Writing an Award Submission to Boost Your Organisation’s Image
Writing an award submission might seem like a big challenge if you are not an experienced award submission writer. If your award submission writing is successful and you win the award or are a finalist, it’s excellent way to get free publicity and boost your organisation’s image.
While writing an award submission might seem challenging, there are simple points to remember that will help you write your submission and increase your chances of success.
Here are a few tips to consider when writing an award submission:
Answer the questions when writing an award submission.
This might seem like a simple point but is often overlooked. Go over all the questions before writing your submission and consider what is being asked. For example, if the award submission asks about volunteering and community involvement, don’t get into your customer service practices that aren’t connected with the question.
Also, stay within the word count for each question. If not, your award submission might be rejected for not meeting the guidelines.
Use specific examples to answer the questions in your award submission.
For example, in an award submission for a vocational education provider, we wrote the following when answering the question ‘Over and above your core business responsibilities, what sets you apart in the delivery of the services from other providers?’
Our main point of difference is our work experience program which enables our students to gain first-hand industry knowledge. This real-world experience gives our students an edge when they graduate and start seeking employment. Having the practical experience means they can start contributing immediately to the organisations they join. This is a great advantage for our students and the organisations that hire them.
Other things the set us apart from other providers are class sizes and individual attention to students. Each class has a maximum of 20 students, which means that our teachers provide individual attention to our students. Our professional teachers are always available for any students who may require extra support.
Include data in your award submission when appropriate.
Some award submission criteria will ask for specific numbers about your organisation. To improve your chances of success, do the research to find what has been asked for. For example, in response to the question ‘How would you describe the growth of your business in the last 3 years? Please illustrate by using examples such as turnover, profit, number of staff, market share, opening new premises etc.’
The answer we wrote included:
‘Our business has grown substantially in many areas over the last three years. This growth has included increasing:
- The number of active clients from 230 to 345
- The number of products we stock from 1,850 to 2,675.
- Staff from 65 to 87
- Capacity to serve more clients by moving our Melbourne warehouse to larger premises and opening our Sydney showroom
- Turnover by 85%
- Profit from 15% of gross sales to 21% of gross sales.’
Keep your writing as simple as possible in your award submission.
Be as simple and clear as possible when writing an award submission. This means avoiding jargon, complicated words and corporate buzzwords. Also, avoid long sentences and long paragraphs as these will make your award submission harder to read. You can get tips on clear and concise business writing in 10 Ways to Improve Your Business Writing and Editing Your Business Writing to Make It More Readable.
Proofread and get feedback before submitting your award submission.
Writing an award submission isn’t the end of the process. Have a colleague read over it to give you feedback for improvement. Getting another perspective can help you add supporting material and clarify anything that might be ambiguous or unclear.
Proofread your award submission as a final step. Check for inconsistencies and grammar and spelling errors. As the writer, you are more likely to overlook your own mistakes. So have a colleague or friend proofread the award submission as well.
Even if you don’t win the award submission, you haven’t wasted your time. You can revise and re-use the content in other documents and publications, such as case studies, company profiles, proposals and capability statements. You have also gained experience as an award submission writer, so you can do better next time.
If you are working on an award submission and need assistance, our award submission writer will be glad to discuss our submission writing and editing services with you.
Michael Gladkoff
