Your Guide to Thrive at ATD 2019

If you work in the realm of employee training and development, then your “big event” of 2019 is just around the corner.

The ATD International Conference & Expo, the largest global event dedicated to the training and development industry, will take place May 19th through the 22nd in Washington, D.C.

Aside from the ability to meet and learn from revered thought leaders, attending this conference will position you to drive your organization’s most valuable resource (your talent) toward success.

As advanced digital tools continue to permeate the modern workplace, the need to evolve and refine your approach to employee training is monumental. Traditional approaches to training are quickly becoming obsolete. To succeed in the current business landscape, employees need access to agile digital solutions and new skills development opportunities.

ATD International Conference & Expo: What’s it all about?

ATD’s annual conference is the biggest and most comprehensive event for talent development professionals around the world.

Attendees will walk away with new knowledge, strategies, and solutions to help them effectively train and develop talent. If you’re interested in insights about the latest trends, best practices, and novel solutions for creating, delivering, executing, and monitoring learning programs, then you don’t want to miss it.

Dive Deeper: 5 Employee Training and Development Improvements for the Digital Age

Give me the logistics!

Before we dive into how to make the most of your attendance at the event, let’s quickly cover some logistics.

Who’s your host?

ATD — the Association for Talent Development — is a professional membership organization that provides support to training and skills development leaders in organizations all around the world.

Where is the event?

The ATD International Conference & Expo will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

There, you’ll have the chance to attend 300+ educational sessions covering the full range of topics in the training and development industry. You’ll also have the ability to learn about the latest tools and solutions from 400 exhibitors.

Agenda highlights

With more than 300 learning sessions, the potential to come away with career-boosting knowledge is virtually uncapped.

The main topics on the agenda include:

• Career development
• Instructional design
• Leadership development
• Learning measurement and analytics
• Science of learning
• And more

The industry tracks are government, healthcare, and higher education.

You don’t want to miss these keynote speakers

An esteemed panel of leaders makes up this year’s roster of keynote speakers. Be sure to attend talks from:

• Oprah Winfrey: Media leader, philanthropist, producer, and actress
• Seth Godin: Entrepreneur, bestselling author, and speaker
• Eric Whitacre: Grammy-winning composer, conductor, and creator of the virtual choir, Deep Field

You can see the complete list of speakers here.

Real-life lessons on employee success amid digital transformation

Today, business strategies, technologies, and services are becoming more and more digital. For business to thrive and for employees to succeed in their roles, optimizing staff training and development is crucial.

One of WalkMe’s clients, TIAA, will host a session called Employee-Centric Training Strategy Amidst Digital Transformation.

This is a topic that’s relevant for all companies and industries, as each organization must provide effective training and change management as they navigate digital transformation.

As total global spend on digital technology is expected to eclipse $4 billion by 2025, achieving the highest possible return on software investments is critical. But too often, the same mistakes prevent promising digital transformation efforts from fulfilling their full potential.

Here’s the secret TIAA learned, and what you can explore in the session: employee training and development today cannot be executed in the same manner or context as it has in the past. A new, “digital-ready” approach is required to meet the demands of performing in the digital workplace.

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Next-gen training for the world of digital

Removing employees from their work to go through training programs and seminars may have been an effective mode of learning in the past. But today, as an ever-increasing share of employee work is being done on digital platforms, this method doesn’t work.

Employees learn the most through experiential training, or “learning in the flow of work.” Digital solutions like WalkMe enable employees to confidently face unfamiliar digital tools and complete tasks efficiently. With contextual learning, employees receive tailored, onscreen guidance in real time so they can complete any process with ease.

Exposition and networking

Oh, what fun it is to see all of the leading gadgets, solutions, and methods for boosting your training and development strategy!

With more than 400 vendors attending, the exposition hall will be full of useful solutions.

Come say hi to us from WalkMe at booth #2006! We’d love to meet you.

Of course, time spent in the expo hall is valuable networking time. But there’s another not-to-miss event for this exact purpose. ATD’s Networking Night will take place at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Tuesday, May 21.

There, Oprah will present a special exhibition on The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture. Don’t miss it!

Join the conversation

You’ll probably want to share all of the wisdom you learn at the conference with your peers and connections. Make sure you include the hashtag #ATD2019 in all of your posts, and search for it to find out what other attendees are talking about.