It’s hard to believe, but budget season is upon many of us! You may be part of a firm or company that emphasizes strict adherence to the initial budget, often leaving no room for unexpected initiatives—like those that typically lead to awards. Or you may be part of a firm where plans change quickly, making project or goal completion extra challenging. Regardless of your circumstances, building a solid recognitions program requires time and effort. Starting your brainstorming during budget season can set you on the right path for success. But where do you even begin?
Determine Your Priorities
Your first step is to understand your firm’s priorities for the upcoming year and how awards initiatives can support those priorities.
Perhaps a merger is on the firm’s horizon, or leadership wants to focus on the next generation of leaders or a specific practice group. Maybe the firm has decided that prioritizing initiatives related to client service and satisfaction will be central to its strategy in the coming year.
Each of the above scenarios—along with considerations like marketing budgets, pro bono efforts, demanding personalities or impactful events outside of your control—would ideally necessitate a different approach to the available award opportunities. For a merger, consider managing partner and leadership awards; for the next generation of lawyers, focus on young practitioners’ awards; and for client services, try nominating clients for industry-specific awards.
The Awards Checklist
Once you have a grasp of the business’ priorities, you can start your own planning. Using a checklist, like the one Poston has created for you (more information below), when developing an awards program is important for several reasons. It provides a structured framework that ensures all critical steps are addressed, promoting organization and consistency across different years and categories. A checklist also boosts efficiency by streamlining tasks, making delegation easier and helping to meet deadlines. Ultimately, a checklist fosters accountability and allows for better evaluation and improvement in future awards programs.
Our Poston Content team has done the heavy lifting for you and has developed a checklist to prepare for the awards and rankings portion of your 2025 marketing and business development planning and budgeting. Download our checklist here. We believe it will support you in your 2025 marketing and awards planning.
Kristen Greer is Poston Communications’ awards and rankings manager. She is responsible for researching, organizing and supporting clients with professional awards and recognitions.