By: Barbara Bowes
Date: November 7, 2009

Well, it's that time again. Time for the never-ending list of gala fundraising events, dinners and award ceremonies just begging for your attendance.

There's just so much to choose from; in fact if you truly wanted, you could be celebrating at some function or another every night of the week. As well, the number of "competitive" recognition opportunities has substantially increased. For instance, the latest award winners for the 10th Canada's Top 100 Employers have just been announced.

Coming soon are other national award opportunities such as the Ten Best Companies to Work For and competitions recognizing the nation's best employers for family-friendly workplaces, diversity, environmental values, recent immigrants, young people, older Canadians and aboriginal achievement.

Locally, we also have the Chambers of Commerce and I.H. Asper School of Business award ceremonies, the Women Business Owners Awards, the Human Resource Management Award Ceremony, the Manitoba Business Adventurers Banquet, the Consulting Engineers of Manitoba Annual Awards of Excellence, the Manitoba Manufacturers' Hall of Fame inductees and the Manitoba Export Award, and the Manitoba Tourism Awards Gala dinner -- the list goes on and on.

While some of you might be licking your lips at the chance to eat out at such elegant gatherings while hobnobbing with community and business leaders, there are others who are curious just how competitions such as these operate.

Do people apply on their own, are they nominated or are they asked to apply? Who is involved in making the decisions? What selection criteria are utilized in decision making? How are credentials and submitted information verified? How is conflict of interest managed? Are the competitions really true competitions or are spots simply purchased?

And finally, do these competitions really have any value for employers and employees? Let's take a look at some of these questions.

Application process - In most cases that I am aware of, businesses and/or organizations are either invited to apply and/or are nominated. However, there are often basic criteria that must be met before an application is even considered. For instance, a business may have to have a certain number of employees, been in business for a certain number of years and/or have a program that has been in place for a specified number of years. These types of criteria serve to determine if there is some stability or longevity to the applicant.

Who sits on the panel of reviewers or decision makers? - The award committees are careful about the selection of their reviewers or assessors. In terms of the Top 100 competition, the reviewers consisted of university professionals who were also well-known authors and experts in their field of human resources. Still others will select representatives of their own members who are well respected and objective.

Selection criteria - Every organization has their own set of selection criteria, but these are well-thought-out and tested through the panel. The Top 100 competition, for instance, uses eight criteria which include: 1) physical workplace; (2) work atmosphere and social; (3) health, financial and family benefits; (4) vacation and time off; (5) employee communications; (6) performance management; (7) training and skills development; and (8) community involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Credential verification - Once submitted, the applicants' credentials are verified in a number of ways. Some processes include a telephone interview, a site visit and employee questionnaires as well as executive and staff interviews. Most often the financial information is submitted separately and is verified through an accounting firm. This information may then be compared to benchmark standards that are available for a specific industry group. In human resources, for instance, organizations may be benchmarked against statistics for staff turnover, absenteeism rates, etc.

Conflict of Interest - As can be expected, especially in smaller cities or communities, there may occasionally be situations where a reviewer encounters a conflict of interest. This might occur if an applicant is a competitor or if there is a special relationship between a reviewer and an applicant. In this case, the awards committee needs to be vigilant in applying its standard protocols, which would require the individual to excuse him/herself because of conflict of interest.

Are the competitions really competitions? - In most cases the award program is the "real deal." However, because the market value of being an award winner is growing, we are beginning to see events or publications that are referred to as "vanity" events. In other words, a business can pay or purchase their award at the various recognition levels such as platinum, gold or bronze while the public is none the wiser.

What is the value of award competitions? - The key value in being recognized as a leader in your industry is that recognition is a strong draw for attracting and retaining employees. It helps organizations to stay focused on effectively managing their human resources and thus providing a great place to work. It increases employee pride and morale which in turn will increase personal productivity. Most organizations would tell you that it is well worth the effort.

There is a lot of work and volunteer time that goes into the implementation of an award program. On the award committee side, steps are taken to review and test the selection criteria every year and update them when appropriate.

The reviewers need to be carefully selected and then oriented to their task.

Marketing tools must be prepared annually and the receipt of applications coordinated. At the same time, event organizers are busy planning the actual gala event.

On the applicant side, completing all of the paperwork can be time consuming. They need to carefully prepare their submission and ensure they meet all of the criteria and provide evidence of their achievements. Finally, they need to prepare for the committee's efforts to confirm the details of their submission. Frankly, it is a lot of work all the way around.

The fall season is always the start of that never-ending list of gala fundraising events, dinners and award ceremonies begging for your attendance.

While it is important to be there to celebrate the success of local achievers, at the same time, take a moment to appreciate all of the hard work that is required to bring these celebrations to fruition.


Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC is president of Legacy Bowes Group a leading HR firm. She is also host of a radio show, BowesKnows and author of several books. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it