Why winning an industry award is a big deal.

If you worked hard to achieve recognition in your industry by competing for an industry award, there is little satisfaction in coming close. The consolation prize is the lesson learned: failure makes you smarter.

Mia Pearson wrote in her Globe and Mail article: Is it worth it to enter industry award competitions?:

“From the impact on culture to new business leads, awards are more than just a piece of hardware. They are an important part of growing, improving, and staying at the forefront of your industry. 

The time and effort needed to put together and submit the awards is well worth it when you get the deserved recognition from a team’s hard work. They keep us pushing the envelope and thinking in bold and strategic ways. They are a great way to keep us striving to be the best.”

Everyone wants to be, or work for, a winner.

Award contests can be a great source of credibility to partners, clients and investors. They can also be a big motivator internally, making staff proud to go be part of the business.

It’s impossible to win any award of excellence without having a positive company culture.

The byproduct of that culture is TRUST.

Some manifestations of this occur when employees…

• Are loyal to one another. They keep their word and honour their journey.
• Never judge — seek first to understand.
• Laugh with (not at) others.
• Have the confidence to take issues directly to the source. They don’t talk behind others’ backs.
• Express genuine appreciation up, down, and across their organisational structure.
• Help others with critical tasks. “We’re in this together.”
• Recognise that people aren’t problems—problems are problems.

And when clients…

• Are confident they’ve chosen the right service provider.
• Are enthusiastic to refer your business to their network as it will reflect well on them.
• Are apt to be long-term, loyal clients. If you’re the best, why move?
• Give you the benefit of the doubt when hiccups occur.
• Are more apt to add extra services when they trust that you have their best interests at heart.

How the Award of Excellence Changed the Call Centre Industry.

And the award for the best email to wake up to goes to….

i24 Call Management Solutions, of Montreal, QC has been honoured with the exclusive ATSI Award of Excellence for the 10th consecutive year.

Gary Blair, owner and President of i24 Call Management Solutions, began working in his family answering service business forty years ago. This was long before any industry-wide award programs.

Early TAS (Telephone Answering Service) companies were reluctant to take part in award campaigns.

Since then, the industry evolved at a breakneck speed.

Once known for basic telephone answering, it now provides multi-platform communications services.

Running a business takes all your personal resources.

Finding extra time to learn new criteria and train staff was daunting.

CAM-X instituted its Award of Excellence program in 1989.

Using the  ‘mystery callers’ method, each CAM-X member is called by people acting as clients with various needs. The member is evaluated by an independent panel of judges over a 6-month period.

The criteria are very strict and are guided  by the statement:

“Excellence requires a level of service that considers the caller first in every aspect of the call. Callers believe they, or their problems, are the most important consideration to your call agent (CSR).”

Contributing factors include:

– Response Time

– Courteousness of Rep

– Accuracy of Call

– Knowledge of Account

–  Overall Impression of Call

The introduction of The Award of Excellence by CAM-X and later by its American equivalent, ATSI, caused a continental shift in the industry.

This disruption was necessary to improve the industry’s reputation and internal culture.

Preparing, training and implementing processes for award season raised standards across throughout companies. 

This investment allows you to see where you’re at and where you want to be in the future.

As Gary wrote in the congratulatory email sent to his team:

“Having been in the industry for over 40 years, I can attest to the fact that the award programs initiated by CAM-X and ATSI has raised the industry’s status, standards and reputation. We are proud to win our 10th ATSI Award of Excellence as it reflects our team’s commitment to providing the best service possible to our clients.”

The benefits of receiving awards of excellence spread beyond your own industry to the industries represented by your clients.  

Everyone wins when you win.