OK, so you’ve decided to enter one of your employees in a people category in the Auckland CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards - well done, you’ve taken the first step towards rewarding someone in your team with the attention and recognition that their brilliant work deserves.
Now all you have to do is write the actual entry!
We know that getting started is the hard part... and after years of running these awards we know exactly what happens next. You’ll make a note to start your entry whenever you get a spare minute, then leave it untouched for weeks. A few days before the entry deadline, you’ll get a reminder that it's due and the whole thing will be thrown together in a screaming rush that fails to do credit the team or person you are trying to celebrate.
There is another way. So let us help you to get started and write a killer award entry!
Writing award entries doesn’t have to be either difficult or time-consuming but it does take focus and planning. Here are a few tips for making the whole entry writing process as painless and effective as possible:
- Firstly, read the entry criteria, slowly and carefully
Now, re-read the entry questions and criteria – this time though, read them out loud. Ask a colleague to make a note of each individual instruction given and each piece of information requested. -
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Next, beside each point on your list, mark the name of the person inside your business who can provide you with that information. Write down bullet points of the achievements that go beside each question and make contact with those who can provide you with exactly what you need, along with a deadline well in advance of the awards’ closing date.
Chase them for a response if you need to: remind them that by making this application you are looking to celebrate this person and their achievements. -
For each question, gather the information together and write your answer in a natural order that flows
Don’t simply bombard the reader with one statistic after another. The secret of a great awards entry is to tell a story in the way people expect: beginning, middle and end, with some interesting detail along the way. Tell their employment journey, what they have achieved, how they grew under the leadership of the business. An entry for an individual is an exceptional reflection of the business and can attract people to your business. -
Go through the entry criteria again
Make sure that your text addresses each of the points mentioned. In some cases, this will mean providing additional information to back-up the claims of your entry. Present this additional information in a clear and easily digestible way, specifically tailored to the needs of the awards entry. -
Start to think in more detail about the tone
Does it properly reflect the personality of the individual and the impact they have made on your business? Try to inject some authentic personality into it. Use quotes from your senior executives to help break up the text and to emphasise the key points you want to make.
Include visuals and, if appropriate, a video to help the judges engage with your entry and bring it to life – this can all be added to the additional documentation tab. -
Before submission, circulate the entry
Others will often be able to spot important points that are missing from the entry text. Revise your text to accommodate the feedback. Have your most pedantic colleague proof-read the entry for typos and sense-check the document. Also, ask someone who was NOT involved with the individual to read the entry. Is it easy to understand? What do they think are their key takeaways from the entry? Are these the ones you intended? -
Double-check
Make sure you have included all the supporting information required by your entry and that you have answered all the questions that the entry has requested. -
High resolution photo
Make sure you have included a high resolution photo of the individual, check with them that they are happy with the photo you are uploading. This will be shown on the night, and we all know what we like and don’t like about our own portraits. It is important that the individual feels confident. -
Finally, moving forward
Get that entry submitted, but while you are there collating and discussing, consider the key information around the individual and the project/s they were involved in. This will set you up for an additional entry that celebrates the project and possibly a technology and innovation entry as well.
Whatever the outcome - win, lose or draw – the process of preparing an awards entry is a valuable exercise, allowing the celebration of people within your team that should be recognised. The impact that an entry into an awards programme can have on an individual is huge, as it demonstrates that you value and take pride in a job well done.
In addition, the potential exposure gained from a nominated or winning award entry could bring you to the attention of new employees, new clients, new collaborators and new projects that may become future award entries of their own.
Now it is up to you to get started.