Award deadlines coming up (scroll down below text for a list of awards organised by industry) 

Welcome to my latest award deadline update. As you are all experiencing, the world has completed changed. Most importantly, I hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy. The work that our front line key workers and the NHS staff are putting in to support us all is beyond words. It is also interesting to see how many businesses are adapting to the new challenges faced.
In terms of the awards industry, we have a carried out some research into how awards organisers are planning to respond (a summary of our survey findings can be found here) and the overall message here is the vast majority of schemes are postponing their events but not cancelling, so it is business as usual. A small handful of ceremonies have switched to online events (less than 10%) and the number of schemes that have cancelled entirely is thankfully less than 3%. We are finding that, in the face of adversity, we are getting a lot of companies contacting us and placing even more importance on awards, many with the same message that ‘this award would be a way of paying something back to our people.’ So, with this in mind, it is on to my recommendations for awards to consider in May, June and beyond.      

It is often the case that some industries see their awards bunch together. For example, financial services in autumn, IT and technology over the new year, while the construction industry prefers the first few months of the year.

Well, with this in mind, it is fair to say that this time of the year is very much HR awards season, as well as there being some significant training awards deadlines. But it’s not all about HR, there are plenty of other great awards schemes approaching in customer contact, marketing and technology, and some of the big general business awards like The National Business Awards are now open so definitely worth including in your planning.

One of the most prestigious awards of them all, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, opened its doors for entry on 1st May. While the 9th September deadline may seem some way off, the entry process for these is formidable and requires months of planning and collecting evidence, and a huge written entry. We are already taking bookings now as we are highly experienced when it comes to these awards, having written dozens of winning entries, so please get in touch and we will be happy to provide you with a free eligibility check. You may find our guide ‘How to win a Queen’s Award for Enterprise‘ helpful.   

As ever, contact our team here at Boost if you need help with your entries or guidance on which awards to enter. But please bear in mind that we work on a first-come-first-served basis – and our capacity is filling up fast, so don’t leave it until the last minute. Okay let’s get started…

HR awards and training awards

I wanted to share a quick summary here, but for more information please check out our more detailed guides – ‘Which are the best HR awards to enter?‘ or ‘Which training awards should I enter?‘

The HR Excellence Awards (HR Magazine): These UK awards did have a March deadline, but as with many organisers timelines have been shifted, with a new deadline 30th June and the prestigious event moved to 29th October. One of the most popular schemes with our clients, they feature all the usual HR categories that you might expect, but also some more quirky ones like: Best CSR strategy and the Best Transformation Strategy Award. 

Another of the highest profile awards in the UK HR awards calendar, The HR Distinction Awards, currently display a 14th May deadline – so plenty of opportunity to re-purpose your entry for both schemes.

The Brandon Hall Excellence in Human Capital Management Program: These are US-based but open for international entry. A decent sized application form, but with loads of awards up for grabs. They have an extended deadline of 8th May. These awards are great in terms of having ninety categories covering every aspect of learning and development, leadership development and talent acquisition. We are a seeing a big increase in large companies entering this year.  

The deadline for this year’s CIPD People Management Awards has now been extended to 28th May so still some time to enter these highly credible awards.

Business awards

For a well-run, credible and well-established general business award to enter, you need look no further than The UK Business Awards. Run by Awards International, they feature some fantastic categories, for example: Best
Place to Work, Wellbeing at Work, Innovation of the Year and Best New Business. In response to the pandemic, the submission deadline has been moved to 15th May and the ceremony will be an online event via video conferencing. Read our guide to entering in 2020. 

As already mentioned, the prestigious National Business Awards are now open. You can save £100 on your entry before 11th May or wait until the final deadline 5th June.  

Customer contact awards

For a more comprehensive overview, please read our guide, Which are the best customer service awards to enter?

The UK Digital Experience Awards are pretty unique, in that they are the only awards that are focused squarely on customer experience in the digital space. They attract lots of big name companies keen to promote their online consumer offerings. Lots of great categories such as Best App, Best Website, Best Marketing Campaign and Best Online User Experience. In response to the current crisis, the deadline has moved to 5th June and the ceremony will now be an totally online event.

The UK Customer Experience Awards are another excellent way of recognising the incredible work being done by CX professionals, something extremely pertinent during these times. Incredibly well-run awards and a great day to be had at Wembley Stadium on 15th October. You will need to enter before 19th June. We have written a guide to everything you need to know about entering in 2020.    

Digital, Tech and IT awards

The IT World Awards are a great option. They feature a common format for US-based awards in that there are hundreds of categories to choose from, but remain both credible and winnable if you are looking for global recognition. The regular deadline is 10th April but there is a last chance deadline (with a fee) enabling entries until 8th May. 

We really like a new awards scheme in the digital space – The Global Digital Excellence Awards – formed in response to the pandemic we find ourselves in, and recognising all the incredible digital innovation and transformation that many companies and individuals have been implementing. Lots of great categories for campaigns, tools and tech and agencies amongst others, with a deadline of 22nd May.     

Legal awards

Since their launch in 2013, The Family Law Awards have been recognising the excellent work of family lawyers at both a regional and national level. These awards are exemplary in the way they are run, so I highly recommended entering them before the 5th June deadline. 

Marketing awards

The Hermes Creative Awards, so-named after the ancient Greek messenger, are a US-based scheme open to international entry. They honour the messengers of traditional and emerging media, and are also both credible and winnable. Featuring over 200 categories, there is sure to be something suitable for you or your team to enter (they remain open indefinitely).  

Finally, another pair of sister schemes to consider are the NYX Marcom Awards and NYX Video Awards – global creative awards recognising the world’s best marketing, communications and video concepts. The entry deadline for both is 7th May. 

Hopefully these highlights have provided some insights to help you plan which awards to enter. Below you will find all the awards with deadlines occurring within the next two months, organised by industry sector. Remember, do please contact Boost if you need a helping hand entering any of these – our in-house team of experienced award writers have won over 1,400 awards and can increase your chances of a win significantly.

You can also sign up for our email deadline reminder service, so that the next two months of deadlines arrive in your inbox – completely free of charge. Handy, I think you will agree!  

Stay safe and well, and let’s all keep recognising the outstanding people, teams, projects and businesses out there.

Chris.