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4 Reasons to Consider Auditing Your Awards Program

If there’s one quality that all awards programs should have, it’s transparency of the awards process. By transparency I mean that entrants are informed of each step of the process as the awards progress, through information on your website, email updates, etc.

So why is transparency so important? Well, why would entrants apply if they didn’t know how the awards were being run and therefore couldn’t be sure that the judging and winner slection process was unbiased and fair?

Truth be told, a lack of transparency does more than just deter applicants from submitting an entry. It also causes additional work for everyone involved because staff members will have to overcome multiple barriers to entry to generate a good turnout for their program.

However, one simple way to solve this difficulty is with an awards audit. There are several reasons why awards audits are useful and why choosing to audit your program is a great option when you’re looking to maintain transparency throughout the process.

Auditing Awards Establishes Trust and Authenticity

Your awards are meant to draw in numerous submissions and reward the best of the best in your industry and if your program lacks transparency, you won’t be able to accomplish what you set out to do. But auditing your program can change all of that.

Auditing awards simply means using an outside verification service to oversee submissions, maintain the privacy of any scores, and tabulate results for all winners. By doing so, you keep your organization out of the process and remove the threat of bias when the results come out.

This means that your organization’s integrity is protected and applicants can rest assured that their entries were all given fair treatment from the time they left their hands.

It’s No Secret That Auditing Awards is Useful

As you can imagine, it’s no surprise that auditing your awards is a useful process. But, just why is it so useful? Well, because it:

1. Maintains Transparency – Outside audits reassure all entrants that the entire awards process from submission to judging and awards is open and clear.
2. Guarantees Impartial Results – You never want entrants to be skeptical about the outcome of your awards, due to fair judging or partiality. By removing your organization from the process, you can guarantee impartiality in the results.
3. Enhances Legitimacy – Legitimacy is of the utmost importance to any awards program. Auditing increases both trustworthiness and reinforces the legitimacy of your awards program.
4. Less Administrative Hassle – Tabulating results and dealing with the bureaucracy of an awards program is time-consuming. By using an auditing service, you can eliminate this time and energy drain for your own staff.

Choosing an outside verification service for your awards means choosing a transparent approach with several useful benefits.

If you’re intrested in learning if an awards audit is right for your program, check out OpenWater Verified Awards.

Miriam Hancock

Miriam Hancock
Miriam is the Marketing Coordinator for OpenWater. When she isn't writing and designing content she paints and cooks for her own personal blog.

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