Evidencing awards – like all great achievements, it requires time.

You may have read my article ’So, you want to win an award?’ highlighting the benefits of business awards and ‘Keys to awards success’ focusing on the surprisingly common mistakes many make when preparing entries. If not, I would recommend you do as they set the scene for awards and reflect the critical importance of ‘evidence’.

As with many things preparation is key, which takes time, hence my advice to consider awards early rather than wait until the deadline is looming only to realise that you don’t have the time you would like to gather the evidence to support your choice of award. As Maya Angelou commented, “All great achievements require time”.

In the context of awards ‘evidence’ refers to a wide range of information woven into your awards entry that combines to support your story and inform judges as to the validity of the statements you make.

Early consideration of evidence is important when identifying awards and categories that are right for you; preventing your emotions about your business overcoming reality and highlighting where you may meet with the greatest success. Evidence based selection that is valuable in highlighting opportunities in less obvious awards and categories.

Put simply, evidence helps judges to draw their conclusion based on fact and a growing confidence that you actually know what you are talking about, rather than you making statements and just expecting them to accept them – evidence turns your opinion and pre-conceived views into fact.

What evidence you gather will depend on the nature of an award, category and the questions being posed, in addition to a myriad of factors including submission process, wordcount, supplemental information, attachments and permitted formats.

It’s important to note that you don’t have to back up every point with evidence, as it can make your awards application hard to read (and hit wordcount limits). Sometimes it can be as simple as adding a reference, and of course some things are logical, easily accepted or common knowledge needing no explanation. The accuracy, confidentiality and sensitivity of any information you disclose should also be kept in mind.

There can be instances when you are unable to find hard evidence to support your claim. Be cautious when this occurs as it may be that what you are assuming to be true may be not, or no one has considered or demonstrated this yet (aside from you) in which case you may need to back it up more fully to prove your point.

Some of the most common types of evidence, includes:

Empirical evidence – such as financial figures, employee numbers and growth statistics based on annual returns. High value, as by their nature they confirm fact.

Expert opinions – the view from recognised experts and independent bodies that support and confirm your viewpoint or position.

Research – from independent groups or conducted by you that aim to reenforce a view or correlate a statement or claim you make. But be careful when conducting your own research to ensure it is accurate and fair in its approach, analysis and findings.

Case Studies – can be very persuasive, add credibility and help to tell a story through more in-depth review and analysis of a specific outcome you achieved.

Past awards – that reflect continuity and your commitment to a specific topic or capability, and again based in fact.

Reviews and Feedback – customer testimonials, employee feedback, online reviews, social media feeds and more are often easy to obtain to add colour to entries. However, they are largely anecdotal and may not be representative of typical experiences, so always approach their value with caution.

You can understand why time needs to be set aside to gather and prepare evidence, as a lack of evidence to back up claims is one key reason why so many award-worthy businesses fail to receive the recognition they deserve.

As an experienced and successful awards writer, I have helped many companies to achieve awards success. This includes reviewing past award entries to identify the often-simple changes needed to achieve success, help in writing and evidencing new award submissions and awards training workshops to transfer valuable knowledge to internal teams and groups.