences, but it is up to you to make the most of the experience. I see many people sign-up and then attend partially and without being fully focused. The struggle is real!