by Lindsay Nash | Mar 3, 2026 | Articles
Behind every good awards program is a panel of dedicated judges giving their expertise, time and attention to choose the best entries. These important people bring authority and integrity to the judging process, often lending name recognition and credibility to the awards.
So it makes sense that awards programs want to keep judges happy, to make their process easy, and to provide an experience that keeps them coming back, season after season.
If you manage an awards program, understanding what judges truly need is one of the most powerful ways to keep your judges happy and strengthen your program’s reputation. When judges are well supported, the outcomes improve for entrants and organisers alike.
How can awards managers keep their judges happy? It’s a question well worth some consideration. Here’s what awards judges often wish awards managers knew, and ideas for small and actionable changes that can make a big difference.
Many awards judges are senior professionals in their fields. They’re CEOs, academics, creatives and technical experts volunteering their time alongside their regular, demanding roles. Even the most committed judge will struggle if faced with hundreds of entries and vague time expectations.
A common pain point is underestimating how long it takes to properly review submissions. When judges are rushed, fatigue or stress can set in. Scoring becomes less consistent. Confidence in outcomes can erode.
How to fix it:
Before launching judging, calculate the realistic time required per entry. Test it out yourself, and ask your team to help. Then, share the expectation with your judging panel. For example, if each entry takes 12–15 minutes to review and a judge has 40 entries, that’s a minimum of 8–10 hours of focused work.
If the time commitment is too big an ask, consider inviting more judges to increase the panel size and reduce entries per judge. This can improve completion rates and decrease any scoring variance.
Clear timelines, reasonable workloads and progress visibility are essential. Award Force can help, enabling managers to distribute entries evenly, monitor progress and send timely reminders without overwhelming judges. The outcome? Greater consistency and reduced pressure on your judges.
If you ask judges what knowledge a judge needs to perform well, many will say the same thing: clarity.
Clarity in criteria. Clarity in scoring and weighting. Clarity in expectations.
Ambiguous or unclear criteria are one of the most common causes of inconsistent scoring in awards judging. If one judge interprets “innovation” as technological novelty and another interprets it as market impact, results will naturally diverge.
Provide your judges with a short guide before judging begins. This could include:
Some programs find it helpful to run a brief virtual session where judges score one sample entry and compare results. Even 30 minutes of discussion can align expectations and strengthen fairness. Or, consider creating a quick instruction video that explains your criteria, and the expectations on scoring alignment.
In Award Force, program managers can create structured criteria, weighted scoring and clear guidance within the platform itself, helping ensure judges always see the right information at the right time. Learn more.
If your judges are having a hard time logging in and performing their evaluations, it can directly affect the quality of their decisions. And it’s unlikely for awards judges to complain about the technology. It’s more probable that they quietly disengage if they become frustrated.
Problems such as slow load times, confusing navigation or difficulty comparing entries can easily create friction for judges, slowing down their process. If they feel frustrated by the system, they might also feel frustrated while judging, which could lead to inconsistencies in their scoring.
Programs that use Award Force consistently report satisfaction from their judges, noting the intuitive interface and ease of use when evaluating entries. Learn more about the Award Force judging suite.
Judges want to feel confident in the integrity of the process. To create that sense of confidence, it’s important to communicate well and frequently.
Think about the awards process from your judges’ perspective. Here are some questions they might have:
Transparent communication builds trust and supports knowledgeable judging teams in making confident decisions.
How to improve your communications:
Be transparent with your judges; offer timely information, including any policies around conflicts of interest and confidentiality. Share key dates and contact information.
It’s tempting to assume that experienced judges already understand these mechanics. But even seasoned awards judges appreciate clear documentation.
In Award Force, it’s easy to create regular, branded and personalised communications within the platform to share program dates, information, and processes clearly and effectively.
Awards managers often focus on entrant experience, which, of course, is crucial. But judges also value feedback and recognition.
After a program concludes, judges might wonder:
How did the program perform overall?Was scoring tightly aligned?What was the entrant response?Will I be invited back?
Sharing a short summary after the program ends can strengthen relationships and encourage retention of high-quality panel members.
For example, your program could share a brief impact report that includes entry numbers, scoring statistics and testimonials from winners. Sharing these outcomes can help foster knowledgeable judging teams over time.
When your judges feel respected, informed, and a part of the process, they deepen their engagement and ownership of their role.
Awards judging can be a rigorous, yet energising experience. And your judges want to contribute meaningfully. They want clear criteria, reasonable workloads, intuitive systems and transparent communication.
When knowledgeable judging teams are well supported, everyone benefits. Entrants trust the outcomes. Sponsors see and value the integrity. Program managers gain confidence in defensible results. It’s a win-win for all.
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