PAC_10_post-conf_survey.knit

title	rating_mean	rating_median	rating_sd
Data Visualization	1.32	1	0.59
No Club: Putting a Stop to Women‚Äôs Dead-End Work	1.35	1	0.56
Algorithmic Bias	1.60	1	0.94
Generative AI and the Disruption of Work	1.63	1	0.80
Analytics & Leadership	1.87	2	0.89
Navigating Uncertainty Through Art, Behavioral Science, and Nudges	1.88	2	0.82
Next Ten Years	1.94	2	0.73
Digital First Future of Work	1.98	2	0.92
Home Court Advantage ‚Äì Promoting Pro-Level DEI	2.16	2	1.05
Making Big Decisions for the Long Run	2.17	2	0.97
White Paper Competition Winner	2.17	2	0.85
Supporting Mental Health at Work	2.18	2	0.81
New Employee Activism	2.22	2	0.82
Case Competition Submission	2.32	2	0.86
Good Power	2.43	2	1.02

Free text responses

Most Value - free text

What aspects of the program did you value most?

x
Very relevant topics. Live demonstration of tools (Chat GPT). Great thought leaders as speakers. Also very well organized and managed conference.
Lived that DEI was a string throughout most talks not just one token talk. Loved the speakers who showed data in their talks, these were the most engaging and went beyond just concepts. Many of us have to come back to teams and share what we learned, and can’t come back with just big thoughts (although they are personally inspiring) we need some hard facts to share too. The sports talk this year was the best one yet, so relevant and engaging! The general topics of the conference felt fresh this year in a new way.
Well organized and valuable content
Addressing what is going on this moment (ai, etc) and how that will impact the future.
All of it. It was an amazing group of speakers.
’- The morning content was excellent! - The student competition presentation was great - I enjoyed my lunch table topic - The DEI segment was special to this conference - The app was really convenient in being able to see everything in one place and save time on Q&A
Content rich
Algorithm bias. This topic is super new and it allows me to think in different ways.
Excellent sessions.
Able to see different practice across sectors
Loved a lot of the insights. Loved that they kept it moving quickly and used all minutes of the hour, not just the 5s/15s etc. Ritz was a nice setting!
I found most of the talks to be enjoyable and thought-provoking.
Information from the Speakers
Speakers
Discussion about future of digital work and role of AI in analytics were 2 of the most interesting topics for me. I also liked the opportunity to network with fellow attendees and some of the speakers.
The emphasis on diversity and the short but effective timing of the program.
The novel insights from presentations.
Insights and approaches to relevant work challenges
Excellent content, everything stayed on time, learned a lot and many takeaways.
I always appreciate good research presentation with a clear action message – and there were several of those this year.
The experience of the speakers about the problems and how they action about them. Also the technical experience of all of them.
Should be more pactical
Solid group of speakers
The data visualization and algorithmic bias. Both presentations did a great job demonstrating the issues and offering solutions or good questions to ensure you are getting good outcomes.
’-some speakers were so passionate, it was well organized and on time
Structured discussion at lunch. Would recommend adding that to breakfast as well
The speaker slate was dynamic
The speakers / presentations offered a diverse range of topics. The pace of the conference was great, with each presentation a good length, which continued to move throughout the day.
The content was varied, but relevant. The pace was engaging. The breaks, lunch, and reception allowed for time to network and engage with peers.
Engaging speakers - group lunch
Discussions around algorithm auditing, our role as analytics professionals in ushering in this technology: educating and what this might look like, hearing from the student winners, the non-sales-y pitches (Humu, Slack) and instead really enjoyed the more academic / professional experience discussions. I also appreciated the diversity of speaker topics / backgrounds.
The networking lunch was great. I also appreciated the quick sessions.
As always, an impressive group of people discussing topics I care about.
I appreciated the multiplicity of viewpoints represented and the overall breadth of vision, that viewpoints that didn’t necessarily cohere were allowed to bump up against each other.
Hearing more about new areas (AI, ChatGPT) and concerns and considerations in using this in organizations
I really appreciated the several networking breaks. I met very interesting and diverse people at each one. I also thoroughly enjoyed all talks that touched on the ethics involved in analytics, especially the talk given by O’Neill. I also really appreciated the morning and afternoon break, as someone who learns best when they don’t have to sit still for more than 2 hours.
The content, and the amount of content was great. It was very informative.

