Vic Laws, MBE’s Post

I can think of scores of businesses who should be putting themselves forward here. A win will help any company enhance their image, workforce morale and could expect to help with future success

GreenSquareAccord has announced receiving 254 nominations for their Gold Star Awards, describing this as an impressive 42% increase over last year’s entries. However, this claim seems somewhat underwhelming, especially considering their workforce size and the upcoming expenditure for the awards ceremony. To put this in perspective, with an employee base ranging between 1,000 and 5,000, the 254 nominations represent only about 5.08% to 25.4% of their total staff. Last year’s nominations, calculated to be around 179, indicate a low participation rate. Moreover, it is important to note that these nominations are solely from staff members, with no input from customers or residents. This exclusion is disheartening, particularly considering the crucial role that customers and residents play in the organisation’s operations. Their feedback and recognition would provide a more comprehensive and authentic measure of performance and service quality. When considering the costs associated with organising and hosting an awards ceremony, including logistics, venue, awards, and lost productivity, one must question the efficiency and impact of this exercise. The expenditure seems extravagant and not necessarily reflective of broad recognition across the organisation. Given these figures and the lack of customer/resident involvement, it's crucial to consider whether the awards genuinely enhance morale and recognition or if they simply serve as a costly tradition with limited reach. In light of these numbers, the resources allocated to the Gold Star Awards might be better invested in more impactful employee and customer engagement initiatives, or better yet spent making the homes of their residents safe, warm and dry.

Clients often ask whether entering awards is worthwhile. Entering and attending are a time and money investment, but if the award is well-respected and relevant, it's definitely worth considering entering. Here are 5 good reasons why: 🏆 Winning - and being shortlisted - gives you an opportunity to share the good news on your owned media channels, such as your newsletter, website and social media. 📣 Awarding bodies often make a splash of nominees/winners, sharing the news with the media. Plus, you can issue your own press release, letting the world know your achievements. 🤝 Being award-winning helps gain you trust among your clients, prospects and stakeholders. 🙌 Achieving recognition for your team's hard work helps boost morale, making everyone proud of the work they've done. 🎉 Winning awards can help with your recruitment - who doesn't want to work for an organisation who's known for their great work! If you want to explore awards but don't have time or aren't sure where to start, we can help. Drop us a line here https://lnkd.in/ek4iaSRu

Entering the awards isn't just about seeking recognition; it's about pushing yourself and your business to new heights. It's about stepping out of my comfort zone and challenging yourself to excel in ways you never thought possible. The process of preparing for the awards forces you to critically evaluate every aspect of your business and identifies the achievements with celebrating and areas for improvement. When you are entering – you already winning.

People often ask us why they haven’t won the awards that they’ve entered. We have a unique method of different types of award entrants and assigning them to different types of personas. Depending on which persona you are, will depend on the likelihood of you winning or not. We’ve put together 10 personas that relate to all different types of award entries and people that we’ve seen entering awards. Take the test to find out exactly which persona you are and let us know which one you got! https://lnkd.in/ebakm_gA

Have you got an awards strategy? Most companies I know are very reactive when applying for awards within their industry. They are good to have, but companies do not consider them until someone approaches them to submit for a particular award. If they are lucky, they do end up winning that award. But most of the time, the submission does not result in a win. However, most companies have great stories that can be used to win these awards. Are you looking to identify the fantastic stories that your business has that can be used to win awards? Reach out to me, and let's find those fantastic stories you can put forward for award nominations. Let's prepare your awards strategy. https://lnkd.in/gTUjNkzk

Awards Season.......how to write a winning entry 🏆 I am very lucky to be part of judging panels for several awards events coming up over the next few months. It is a genuine honour to review talented businesses and individuals across our industry. Having trawled through a very long list of entries last week I thought it might be useful to share my tips for how to create strong entries. ✔ Read the criteria carefully, and make sure your entry captures each of the required points. ✔ Use bullet points, short paragraphs and easy to digest content. Remember the judges have to read an awful lot, so make sure yours is easily understandable. ✔ If you are applying in multiple categories, make sure you make your entry different in each category (back to point 1) Each entry needs to be relevant to the category. ✔ Don't think you have to apply for every category you may have a chance to win in. Less entries, with better clarity and detail, will have more of a chance. And do not give up. If you don't make the shortlist, keep trying. Over the years I have seen plenty of entries improve year on year, your time will come! Good luck everyone 🍀

The Elites Awards did not disappoint 🏆 Here’s one thing they really promote. Always make time to recognise your success. Even if things aren’t going exactly to plan. It’s easy to think that when you’re not where you want to be. That everything is going wrong. To question your process, product and so on. But it’s important to find the parts that are going well. To acknowledge what is working. Stay consistent with that. Whilst working on the other aspects. Plenty of the winners mentioned this last week when taking their award. Acknowledging what is working, even when things are tough, isn’t toxic positivity. It’s not burying your head in the sand and ignoring challenges. It’s giving yourself the credit you deserve. Which helps you deal with the challenges you’re going through. Always make time to acknowledge your wins. No matter how big or small they are.

Have you checked out my free database of business award opportunities? 👉 The link is in my bio. As someone who works with clients from the beginning to the end of their award nomination journey, I’ve learned that the most challenging part is often just getting started. To help, I put together a GIANT database of 450+ business and industry awards. Take a look at the database to: ⭐️ Discover credible national and statewide business awards. ⭐️ Save time with an easy-to-navigate award system that can be sorted by sponsor, industry, location, and deadline. ⭐️ Increase your personal brand visibility regardless of where your career takes you. Go get it at the link in my bio, and let me know when you win so I can cheer you on!

It is so easy to say "no" - Why not say yes? We have always strived to say YES whenever possible. Saying Yes is not always easy. For us it sometimes requires working late, rush shipping, and all kinds of stress behind the scenes. Why do we say yes? Imagine if you work hard to meet your goals and your employer is hosting a recognition ceremony to showcase all of the hard work of the top performers. What if they reach out to their awards supplier and were told NO! The deadline cannot be met, the item is out of stock, the production time is too long - and they are crazy for even asking. What if you are the one that shows up and does not receive that award? How does that make you feel? It's not always about the client, it's more about the receiver of that item. How will it make them feel? No matter how big or small, and sometimes the smaller orders, make the most impact, try saying yes! Now, I am not saying we can always say yes, but if it is remotely possible, maybe we should. We are not hero, the client is the hero, we are just the guide.