by Bright Ewuru | Oct 7, 2025 | Articles
For awards program managers, the nomination stage often sets the tone for everything that follows. It’s where participants first engage with your program and where credibility, fairness and efficiency are put to the test.
A manual nomination setup forces awards program managers to juggle disparate systems, a clunky entrant process, delay, rigidity and limited accessibility.
But leveraging nomination software is an effective way to modernise your nomination program. It can create a fantastic entrant experience, even out the judging process, support standardised evaluation, allow for vital adjustments and save time.
Let’s unpack, in detail, why nomination software is the special sauce for creating a hassle-free awards nomination process.
Being the entrants’ first major involvement with your awards program, the entrant process presents the opportunity to make a strong statement.
A manual entrant process can overwhelm participants with the chaos of paperwork. While entrants have to type and mail documents or submit various forms, program administrators have to track entries manually. Documents are prone to loss, and sensitive data is harder to secure.
Nomination software can improve the entrant process, providing a better overall experience for you and your entrants.
Good nomination software, such as Award Force, offers multiple functionalities that boost the entry process, including:
A manual nomination setup comes with multiple flaws. As nominations come from various channels, the fragmented process can make it challenging to track them. There can be errors and inconsistencies in submissions.
Award nomination software tackles these issues by functioning as the single source of truth for the awards program. Serving as the central repository, it eliminates the need for manual tracking across disparate systems. Administrators can easily access and review all documents as they’re stored in one place.
It eliminates incomplete and disorganised entries by providing one consistent structure and format for submission.
No two award programs are exactly alike; they often vary in terms of entrant demographics, purpose and scale. A traditional process attempts to force all award programs into a one-size-fits-all template. Its inability to cater to a program’s peculiarities can lead to poor participant experience.
Using the right nomination software allows each program’s uniqueness to shine. Award Force, for example, allows awards managers to design customised nomination forms with required and optional fields. There can be multiple award categories with different applicable rules.
Our platform supports customisable branding options, ensuring that it reflects your brand and enhances participant experience. The availability of multiple languages ensures that communication can be adjusted to suit diverse participant bases. It’s suitable for awards programs of all sizes and can help maintain quality as the program grows.
A manual review and judging process can be exhausting, as program managers have to distribute entries manually and personally follow up with judges. There can be biased evaluations when judges apply criteria differently, raising questions about fairness. Tracking each reviewing or judging activity can prove challenging.
Nomination software is a necessary ingredient for a flawless awards program because it helps to provide value to your judges. Powerful platforms, like Award Force, support automatic random assignment of entries and allow program organisers to configure judging workflows.
Award nomination software minimises subjectivity by allowing you to create standardised evaluation criteria and assess submissions holistically using rubrics. Judges can collaborate and leave vital feedback on each nomination within the platform. You can monitor their progress in real time and notify judges of deadlines with automated reminders.
Efficiency is the watchword when running awards programs. Nomination software offers a variety of features that help you do more in less time. Automation allows you to systematise repetitive manual tasks; it can power communication, judging assignments and workflows.
The instant reporting feature of nomination software can help avoid spending time compiling data. Bulk management of nominations saves you from handling each one individually.
A traditional nomination process can weigh down your awards management. But with the right awards nomination software, you can give it that magic spark–providing an enjoyable experience for your nominees and judges alike. Learn how Award Force can enhance your nomination process.
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