Criticisms - free text

Do you have any criticisms of the program that you would like to share?

x
The labor union talk fell flat for me, it didn’t feel analytical or actionable. I think it would be interesting to reflect back on what has changed in the last 10 years and what has not. There are some topics we are still having the same conversations about (how to measure performance of knowledge workers) and others that feel solved or evolved. You likely have an ability to analyze the topics of the conference over the years and that would be very interesting to see summarized.
No
None of these are deal breakers but in spirit of optimization for improvement: - I was surprised that there weren’t any vegetarian options for sandwiches which didn’t feel very inclusive to me. - I couldn’t filter by name on the app to directly message people (have to scroll in alphabetic order). - The chairs were way too close together. - It was awkward to try looking at screens when sitting in the front of the room. It was also hard to see speakers from the front of the room potentially because of how close the chairs were arranged. - The lunch topics were a great idea but I wish I got to meet more people than the 4 people at my table on the topic. - I don’t think there were any talks from the sponsors. It would have been nice to hear about their services/products via use cases. - The afternoon sessions were good but I noticed a lot of people left early.
Fast/dense. I joked the editing of the Adam Grant talk felt frenetic and dense. I wanted more time to absorb but that was difficult
I would love to hear more about analytics part. All topics are interesting, yet some are harder to implement in practice than another.
Maybe a little moving around time between sessions? Not full breaks but 4-5 mins to get a drink or move.
The video session seems a little out of place
Zing’s presentation was tiresome and gimmicky. The music played between speakers was WAY too loud. Before the event I said I had a dairy intolerance and literally 95% of the food served at lunch and dinner included dairy, integrated into the food so it couldn’t be easily removed. The student volunteers weren’t too helpful when I realized the coat check had been closed down immediately after the conference and all coats were gone. (They’d been moved to the Petite Ballroom, but maybe someone could have left a note on the cloakroom door or something??) It also struck an odd note that the conference was SUPER expensive compared to others but it was run/planned by volunteers? (Who are presumably also paying the school for their education?) Really sad Adam Grant wasn’t there in person- that was kind of the main draw for me. Also do not like being in ballrooms with no natural light, it’s SO draining.
’- I would like more networking opportunities. I found it challenging to find others in a similar position/organization; I was hoping to connect with folks to share information about our PA programs and activities, but was largely unsuccessful. - The timing was less than ideal. Traveling from Philly at 5pm is a disaster. I would prefer a 1.5 day conference, for example, that went 9-5 on day 1 and 9-12 on day 2, to make for easier travel. It would also be better on a Friday to make a long weekend out of it. - The breakfast was disappointing. I arrived early hoping to eat and to network, but was unable to do either. Breakfast didn’t show up until just before start and few people came early to network. - While I enjoyed the talks they were not all relevant. I would enjoy having breakout sessions with a choice of topic to hear. - A poster (or digital poster) session would be a great way to network and see what other organizations are working on.
There was a lot of material and options for discussions and more QA, doing this over 2 days would be great!
Would be better if we have more case competitions and white Papers than speakers in coming conferences. Why not consider case competitions for working professionals too? Would be great practical learning from each others work.
The afternoon speakers were with two exceptions (where one was a recording and one was a moderator) were mostly male. That was surprising given the otherwise strong emphasis on diversity.
Short breaks, even a few minutes, between sessions, would allow everyone to catch their breath.
Silly comment, but would have been nice if there was more space in the conference, felt like you were on top of people in the seats. I would limit to live speakers, if i wanted to watch a video, i wouldn’t have come in person.
Long lunch line meant not a lot of time to chat with people at lunch! Maybe have more buffet or lunch locations in the future if possible?
I felt having filmed conversation in the middle of lively in-person interaction was distracting and far less engaging. It was striking how much more I enjoyed the live conference vs. the virtual version from last year.
I comprehend the significance of incorporating ChatGPT in the program; nonetheless, I noticed a repetition of the inquiry concerning it addressed to nearly all the speakers, which could have been avoided. Moreover, I would have preferred additional networking opportunities that did not involve food and snacks. As the holy month of Ramadan is presently ongoing, I regret to have had to abstain from partaking in the lunch session to prevent discomfort for those who may have found it inappropriate to consume meals in front of me.
I would consider not to have the sales persons trying to sell their products in the lunch / discussion tables, they distracted us about talking about the topic assigned.
Algorithmic bias presentation was contradictory Would have liked breakout sessions where we had smaller groups with more interactions. We were in the same room the entire day
I would have liked to see more data and deeper recommendations from the DE&I presentation. I would have liked to see the con-side of the work from home presentation, I like working remote but there is a draw back and this was not really presented. I would have liked to hear from Annie Duke, she did the interviewing but he perspective and book are really good we did not hear anything from her. Finally I would have loved for Adam Grant to be in person, he is a wonderful thinker and it would have been great to have him in the room.
Not a huge fan of being in the basement, I hope it gets larger soon. More opportunities to socalize?
’-Information Overload - a lot of material in one day and a lot to take in -Some flexibility in the networking lunch would be helpful, as you may change your topic after hearing some of the speakers in the AM or meet somebody and want to eat together -Very tight chairs for how long we spent time in them -There were people and speakers involved that I would like to hear more from, such as some of the facilitators who didnt provide much input aside from asking questions -access to slides and information ahead of time would be ideal -perhaps two days could be considered as there is lots of content and opportunitiy to expand on the material -vendors could be available after the event, especially book store as some of the authors spoke after the sale opportunity (or perhaps provide a 25% off code to take home for those travelling there, as was difficult to travel with many books)
None. It was great to be in person!
None.
Please make the slides available to attendees.
Not publishing the general program timing early enough so that travel could be appropriately scheduled around the conference
It would have been nice to have just a few more breaks
While I understand and appreciate the DEI discussion, the speaker only talked about her résumé expertise rather than the approach and impact to the businesses as a result of the employee engagement and feedback. It was too long of a session that was not a value add to the experience.
Some of the talks were superficial (Generative AI demo being a good example) and made me feel that the presenters are winging it. I would have appreciated a deeper discussion tailored to the audience.
Not exactly a criticism, but if a little more time had been given to AI (its capabilities, limitations, likely effects on work, possible disruptive influence and benefits), I’d have been all ears!
The condensed format did not allow for as much time to have informal interactions between participants as in prior years. The cost seemed relatively high for a shorter program. Having a pre-recorded interview seemed to diminish the value of the program.
It would be nice if it had been multi-day to get to know more people there.
It would be great to be seated at tables versus in rows, this allows a bit more opportunity for networking.

