5 Strategies for Successful Association Awards Management

Your members go above and beyond every day, both in their loyalty to your association and the way they operate in their professional roles. In some cases, their work is just one small part of an accomplishment by the business they work for. And it isn’t just your staff who may notice this—other members and even the community at large often recognize these achievements. 

So, why not formally appreciate these individuals and organizations by creating (or revamping) an association awards program?

To successfully recognize important stakeholders and build community through your awards program, you’ll have to take a strategic approach. While robust awards management software is immensely helpful, you also need a plan to utilize your tools and align your team on how your awards program will contribute to your association’s overall success.

In this guide, we’ll discuss five association awards management strategies that you can adapt for your organization’s unique needs and goals. Let’s dive in!

1. Clearly Define Awards & Nomination Procedures

If you’ve never given out recognition-type awards before (as opposed to grants, scholarships, or other similar application-and-review processes), your first task is to set overarching goals for your program. Ensure your team knows why you want to develop this program and who you’re recognizing (individual members, businesses, etc.) so everyone understands how to move forward.

Then, develop a clear nomination process by defining:

• Award categories according to type of contribution, field of achievement, or other factors.
• Eligibility requirements, such as length of membership in your association or community involvement.
• Additional materials that need to be submitted on top of the nomination form, like recommendation letters or evidence of completed projects.
• Timelines for submission windows, application processing, judging, communication of decisions, and presentation of awards.

These internal decisions lay the foundation for your externally-facing awards program materials, including your submission form, guidelines, and marketing communications.

2. Promote Award Opportunities Across Multiple Channels

As with most of your association’s initiatives,  a multi-channel marketing approach expands your awards program’s reach. The more ways you communicate about award and nomination opportunities, the more people will see and interact with your messages.

Promote your awards program across the following channels:

• Your association’s website, where your awards program should have its own page or a dedicated microsite connected to the main site.
• Email blasts and newsletter mentions.
• Social media posts on the platforms your members use the most, whether that’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok.
• Mobile messaging via texts or your association’s mobile app (if you use one).
• Print communications like direct mail and flyers posted at in-person events.

In all of these communications, include a link or QR code to your nomination form so your audience can fill it out right away if they feel inspired. Additionally, ensure your guidelines are easily accessible (either in the message or via a website link) and that you’ve provided contact information in case anyone has questions.

3. Prioritize Fairness in Adjudication

When submissions for an award close, you should have already chosen your judges and briefed them on what to expect during review. Your judges may be the staff members who manage your awards program, but they can also come from other areas of your association or even be outside volunteers. 

It’s often helpful to recruit judges who have specific expertise in the area the award covers. For example, if one of your awards focuses on marketing, your association’s marketing team and external marketing professionals will have a deeper understanding of what constitutes a good submission and be able to make a more informed decision. However, you should make it clear that your judges can’t be nominated for the award themselves to prevent conflicts of interest.

To further promote fairness, create a standardized review form and have two to four judges fill it out for each submission. You might also choose to anonymize the submissions to minimize the impact of judges’ personal relationships and opinions on review. No matter your exact approach, ensuring consistency and actively mitigating bias will make adjudication more efficient and help the right awards go to the right people. 

4. Publicly Recognize Award Winners

After your judges have reviewed all nominations and made their decisions, your first step is to contact award winners. Send them a congratulatory message via their preferred communication channel—email, mobile messaging, or direct mail—by the date you promised you’d contact the winners so they aren’t left hanging.

However, this message typically isn’t enough for a recognition award to resonate. OpenWater’s awards management guide suggests several other methods to “celebrate [winners’] achievements and reinforce the value of your program,” including:

• Hosting an awards event (ceremony, luncheon, etc.) for the winners and their loved ones.
• Creating tangible reminders of each award, which could be a certificate, trophy, or plaque, depending on the award’s prestige.
• Spotlighting award winners on your website, in social media posts, and in your newsletter.
• Writing press releases to share with industry publications and the winners’ employers.

As eCardWidget’s member appreciation guide explains, each of these recognition ideas will resonate better with some award winners than with others. Take note of the reactions to your chosen method so you know whether you should reuse it in the future. If a winner pushes back against your original idea, suggest other methods from the list (or, if they really don’t want public recognition, mail them their certificate with a handwritten note and small gift).

5. Track & Analyze Program Data

Reactions to recognition aren’t the only data points that can help you improve your awards programs with every nomination cycle. In your association management system (AMS) or constituent relationship management (CRM) solution, track various pieces of useful information, such as:

• Nomination numbers, both in total and per award
• Marketing conversion rates from each channel and individual message
• Fund allocation for your recognition ideas and any monetary components that are built into your awards
• Direct feedback on the entire process from nominators, judges, staff, and recipients

In addition to capitalizing on your strengths and addressing any weaknesses, having clear data allows you to demonstrate the value of your awards program to stakeholders and better understand how it fits into your association’s overall purpose.

Effective awards management balances streamlining workflows, ensuring fairness, and showing association members that you see and appreciate how they go above and beyond. Use the strategies above to get started, and don’t hesitate to reach out for expert help or invest in a new solution if you need to elevate your awards program from good to great.