SIA’s editorial team is putting the finishing touches on the 2023 DE&I Influencers US and Canada list (announced May 16). Meanwhile, the selection committee is making the final decisions on who will comprise the 2023 40 Under 40 list of staffing professionals, which will appear in the July/August issue of Staffing Industry Review magazine.
Every year, SIA receives a plethora of unique nominations for each list, and these two lists were no exception. List release and selection are exciting times for us. We look forward to learning about the great work being done in the ecosystem and honoring your achievements.
What makes a nomination stand out? The selection committee meets over the course of many days to thoroughly review and discuss each name submitted to them. But although many nominees meet the list requirements and have made waves in the industry that are worth recognition, there are also many nominations that do not make it clear to the committee why the nominee should be selected.
Here are some tips for maximizing your nominee’s chances of inclusion.
Read the eligibility qualifications carefully. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a great first step to ensure that your candidate meets the requirements before spending time on their nomination.
For example, the CW Program Game Changers list only features employees of buyer/enterprise organizations. Although your staffing or MSP employee may be doing great work alongside the program office of your largest client, they are ineligible for inclusion on this particular list. Consider nominating them instead for a future list which does include employees of staffing firms, such as the Global Power 150 – Women in Staffing list.
Focus on quantifiable data. Successful nominations shine a spotlight on the candidate’s noteworthy achievements in the industry, including (but not limited to) cost savings, size of managed programs, successful company initiatives spearheaded by the nominee and so on. Although SIA recognizes that soft skills and interesting personal tidbits are also important components of a person’s value to their company, the selection committee is generally more interested in the candidate’s industry impact over the way they make others feel.
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Show, don’t tell. The strongest nominations include concrete examples to back up what is said about the candidate and describe the impact they had on the company or industry.
For example, a nomination might say that the candidate led their firm to record growth in the previous fiscal year. A stronger nomination would give statistics to illustrate that growth, such as providing revenue numbers (if possible) and year-over-year percentages to show the increase under the nominee’s leadership. Stronger still is the nomination that also describes exactly what the candidate did to promote that growth and the impact it is having on the organization as a whole.
[We do understand that certain data is considered confidential and will hold such details in confidence unless told otherwise.]Quality, not quantity. Although the selection committee is notified if a given candidate receives multiple nominations, that number is not taken into consideration in the decision to include them on the list; their focus is solely on the content of the nominations as described above. And while multiple nominations can help the committee if they provide different perspectives on the nominee’s work and achievements, often, the committee finds either identical text at best or, at worst, no insight upon which to judge the nominee against the others being considered.
So, rather than asking your entire team to fill out the form in support of a single candidate from your company, consider asking them instead to discuss with you why they believe your candidate should be included on the list. See if patterns emerge — for example, do multiple people on your team mention the candidate’s strong track record of revenue growth? — and use those common factors to bolster a single thorough, yet concise nomination.
I hope you find these tips helpful. In fact, I encourage you to put them to use for our upcoming lists: Nominations remain open for the 2023 CW Program Game Changers and Staffing 100 – Europe lists. It’s the perfect time to nominate someone on your team — or even yourself — to recognize the hard work and accomplishments that have impacted the industry for the better.
Although there’s never a guarantee that your nominee will be selected for one of our prestigious recognition lists, you can create a solid nomination that will give the selection committee something to think about.