How to convince your boss to organize a BarCamp in your company ?

Question

BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.

But, how do you convince your boss to allow to host a BarCamp in its company ?

My first boss reply was that it is too risky for the company, because company's employees may speak with guest, usually competitors, and be attracted to their respective companies, and so, may quit the company.

So, what can I say to my boss to allow me to host a BarCamp inside the company ?

What are the benefits to host a such "geeky" event ?

Answer 1

Why, obviously, it can work the other way round actually... people will get to learn about your company, which adds to its appeal.

The ThoughtWorks office in my city is the venue of a lot of such events, which I imagine has helped them to position themselves as an attractive workplace.

Answer 2

I think these events are great as they generally attract the top performers, (people who are willing to do professional development on their own time.) This can be a great chance to showcase your company. Most of the places I have worked encouraged employees to participate for that very reason.

Of course, there may be facilities reasons why you can't host (Can't secure a meeting room, insurance ....). If this is the case, don't take it personally.

Answer 3

1 Create a Happy Dev House in your area
2 Invite your boss to the lighting talks... 
3 ???
4 Profit
5 Tell your boss he can have all that people in a BarCamp in your HQ

Answer 4

There are a bunch of advantages!

• You get to meet a lot of geeks. Lots of networking opportunity (not only for you, but for like-minded geeks in your company)
• Lots of positive PR for your company.
• Great recruiting tool (especially in this economy)
• Great venue for sharing common technology issues/concerns. You probably learn a lot more in these meetups than in

If your boss is worrying about losing talent, then he should probably try and fix the underlying problem rather than avoid conducting useful meetups :)

Answer 5

because company's employees may speak with guest, usually competitors, and be attracted to their respective companies

Ask your boss whether he believes his competitors are more attractive employers.

If not, then he has nothing to lose and everythng to gain.

If so, then polish up your resume!