This may sound simple, but many nominations, no matter how long and detailed, do not pass the first stage, as the content supplied does not cover any of the criteria required by the nomination overview. If there is too much information that is not relevant, it can be detrimental and can make the reader lose interest.

Spend time thinking about what you want to put into your nomination and ensure you can meet the criteria. Writing bullet points will help.

 

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR ENTRY

Below is the recommended format for writing a quality nomination.

Core content
For each Platinum Award category, there are question prompts, that cover what the judges will be looking for, when reviewing the nominations and selecting a shortlist. It is a good idea to use these questions as headers, and then elaborate. If you can,  include evidence to support as needed – this could be quotes from colleagues, for example. External stakeholders add a lot of value, as do metrics, which show what has been achieved. Remember, the judges will be reading lots of nominations, so try to include content that will make your entry stand out.

When writing your nomination, consider:

• WHAT did the nominee do?
• HOW did they do it?
• WHO benefitted?
• WHAT were the results and/or impact?
• WHY does the nominee stand out from others?
• WHERE and WHEN did the key events occur?

Stay clear of obvious and sweeping statements, such as ‘This person always goes above and beyond,’ ‘This is a shining example of a great project.’ these statements may well be true, but a good nomination will prove this through its explanations and evidence.

Summary
With just 50 words, it’s best to ensure that your summary is a clear, direct, and specific statement explaining why the nominee deserves recognition. Include a few bullet points to allow the judges to become familiar with the nominee and why they should win, linking it to the criteria. i.e. the specific challenges faced, actions taken, and results or goals met.

 

PROJECT NOMINATIONS

Project nominations can be for either completed or ongoing projects. A great project is more than just the build. We are looking for evidence that the project is a success in all areas. Include aspects such as the development of relationships, the inclusion of the local community and legacy leaving, how the team may have overcome obstacles, the scale of the challenge the project team has faced, and any ‘out of the box’ thinking, that has helped the client achieve its outcome.

 

ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD AWARD ENTRY

Give yourself enough time. From the launch date, you will have four weeks to pull your nomination/s together. Make sure you don’t rush your nominations and end up missing key chunks of information that could be vital to showcase why your person/team/project deserves to win.

Read the question. It’s amazing how often the nominee doesn’t fully read the category overview or judging criteria. After thoroughly reading the overview, it’s always a good idea to outline your nomination in bullet points before you write anything, so you know what messages you’re aiming to get across. It also helps you stick to the criteria.

Don’t just copy and paste text, if entering multiple categories. Every category has a different focus and requires different evidence, so you cannot write a generic entry and submit it to multiple categories. Spend time editing your nomination, to ensure it suits each category you wish to nominate in.

Avoid sweeping generalisations. Ensure you go into detail, to allow the judges to fully understand why this person/team/project deserves the award, especially if that reason is personal to you.

Make sure your nomination is award winning. It seems obvious, but to increase your chances of winning, make sure you are putting your best person/team/project forward. It’s always great to enter multiple nominations, but it’s even better if you spend your time on the people/teams/projects that really stand out. Remember, its quality, not quantity.

Get your co-workers involved. In most cases, the people/teams you want to nominate –  because of the positive impact they have had on you – have most likely had a similar impact on others. When looking to nominate, ask your colleagues for their thoughts about why that person/team should win a particular award. Get them to write a quote for you to use as evidence, see if they can provide some metrics, examples, testimonials or anything else needed for your application. If each person’s experience is different, it could be that through you reaching out, they are prompted to enter their own nomination- remember multiple nominations are encouraged.

Take note of the word count. Entries must meet the word count criteria: a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 1,000. If your nomination only just covers the minimum word count, we suggest you take a second look over your nomination and question if what you have written is enough. Do you fully answer each of the prompt questions? Do you have evidence to prove your statement? If the answer is no, it might be worth spending more time on your entry and add in the missing content.

Don’t rely on what the judges already know. Although those selected to judge the nominations know a lot about the business, its people and its projects, they can only judge on what is put in the nomination. It is therefore important to ensure you cover everything in your text.