Tips and Advice on how to write an Oppies Award Entry

1. Tips and Advice on how to
write an Oppies Award Entry
Penny Steele
Chair of the Operations Awards Judging panel
Chair of IQCS
MD of Steele Fieldworks

2. Why enter a submission
for an Award?
Awards are a powerful way of placing your company in the spotlight and gaining kudos
Great for marketing and PR purposes and hopefully generating new business
They give you the opportunity to showcase the range of talent and skills employed within
your organisation
Importantly, they celebrate and recognise the fantastic work done by teams and
individuals in the Operations side of our business

3. DO
• Start early – writing a successful award entry is time consuming
• Read the criteria for the award category you are entering and ensure you have covered
them all– these are the first things we look for when judging
• Every sentence must be meaningful and add value , think to yourself “So what” – this
is what we think when reading entries
• Add the Wow factor in , if applicable

4. DO
• Follow the rules, they are clearly laid out
• Make sure you have included 3 x 100 words attributed statements from clients
• Use a case study / project ,were relevant to highlight your entry
• Back up every claim with evidence – can you prove it?
• Use metrics to support your submission

5. DO
• If working with a partner or supplier who played a vital role in your submission name
them and do a joint entry
• If the awards criteria refer to MRS Codes, Standards , Guidelines , VFA etc. include
these in your submission
• Check the grammar and spelling
• Get a fresh pair of eyes to review the submission before you send it

6. Don’t
• Miss the deadline – the rules are clearly laid out in the online entry
• Go over the maximum word count
• Just reproduce your marketing credentials
• Turn your supporting statements into part of the main submission
• Don’t waffle and waste your words , be relevant you only have 500 words

7. Please don’t think that you will never win, every company has a story/ case study/
training policy etc. that deserves to be recognised
Each individual entry stands a chance of winning so make yours count but you need to be
in it to win it!
SO GOOD LUCK IF YOU ARE ENTERING THIS YEAR