The Rewards of Awards

As we turn our attention to this years Training Journal awards it's a time to think about the things we've achieved within our organisations. The TJ awards are a fantastic opportunity to share your successes and gain external recognition across the Learning & Development community. The awards are a great way to recognise organisational wide initiatives, team and individuals contributions and to demonstrate real achievements that provide real business impact. It's not all about the award though as the whole process of entering the awards can be hugely beneficial as I share my own experiences of entering awards.   I began my career as a learning professional in 2006 and studied my Certificate in Training Practice (CiTP) shortly after joining an in-house training team. Within the first six months I was asked to support an experienced member of the team complete an entry for a National Training Award. Having only just started my CiTP, this was a new experience for me and I set about working on the submission as best I could. Terms like Training Needs Analysis and Evaluation Strategy were all new to me and it quickly became clear that it wasn't about cobbling together an entry on the back of a fag packet.

The submission needed research, planning and it needed to be well written showing what value the learning programme had added in our business. I quickly picked up something that has stayed with me ever since and that is we were telling a story. Where we'd come from, where we were going, how we got there and what was the happy ending. We went on to win the award in 2006; I can remember feeling elated, proud and felt a great sense of team work and achievement.

Fast forward two years to 2008 and it was award time again. I was in a training design role and had been involved in a large scale induction re-design. We felt we had an exciting story to share and working as a team we set about entering the World of Learning Awards in the Blended Learning Solution of the Year. I worked with members of my team and stakeholders from the business to write about the journey we'd been on, the changes we'd been through and the benefits these changes had brought. We'd done new things, exciting things and challenged our traditional ways of doing things. It served as a really useful reflection exercise as we revisited what went well and really focused on the value we had provided.

I wrote the story with help and contributions from a great team and we went on to win the award. It was such a proud moment and one I'll remember for a long time as it wasn't about collecting any physical award but more the recognition and validation that what we had done had made a real difference and had been recognised externally by the professional community. There was such a feel good factor across the team for weeks if not months after we had won. Another story had been successfully told.

Fast forward three years to 2011 and its awards time again and I was writing the entry submission for a member of my team in the Training Journal Awards in the category of Learning Professional of the Year. I had a story to tell and an opportunity to bring a team together to reflect on and discuss a project that took over 12 months to deliver. Every member of the team contributed, however, one person stood out and I felt proud that I could call her a colleague and shout about the effort she put in over a long period of time. We (she) managed to make the shortlist, however, missed out on the award this time but it was another great experience.

Three awards, three great experiences, and whilst not all of them were successful, all of them proved valuable to us as individuals, as a team and as a business. I now work with DPGplc who are proud sponsors of the Training Journal Awards for the third consecutive year. DPGplc were the organisation that I completed by CiTP with back in 2006 and I'm excited to play a part in supporting others go through this process. Looking back on my journey as a Learning Professional, awards have played a large part in this journey. I could argue they've had a big impact on my career as from the beginning:

  • I've understand the importance of planning
  • I've always looked to reflect on what went well
  • I focus on evidence, what the value is and business benefit
  • I know hard work does pay off
  • I've recognise the importance of team and individual strengths
  • I've understood the importance of telling a story
  • I've looked to celebrate personal and team successes

For me the rewards of awards aren't just about the winning and taking a gong home at the end of the night; I've also entered awards in the past and not made the shortlist. However, each time it's been a worthwhile process to go through an exercise in professional development, the process of completing the entry has provided real challenge which translates in to value at both personal and organisational level.

If you are thinking about or are in the process of telling your story then I hope this post gives you the momentum and energy to write with passion, creativity and encourages you to focus on the process you've been through and the value your solutions have added in your business.

As sponsor, DPGplc are excited about supporting the judging process ensuring the best of the best in the L&D profession are recognised and rewarded for their achievements. There are plenty of categories to choose from and to provide as much help, guidance and support as possible we're working with the Training Journal and have created a TJ Awards 13 Group where our Training Journal colleagues will be available to answer questions and all the help guides and resources can be found in this group as well, why not join today and start putting your entry together.

It would be great if the submissions relate to initiatives and solutions designed from those who have been through or are going through our L&D CIPD qualifications.

If you have any questions about the awards then please let me know

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