Why entering awards can be a smart move

When your daily workload is already full, award schemes can easily be dismissed as a 'nice to do' but not sufficiently important to make it to the top of the to do list. But entering awards isn’t just about winning trophies – it’s about demonstrating impact, inspiring innovation, and sharing learning.

Having blogged about reasons to enter the 2026 CIPR Midlands Awards in my role as a committee member, I've shared below some of the ways your business could benefit from your own industry or broader business award schemes:

1. Independent recognition: Awards are independently assessed, typically by experienced professionals in a relevant field. Making the shortlist is a valuable endorsement of your skills and expertise that can help enhance your reputation, and strengthen credibility.
2. New business development: Award wins are a great way of demonstrating proven success to prospective clients – that extra third party endorsement is particularly helpful when building new relationships.
3. Team morale: Winner or nominee, having your work recognised by industry experts is a massive boost for your team and organisation. It can also help attract new recruits and retain talent – who wouldn’t want to work for an award-winning organisation?
4. Continuous improvement: Writing award entries in response to specific criteria can help you reflect on what would have made your entry even stronger. Applying that learning to your next initiative or activity ensures your reflections are put to good use.
5. Content creation: If you’re putting the time into creating an award entry, why not do more with it? Make it a case study for your website or new business proposals, draw out learnings for a blog or thought leadership piece. Award entries can be a great starting point for valuable content.
6. Networking: Awards events are great networking opportunities for you to build connections, share ideas and identify opportunities to collaborate.
7. Industry, discipline or regional promotion: Award schemes vary - some are sector or discipline-specific, or location-focused. Depending on the award scheme, taking part can help build the profile of your industry sector, region or areas of specialist expertise, encouraging a better understanding of the work you do and helping to attract new talent.

To make your award entries count, focus on the schemes that are most relevant to your organisation and pay close attention to the categories and criteria. Is the category a good fit? Do you meet the criteria? And most importantly, how can you evidence your success? Answering these questions before you start will help you ensure your time is spent where you have best chance of success.

Good luck!

The original version of this blog was published on the CIPR Midlands Awards website.

Photo by Danny Howe on Unsplash