18th September 2017
How to write a winning Employee Engagement Awards Entry
Enter here
Entry deadline: October 6th, 2017
Awards dinner: January 25th, 2018
Conference – how winners won: March 1st, 2018
With 16 days to go until the awards deadline, it’s time to knuckle down and get those entries written. Don’t forget to leave enough time to secure internal sign off for your entry.
We thought we would give you a helping hand where we can.
1. What do I need to do?
a. Go to https://uk.ee-awards.com/ to select your category and view the entry pack.
b. Register for the Awards by clicking on the pink ‘Enter Now’ button to start the process.
c. Check the T&Cs.
d. Answer the questions to complete your entry (approx 300 words per question – write your entry off line first, get approval, then copy & paste in):
i. What problem/goal did the project set out to achieve?
ii. Tell us about the planning stage of the project.
iii. How did you ensure the project implementation went smoothly?
iv. How did you include the opinions of employees in the project to ensure long-term uptake and buy in?
v. What was the quantifiable business impact and results achieved?
vi. What learnings did you take from running this project, and how would you approach it differently next time?
e. Add your logo and supporting material (in pdf and video format)
f. Make the £150 entry payment.
g. Sit back and cross your fingers until the end of October!
2. Is my story good enough?
The best story badly written probably won’t beat a good story written with clarity, passion, and evidence of success. Make sure you:
a. Tell the story clearly and concisely – the judges don’t know anything about your business or your project. Test the story out on someone else who knows nothing about it – do they get it? Are they impressed?
b. Make it easy for the judge to read your entry with explanatory subtitles and bullet points rather than unbroken paragraphs of text.
c. Set out the objectives at the start, then demonstrate clearly how they were met/surpassed.
d. Mix rational and emotional evidence; alongside the metrics that show how the project achieved its aims, share testimony from customers, employees, and leaders on the difference it has made personally and to the business.
e. Highlight what is different, ingenious and impactful about what you have done with passion and enthusiasm!
f. Use the ‘supporting evidence’ to bring the entry to life. Make this visual rather than text-heavy to create impact with the judges.
3. How did last year’s winners win?
By demonstrating innovation, specific & tangible strategy, impressive success measures, passion and of course a good understanding of employee engagement.
Have a look at some of last years’ judge’s comments on the winning entries:
The People Insight Employee Engagement Company of the Year Award Winner – Virgin Trains (West Coast)
“An interesting challenge tackled in a very innovative way. Listening to employees at home, communicating via an internal TV service and even seconding employees to commit full-time to the project show a refreshing commitment to employee engagement.”
Employee Engagement Small-Medium Business Award Winner – PPL
“They supported the project with re-measurement and identified success measures that were impressive –improving Member Experience scores by >30%, while growing business revenue and overall engagement scores.”
Wellbeing Award Winner – Golding Homes
“Most impressive were the results that saw an ROI of 40% on the money invested. Some examples being……Overall sickness absence fall by 38% in their first year and the number of days lost due to stress/depression falling by 61%.”
Employer Brand Award Winner – MBNL
“There is clearly a great deal of passion, time and money invested in this initiative that produced a significant culture change.”
4. What if I just don’t have time to get it written?
We are all time poor – fortunately, agencies such as Boost Marketing can help you plan, write and evidence your entry for you – even in limited time. Have a look at what they offer here.
With thanks to People Insight our proud headline sponsors of the UK & European Employee Engagement Awards.
Good luck!