Have you got what it takes to be named Internal Communicator of the Year? There are just a few days left to get your entry in for the Melcrum Summit & Awards 2014, and if you’ve not put your hat in the ring already, I encourage you to do so.
What makes a good internal communicator?
Well, according to communication research organisation Melcrum, @melcrum, it’s “creativity, resilience and extraordinary results that make up the cornerstone of a groundbreaking internal communicator.” Tweet this
The category forms part of this year’s Summit Awards and is free to enter.
It recognises an individual who: brings to life the qualities of an exceptional practitioner in navigating everyday challenges, achieving outstanding success in their role – along with driving that of the function to a higher level.
What evidence and attributes are being asked for? Powerful influence and impact, break-through strategic and technical competencies, and clear business orientation all form part of the criteria.
Does this sound like you? What about a member of your team? Someone you mentor?
Who can enter?
The category is open to all internal communication practitioners below director level (or equivalent). Nominations are being accepted from individuals and managers and you may nominate yourself or someone else.
I’m going to be judging the Melcrum awards this year and during the Summit itself in London, UK, I will be speaking alongside some of my fellow judges to give an insight into the process.
There’s often an air of mystery around awards, and there shouldn’t be. I judge various awards each year and they vary in rules – for some I sign non disclosure agreements, which means it’s not communicated that I’m judging, others are done via committees or in pairs, while others are panels, in person or discussion/presentation based.
However, what unites them all is robustness. Every award I’ve judged has had a set of rules to ensure fairness and accuracy all round. I wouldn’t want to be involved if that wasn’t the case.
So I’m looking forward to reading the entries for this year’s Melcrum awards and then taking the opportunity to demystify how it works during the Summit. I’ll be sharing insights into trends I’m spotting, what has stood out and who I think is doing a good job.
I’ve also seen some absolute howlers on entries in the past – and perhaps I’ll share those too (naming no names!).
The categories
Friday 27 June 2014 is the deadline and the categories are:
- Leader of the year (free to enter)
- Internal Communicator of the year (free to enter)
- Large team of the year
- Digital Innovation
- Small team of the year
- Excellence in employee engagement
- Collaboration for competitive impact
- Strategic change and crisis communication (this is a new category this year).
Why enter awards?
A lot of time, money and effort goes into award entries, and I’ve certainly found them useful over the years to enter myself. Why? I see them as a way to benchmark alongside my peers and have a fresh perspective from an independent judge casting their critical eye over my work.
I remember dissecting every word from an industry judging when I was working in-house for the railway and we entered our employee magazine for an award.
We were bitterly disappointed it didn’t win and wanted to understand why it wasn’t at least shortlisted.
I keep that in mind when I write my judges’ comments because I know just how hard IC pros will have worked, not only on the original work, but on the award submission too, so I take the time to ensure my comments are useful and to read everything thoroughly.
So what have you got to lose?
Get your skates on and you may well be joining me on stage at the Summit on 16 October as the shortlisted entrants will be invited to take part. The winners will be revealed at the Awards dinner on 15 October.
Tickets for the Summit are available now.
Top tip: Check out this 12 point guide to writing a winning entry.
See the Melcrum website for full information and entry packs.
Best of luck.
Rachel.