General free text

Anything else you would like to share with us for improving next year’s conference?

x
The breaks and lunch were very well organized, but they offered not too much opportunity for networking, mostly because people want to take a break or actually eat lunch. Maybe there could be a more interactive format integrated into one session during the conference that could encourage networking. The reception afterwards, however does offer a better opportunity to network.
Stay cutting edge on the topics, as you did this year
Would love to see more non-white speakers.
Increase efforts to have more race, black, representation.
The details for lunch maybe could have been announced before people went so that all tables could have had fruitful discussions and networking time. I had professor ungar at my table and he dominated the discussion the entire time, and the topic of the table was not addressed at all beyond his thoughts, no interest in anyone else… and then veered off topic for the rest of the time. No interest in the questions or purpose of the lunch or giving any one else a chance to engage even after we were pointed to the questions. Given this was the main meet and discuss other people at the conference opportunity, it was disappointing.
Get a venue where some light comes in
The venue hallways are so narrow. Easy to bump into people.
Maybe a slightly less nice hotel with a slightly lower price? Bring back Adam Grant, live in person!
More learning by sharing papers, work, case competitions, etc. speakers are great, but more of a balance between the two. The lunch networking session could have bigger tables. That would offer more people to speak and learn from. A table of 4 could be unconsciously biased in having an opportunity to share.
The speaker streams on either side of the ballroom did not have closed captioning for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The food was not marked with allergen information and there was a dearth of allergy free options in the buffet and dessert table. I hope this feedback will contribute to the organizers’ ongoing mission to improve on diversity, equity, and inclusion across multiple areas.
I would like to have a tour in the Penn University or use their classrooms in order to have a feeling about the University
I hope to see Adam Grant next year!
see you then.
Keep up the great work…and major thanks to the MBA students that made it all happen so seamlessly!
No
Thank you
Dont schedule it in the middle of the week
I am not positive that my organization would be able to send us at this price point again in the future
Not that I did not already mention
N/A

Wharton People Analytics - PAC 10 Post Conf Survey - Attendees

Methods

total repsonses: 65

Results

Marketing

Value

Sessions

Session rating scale:

Changes for next year’s conference

Networking

D&I

Venue

Free text responses

Most Value - free text

What aspects of the program did you value most?

Criticisms - free text

General free text