What comes to your mind when you hear the word conference? A formal meeting held away from your office for you to relax as you talk about business. Many people are jubilant to be involved in conferences because they view it as a place of relaxation which is true, but this can make them loose focus and deter them from achieving what they were meant to benefit from at the conference. For this reason, facilitators of conferences have opted to come up with a code of conduct to carb this mentality.
Questions to have in mind when creating a code of conduct
In the creation of a conference code of conduct, you have to ask some questions which include:
- Who are the Participants?
When creating a conference code of conduct, you have to consider your participants. Different participants require different codes depending on their age, their profession.
- What is the topic of discussion?
You have to consider what is being discussed during the conference while creating a code of conduct. Some topics are very sensitive and therefore need a stricter code of conduct so that people remain grounded even when they disagree with each other. An example of sensitive topics is when it has to do with gender.
- How much time is available for the conference?
When creating a conference code of conduct, you have to consider how much time is available for the conference. You have to make sure the conference achieves its goals.
- Where is the conference being held?
Some might see the venue as a non-issue, but it is a critical factor to put into consideration while creating a code of conduct. You have probably heard a story or two where people are have gone to a conference and are nowhere to be seen because they have wandered away from the rest. The code has to be clear in places that are out of bounds during the conference especially if the venue is a big resort.
- What are the goals of the conference?
The code of conduct must look at the goals that the conference is setting to achieve while being created. Some conferences are held for purposes of team building, others for entertainment and others are for law making; so each has to have its own code of conduct.
How to Create a Code of Conduct
Creating a code of conduct has no particular formula. You have to look at some things when creating it. These things include:
- The Values: What is morally acceptable and what is not.
- Ethics: What is expected from everyone?
- Accountability: Everyone should be able to be responsible for their actions.
- Disciplinary actions: What are the consequences of their actions.
- Get input from the participants: Let the participants be involved in creating the code.
Important Things to remember while creating a code of conduct
- Strike a balance.
- Outline everything using clear language.
- Give precise information.
- Focus on all issues of the conference.
- Use examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior to clarify points.
- Provide avenues to report violations.
- Make the code available to everyone.
- Always seek to ascertain that it is working.
- Keep updating the code with time.
How you create a conference code of conduct, will determine if the conference will be a success or not. The above tips are worth a try while creating a conference code of conduct.
